Anxiety Disorder

 What is Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety disorder is a disorder that many people face on a daily basis. Many individuals with anxiety disorder there might be a worry or concern over things that are out of their control. According to National Institute of Mental Health, “For a person with anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse overtime” (NIH, Pg. 1, 2020). People with an anxiety disorder have to go through daily struggles of not getting their fear and concern affect them and their daily activities. 

However, Individuals can have anxiety with small projects, or fear of a test. According to to National Institute of Mental Health, “ You might feel anxious when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision” (NIH, Pg.1, 2020). Anxiety can play in many forms of an individuals life, they can be anxious during a test, or doing something big for themselves and are worried about the outcome. There are also several different stages of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic border, and various phobia-related disorders.

Signs and Symptoms:

The signs and symptoms are broken down into the following anxiety described disorders described below:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD):

Individuals with this disorder excessive anxiety or way that may prolong for 6 months about anything and everything going on with their personal life. This disorder can interfere with daily functions such as work, school, and many other things. The signs and symptoms of the following disorder are listed below; the individual may experience:

- Feeling restless, wound-up and on edge

-Being easily fatigued

Having difficulty concentrating or having your mind go blank

-Being irritable

Panic Disorder:

Panic disorders can happened through recurrent episodes that individuals may experience throughout their life. Intense situations or fear can trigger a panic disorder and cause the individual to go into a panic attack. The following signs and symptoms for panic disorders are listed below; the individual may experience:

- Heart palpitations

- Sweating

- Trembling or shaking

- Feeling shortness of breath or a smothering sensation

Phobia-Related Disorders

Phobia-Related disorders are related to a intense fear of a certain object or thing. For example an individual with an intense fear of spiders may have a phobia related disorder called a Arachnophobia which is fear of spiders or anything related to the organism. However, there are other phobia-related disorders based off average objects or things such as flying, social gatherings, heights, etc. The signs and symptoms of Phobia-related disorders could be similar to the signs and symptoms of the other disorders that were listed above. 

Treatment:

Depending on the anxiety disorder would depend on the two treatments. The two treatments that are recommended for treating anxiety disorders are psychological therapy and pharmacotherapy or both can used if necessary. According to "Treatment of anxiety disorders" article, "Anxiety disorders should be treated with psychological therapy, pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both... Cognitive behavioral therapy can be regarded with the highest level of evidence" (Bandelow et al., Pg.1, 2017). Using therapy options can help individuals with their anxiety levels and help them maintain and manage their anxiety.

Population: 

Anxiety disorders nearly affects everyone and among every age group. According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, "GAD affects 6.8 million adults or 3.1% of the U.S. population, yet only 43.2% are receiving treatment" (Anxiety and Depression, Pg. 1, 2020). The article also points out, "Women are twice as likely to be affected as men" (Anxiety and Depression, Pg.1, 2020). This was interesting to learn because with generalized anxiety disorder, I always thought that men and women were on the equal field as far as the disorders went. The article also mentions, "PD affects 6 million adults, or 2.7% of the U.S. population... When are twice as likely to be affected as men" (Anxiety and Depression, Pg.1, 2020). 

I learned a lot about anxiety disorders especially since I have anxiety as well as panic disorder and have had it for years, it was really informal to me to learn about the different forms of anxiety and how it affect individuals as well.

References:

Anxiety Disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml. 

Bandelow, B., Michaelis, S., & Wedekind, D. (2017, June). Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573566/. 

Facts & Statistics. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics. 

Picture: https://food.ndtv.com/health/anxiety-related-spectrum-disorder-identified-780142

Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressive Illness or Manic Depression)

 Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressive Illness or Manic Depression)

What is Bipolar Disorder?

            Mental health disorder that is characterize by unusual shifts in mood swings, energy, activity levels, concentration and the ability to carry out day-day tasks (NIH, Pg. 1, 2020). It is broken down into three different categories Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, and Cyclothymic Disorder (Cyclothymia) and they are often characterized by the effects that it has on the individual and their moods. Bipolar I Disorder is defined by manic episodes that last 7 days and some episodes could become so severe that the individual may need hospital intervention. Depressive episodes also make up this type of bipolar disorder and could last up to 2 weeks. Bipolar II Disorder is characterized by a mix of depressive and manic episodes that are similar to those of Bipolar I Disorder but are different in the aspect that they are not severe and are not full in their nature. Lastly, Cyclothymic Disorder is another type of Bipolar disorder because it is characterized by hypomanic symptoms that are most prevalent in children and adolescents because it could last for at least 2 years. However, the symptoms of this type of disorder are different because they don’t meet medical requirements as hypomanic or depressive episode (NIH, Pg. 1, 2020).

Individuals with bipolar disorders are typically diagnosed in their late adolescence or early adulthood. Symptoms of the disorder can appear as early in the woman during pregnancy or childbirth and in their early childhood (NIH, Pg. 2, 2020).

Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

Symptoms are broken down based upon if they are having a manic or depressive episode. Individuals experiencing a manic episode may “feel very high, elated or irritable or touchy” or could also report having a “decreased need for sleep” and have a “loss of appetite” (NIH, Pg. 2, 2020). Individuals experiencing a depressive episode may report feeling “very say, down, empty, worried, or hopeless” or report having “trouble falling asleep, wake up too early, or sleep too much” (NIH, Pg. 2, 2020).

Individuals can still have bipolar disorder even if they are not experiencing little or no symptoms at all, taking with a licensed specialist could help diagnose the disorder and get the individual started on treatment.

Treatment

Treatment options may include Medications, Continued treatment, Day treatment programs, Substance abuse treatment, Hospitalization (Mayo Clinic, Pg.2, 2018).

Medications: Will help with balancing out the individual’s moods; would need to be taken often

Continued Treatment: Continues on with their treatment medication to make sure that they won’t experience a relapse. Skipping a treatment could make the individual’s risk of having a relapse in their moods much higher than those who are consistent with their treatments.

Day Treatment Programs: With recommendation from their primary doctor; these programs are designed to offer support and counseling to the individual if they need it.

Substance Abuse Treatment: For individuals also suffering from drug and alcohol problems along side of their bipolar disorder. This treatment will help the individual better cope with their treatments because without it, it may be hard for the individual to manage their bipolar disorder.

Hospitalization: This is needed for severe cases and if their doctors sees that they may be a danger to themselves or to others. Receiving psychiatric treatment at the hospital will help the individual remain calm, safe and help them manage their moods for when they experience a manic or depressive episode.

There are different medications that the individual can take such as mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, antidepressants, antidepressant-antipsychotic and anti-anxiety medications (Mayo Clinic Pg. 3, 2018).

For children and teenagers’ experiencing bipolar disorder there are treatments for them such as medications, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and support “(Mayo Clinic, Pg. 3, 2020). Licensed professionals and doctors could help individuals struggling with bipolar disorder find their treatments based on their need and severity of the disorder.

Population:

According to Bipolar Statistics, “Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year” (Bipolar Disorder Statistics, Pg. 1, 2019). The article also points out that, “Women and people with bipolar II disorder are significantly more likely to experience periods of rapid cycling than me with the same condition” (Bipolar Statistics, Pg. 1, 2019). Bipolar disorder could affect anyone, going to your doctor and getting the treatment that you need is what is most important for individuals with bipolar disorder.

Reference:

Bipolar Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml

Bipolar disorder. (2018, January 31). Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355961

Bipolar Disorder Statistics. (2019, July 12). Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://www.dbsalliance.org/education/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-disorder-statistics/