Anxiety Diagnosis

Anxiety is caused when the brain cannot resolve conflicts. It is a stress response. This results in circular thoughts so the same thing is thought over and over again.

Some people are anxious because they find themselves in difficult situations (financial, social, emotional or whatever) from which they seem to have no escape. They must recognise that they have a problem, ask for help, make a plan and stick to it.

There is a fine line between good stress and bad stress. Good stress causes excitement, bad stress causes anxiety disorder - you can't define the stress by what effect it has on you. If you are feeling tired, what would have been a good stress becomes a bad stress.

Anxiety ranges from a vague sense of uneasiness to one of imminent danger and dread. Thoughts race and concentration is difficult. Restlessness, tremor and excessive sweating are often noticeable.

Heightened perception and negative interpretation of normal bodily sensations is a common stimulus to visit the physician.Diagnosis varies according to the specific anxiety disorder.

Diagnostic Criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD):

Generalized anxiety disorder is distinguished from normal worrying and other anxiety disorders by how long it lasts and how it affects your daily life. If you've experienced intense anxiety and worry almost constantly for six months or more, you may have GAD.

Excessive anxiety and worry, occurring for at least six months, about a number of events or activities. The patient finds it difficult to control the worries.

Your doctor will perform a physical examination and a psychological evaluation to rule out other medical problems that may resemble GAD. Other tests, such as a laboratory test to measure thyroid function, may be performed. Depending on the cause and severity of your condition,

To be diagnosed with anxiety, you must have a period of intense fear or discomfort with at least 4 of the 14 symptoms listed below.

• Restlessness.
• Being easily fatigued.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Irritability.
• Hyperventilation ( allergies).
• Hypoglycaemia ( low blood sugar).
• Excessive caffeine.
• Allergies to foods
• Heart Palpitations.
• Trembling.
• Nausea.
• Dizziness.
• Muscle tension.
• Sleep disturbance.

Signs and Symptoms:

To be diagnosed with anxiety, you must have a period of intense fear or discomfort with at least five of the sixteen symptoms listed below, within 10 minutes.

• Heart Palpitations
• Trembling
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling of choking
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Headaches
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
• Fear of losing control or going crazy
• Fear of dying
• Tingling sensations
• Chills or hot flashes.