Anxiety treatment can help those recovering from addiction to find healthier outlets for their pain.
Everyone experiences stress and anxiety at times, but for 19.1% of American adults, the feelings are overwhelming and not able to be managed by regular coping methods, resulting in anxiety disorders. These individuals are often unable to receive the help they need and instead turn to drugs and alcohol in an effort to self-medicate and manage their emotions. Such behavior often has the opposite of the intended effect, exacerbating mental health conditions and resulting in a vicious cycle of anxiety attacks and addiction.
For this reason, CT Addiction Medicine provides a complete support system that includes treatment not only for the physical symptoms of addiction but also for the underlying anxiety disorders that may be present.
We can help if you or a loved one are experiencing anxiety and/or addiction in Connecticut.
Signs Of Anxiety Disorders
Though there are many specific types of anxiety disorders, each with their own unique symptoms, there are some common threads that are present with any type of anxiety disorder. Individuals are recommended for anxiety therapy if they exhibit the following behaviors:
- Fears that consume their thoughts for the majority of the day in excess of 6 months of time, despite efforts to assuage such fears
- Using unhealthy behaviors such as drugs or, alcohol, or overeating in order to manage feelings of sadness or fear
- Disconnecting from relationships or activities that were previously enjoyable, because of this fear
- Physiological responses to seemingly mundane objects or situations. These responses can include but are not limited to: nausea, chest pain, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, sweatiness, and insomnia.
Types Of Anxiety Disorders
The above list of symptoms is merely an overview of what to look for, but the manifestation of anxiety disorders differs depending on type and often between individuals. Below is a quick rundown of some of the most commonly seen types of disorders that anxiety treatment helps:
- Panic Disorder: Approximately 1 million people experience panic attacks every year. These episodes last around 10 minutes and can be characterized by a sudden onset of chest pain, difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, or nausea, in response to a trigger or fear. Though these attacks are rarely fatal, they are usually accompanied by terror and a sense of hopelessness.
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD attacks are characterized by symptoms similar to those of panic disorder, but this type of anxiety is triggered by a specific traumatic event or series of events in the individual’s past. In addition to the symptoms above, individuals experiencing PTSD often display hypervigilance and paranoia, sometimes reliving those events as if they were actually occurring in the moment.
- Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Some anxiety disorders result in the fear of interacting with other people. Though the reasons for this fear can be diverse, individuals with SAD may avoid crowded spaces, public speaking, and other situations in which socialization is unavoidable. Drugs and alcohol are often, but not always, used to help them drop their guard and “loosen up”, but the symptoms return over and over again.
- Specific Phobias: Everyone has fears, but for those with specific phobias, an unreasonable and irrational sense of dread about a particular situation, object, or animal consumes their life and causes them to go to great lengths to avoid such triggers. As with other forms of anxiety and phobias, substances are often used to help them relax, but the fears are pervasive and recurring.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Unlike the other disorders mentioned above, there is no obvious reason for the fears of those with GAD, yet the same feelings of dread and hopelessness exist. While most people have fears, those with GAD are consumed by such feelings, leading to the same avoidance, panic attacks, and substance abuse issues as those with other panic disorders.
Of course, everyone experiences moments of stress, panic, and fear. Contact CT Addiction Medicine today to begin your journey to a healthier and happier life.
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