Anxiety disorders are types of mental health conditions that inhibit people from spending their days peacefully. Some of the symptoms of anxiety disorders are panic, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, and fear. Ideally, any person can suffer from any type of anxiety disorder due to various reasons. For instance, one may feel anxious about tackling a problem, going to an interview, and taking tests. In the Army, a troop might be anxious during mission commands when planning to tackle a dangerous enemy. Apart from being dangerous to lifestyles, anxiety can be beneficial since it can enable people to identify dangerous circumstances and focus on mitigation strategies. Some of the anxiety disorders are social anxiety disorders, separation anxiety, and panic disorders. These anxiety disorders affect the quality of life that people lead. It is critical to examine the effects of anxiety disorders on the quality of life and how to prevent, minimize, or treat them.
Effect of anxiety disorders on Quality of life
Since anxiety disorders are mental health problems and issues, they can easily affect a person’s daily life either positively or negatively. However, the problems associated with anxiety disorders supersede the few benefits. For an anxiety disorder to develop in a person, their feelings of fear, panic, or worry must blow out of proportion and fail to get away. People suffering from anxiety disorders show various symptoms like dizziness, fear, and overthinking, among others. Without effective treatment mechanisms, these anxiety disorders can affect people’s daily lives like their relationships with people and their mental health (Danneel et al., 2019). One impact of anxiety disorders on the quality of life and health is that it causes neurological problems in people. The sympathetic nervous systems (SNS) of people usually overwork when a person suffers from any anxiety disorder. The SNS is responsible for the flight and fight response in people which arises due to threats. When the disorders interfere with the SNS, they will interfere with its functions and cause more health problems such as trouble healing from illnesses, injuries, and sleeping issues (Korkmaz et al., 2020). Besides, the disorders cause muscle strains and tensions that result in back pains and unending headaches. These issues impact the lives of people negatively.
Another effect of anxiety disorders on the quality of life is that it causes digestive issues in people. Digestive problems are the earliest problems caused by anxiety problems in people. Some of the digestive issues that people might experience due to these disorders are stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea (Meuret et al., 2020). Some people might lose weight and appetite due to the problems of anxiety. Furthermore, chronic anxiety an interfere with and impair a person’s immune system, thus, making them more susceptible to stomach ulcers. Cardiovascular health problems also arise due to anxiety disorders. When people are anxious and are stressed up, their blood pressure and heart rates usually rise. It implies that their blood vessels would grow stiffer and result in greater risks of stroke or heart attacks (Meuret et al., 2020). Therefore, it is vital to minimize or eradicate the causes of anxiety disorders on people and improve their lives positively.
Anxiety disorders inhibits people from taking risks in their lives and trying out new things. It implies that they become caged in by their fears, worries, and panic of impacts of things they wish to try out. They anxiety and worries keep them from trying out things they would like to do in their lives. It implies that the anxiety disorders interfere with their quality of lives and end up unfulfilling their potentials and life goals. Besides, anxiety issues also interfere with the relationships of people. Ideally, people are social creatures who should have good relationships with people to enhance their happiness. However, anxiety disorders affect these crucial relationships that people should possess. Since the disorders interfere with the willingness of people to try newer things, it limits their relationships with people close to them who might be attempting to try the new things with them (Danneel et al., 2019). Some people can also become more anxious and isolate themselves from others due to the fear of rejection. The fear of rejection arises from the high stakes people put on social acceptance in the community since it creates social anxiety (Danneel et al., 2019). Getting alienated from people can result in more health problems such as weight loss and short-temperedness.
Anxiety disorders also increase addiction among people. There is a high overlap between substance use issues and anxiety problems (Rehm & Shield, 2019). For instance, people with anxiety disorders at times want some forms of products to relieve them from the symptoms. For instance, some might resort to alcohol use and prescription drugs like benzodiazepines. However, benzodiazepines are highly addictive and can make people use them regularly and become dependent on them. The dependence on these drugs and alcohol use cause addiction that will have to be treated together with the anxiety disorders (Rehm & Shield, 2019). It would be hard to control the disorders once it creates high addiction but they can be treated through use of various mechanisms.
Ways of treating anxiety disorders
The anxiety disorders can be treated through medications and psychotherapy. A combination of both strategies can be effective in completely treating the anxiety disorders. Psychotherapy entails working with therapist to minimize and eradicate the anxiety symptoms. For instance, using cognitive behavioral therapy can teach the patients to start carrying out activities that they avoided due to fear and anxiety. It includes exposure therapy that counters the causes of anxiety thus enhancing their confidence and managing the symptoms more effectively (Bandelow et al., 2022). Besides, using medications can also relieve people from the causes of anxiety and assist them in carrying out their life activities normally. Examples of medications include certain types of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines. However, these medications should always be taken under doctors’ prescriptions since they can cause other health effects like addiction when abused (Bandelow et al., 2022). Doctors are responsible for taking the anxiety disorders’ patients through the importance of the medications, risks associated with them, and their side effects. It will enable the patients to learn about the medications and use them effectively and conveniently.
Conclusion
Anxiety disorders arise due to prolonged fear, worry, or panic that refuse to get away from a person. Anxiety disorders interfere with the capacity and ability of people to go through their daily lives effectively. For instance, they might fear undertaking different activities and withdraw from their social relationships with people. They can end up developing healthcare issues like addiction, cardiovascular problems, neurological, and digestive issues. These anxiety disorders can be treated through psychotherapy sessions and medications. However, due to the sensitivity of the medications, the doctors should always talk to their patients and take them through the benefits, risks, and possible side impacts of the anxiety drugs.
References
Bandelow, B., Michaelis, S., & Wedekind, D. (2022). Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 19, 93-107. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow
Danneel, S., Nelemans, S., Spithoven, A., Bastin, M., Bijttebier, P., Colpin, H., … & Goossens, L. (2019). Internalizing problems in adolescence: Linking loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms over time. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 47, 1691-1705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00539-0
Korkmaz, S., Kazgan, A., Çekiç, S., Tartar, A. S., Balcı, H. N., & Atmaca, M. (2020). The anxiety levels, quality of sleep and life and problem-solving skills in healthcare workers employed in COVID-19 services. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 80, 131-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2020.07.073
Meuret, A. E., Tunnell, N., & Roque, A. (2020). Anxiety disorders and medical comorbidity: treatment implications. Anxiety disorders: Rethinking and understanding recent discoveries, 237-261. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9705-0_15
Rehm, J., & Shield, K. D. (2019). Global burden of disease and the impact of mental and addictive disorders. Current psychiatry reports, 21, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-0997-0
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