Range of treatments: Anxiety disorder
Everyone has experienced anxiety! It is an unpleasant, but fundamentally natural, emotional state in dangerous situations and has an important protective function. Anxiety can appear in different degrees. We also encounter it regularly in everyday life. For example, we may feel it as a queasy pulling in the stomach when standing at the edge of a precipice or in the form of stage fright before an important appointment. Fears like these are understandable and completely normal.
When anxiety makes you sick
Anxiety becomes problematic if it occurs inappropriately in situations that – viewed objectively – actually pose no threat at all. We speak of an anxiety disorder when the anxiety takes over and dominates the everyday life of the person affected, restricting their quality of life.
Anxiety disorders are very complex
Anxiety disorders always occur at several levels of the organism:
- On the emotional level in the form of helplessness, loss of control, panic, fear of death, etc.
- On the physical level with symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and sweating.
- At the behavioural level, in the form of withdrawal, flight or freezing.
Almost one in four people will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life
After depression, anxiety disorders are among the most common type of mental illness. According to “Statista”, the German online portal for statistics1), around 25 percent of all people worldwide suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. Women are affected about twice as often as men. An anxiety disorder can occur on its own or together with depression, an obsessive-compulsive disorder or an addictive disorder. There are different types of anxiety disorders. The most common are:
1)https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/182616/umfrage/haeufigkeit-von-angststoerungen/
Important indications
– Panic disorder
– Generalised anxiety disorder
– Phobias are also considered an anxiety disorder. If you would like to find out more about this, you can find out more about the disease here and here about our CALDA Specific Phobia Program, which has been specially developed for treating phobias.
What is panic disorder?
Panic disorder is characterised by massive anxiety attacks that can last from a few minutes to, in extreme cases, several hours. In most cases, the attack reaches its peak in the first ten minutes and is over after about half an hour. Panic attacks like these can occur at different frequencies, such as only every few months, but also several times a day and then not again for weeks. While certain situations or triggers can trigger panic attacks in those affected, anxiety attacks can also occur for no apparent reason – almost “out of the blue”.
What are the symptoms of a panic attack?
A panic attack manifests itself in the form of massive seizure-like psychological and physical symptoms, such as:
- Mortal fear
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of control
- Fainting with severe dizziness and weak knees
- Fear of going insane
- Arrhythmia and palpitations
- Irregular heartbeat
- Sweating
- Chills
- Nausea
- Trembling
- Numbness and tingling sensation
- Blurred vision
- Sensation of pressure and pain in the chest
Panic disorder: Effects on everyday life
Fear of another panic attack can result in massive behavioural changes in which those affected avoid certain situations, e.g. public places, air travel or crowds (internal link https://caldaclinic.com/de/phobia/) and stop leaving their familiar surroundings. Panic disorders often occur in connection with agoraphobia. The fear of anxiety can turn into a downright vicious circle and significantly restrict the sick person’s range of motion and freedom of action. It is not uncommon for addictions to develop as a result, because those affected try to dampen any fears which arise with substances such as alcohol or tablets.
What is generalised anxiety disorder?
In generalised anxiety disorder, people have persistent excessive worries and fears that are not related to a specific situation. They are generally afraid of events such as accidents, disasters, serious illnesses, job loss, etc. that could affect them or relatives, but for which there are no obvious or understandable reasons. Since those affected are very often aware that they are overly afraid, the already common general fears are often joined by concerns about their own apprehension. Constant brooding and worries dictate their everyday life and attitude to life. Constant fears of all possibilities and tension also show up in a number of pronounced physical symptoms.
What are the symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder?
Generalised anxiety disorders are characterised by various psychological and physical symptoms that occur over a longer period of at least six months:
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Constant brooding over possible dangers
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Difficulty concentrating
- Muscle tension
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Fatigue
- Palpitations
- Dizziness
Generalised anxiety disorder: Anxiety as a way of life
Unlike with panic attacks, generalised anxiety disorders do not occur as attacks, but rather spread out over the day. Without treatment, the initially episodic and fluctuating symptoms can become chronic. This can lead to a decreasing ability to control worries, meaning that at some point those affected can no longer cope with their everyday lives, let alone pursue their job. In connection with a generalised anxiety disorder, other mental illnesses such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or addictions can occur.
Can an anxiety disorder go away on its own?
An anxiety disorder usually does not go away on its own. If severe anxiety disorder is not treated, it can become chronic and worsen over time. With anxiety disorders, fear can literally take on a life of its own. This often leads to a fear of expectation – that is, a fear of anxiety, resulting in a vicious circle that continues to fuel the course of the disease and which those affected often cannot escape by themselves.
Are anxiety disorders curable?
Anxiety disorders are generally easy to treat, especially if they are recognised at an early stage. Unfortunately, unspecific fears often remain undetected for far too long or are misdiagnosed. For one thing, those affected often do not go to the doctor because of their anxiety disorder, or they can only be examined there because of their physical symptoms. As a result, the correct diagnosis of anxiety disorders is delayed by an average of ten years, as studies have shown.
The causes of anxiety disorders are complex
Anxiety disorders arise from the interaction and influence of different factors:
- It is assumed that genetic factors, that is, the genetic make-up, play a certain role.
- But also the style of upbringing
- And the exemplified way of dealing with anxiety
- As well as traumatic and fearful events in childhood, e.g. physical and emotional violence, can be partly responsible for the development of anxiety disorders.
- The same applies to long-term and debilitating stresses that can occur later in life.
- Another important risk factor for anxiety disorders are disorders of certain neurobiological processes in the body. This is because for the stimulus-reaction scheme – i.e. the occurrence, control and regression of fear – information has to be exchanged between the nerve cells in the brain. This happens via different messenger substances. If these are in imbalance to one another, this can also increase the susceptibility to anxiety disorders.
Which therapies are right for anxiety disorders?
Effective therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders therefore have to start on many different levels, since psychological as well as physical and social aspects can play a role in the development of anxiety disorders. Current therapies, however, mostly focus only on the possibilities of psychotherapy and the use of psychiatric drugs.
We do it differently!
The CALDA Concept: How we can help you!
With the CALDA Concept, you receive a tailor-made and highly effective precision therapy based on the holistic principle. We work in a solution-oriented manner across several disciplines that work on different levels. In this way, extraordinary results can be achieved within a short period of time.
The CALDA Concept
Our motto and our promise to you:
We treat the causes, not the symptoms!
Wherever possible, we work without the use of psychiatric drugs!
We dedicate our time and our entire expertise exclusively to one single client.
Our 1:1 therapy according to the CALDA Concept is holistically orientated: This means that in addition to scientifically based methods from classical medicine, you will also be treated with the tried and tested healing methods from complementary medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and orthomolecular medicine.
The CALDA Concept (linked to https://caldaclinic.com/de/the-calda-concept/): Comprehensive diagnostics as a foundation
We focus on our extremely broad and in-depth diagnostics, which help us to uncover disease relationships that would often otherwise not have become visible.
Here you can find out more about the many different contents and advantages of the CALDA Concept as well as the different programmes of the CALDA Concept.
If you are suffering from an anxiety disorder, we recommend the CALDA Full Program.