Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Anxiety is a condition associated with various emotions, thoughts and bodily reactions, and a strong desire to get rid of them. This avoidance of anxiety may lead to an anxiety disorder, but it’s possible to recover from it.
Everyone gets anxious at times, and sometimes fear gets hold of anyone’s thoughts. Anxiety is a natural and even necessary reaction, and not all anxiety is a sign of an anxiety disorder.
However, sometimes anxiety, fears and panic are left to bother you for too long and begin to limit and weaken your quality of life. But there’s no need to live with them for the rest of your life.
Even if there’s always a susceptibility to anxiety, fear and panic, you can learn to live a normal, good life with it.
What is anxiety disorder and what are its symptoms?
Anxiety disorders often start in adolescence and early adulthood and are more common amongst women than men. At least 5% of people suffer from an anxiety disorder during their lives.
There are many factors behind anxiety disorders. The susceptibility to anxiety, caution and social fears is partly hereditary or shaped by the growth environment. Somatic diseases, especially those causing severe or chronic pain, may also expose you to anxiety disorder.
Generalised anxiety disorder causes people to worry and become unreasonably anxious about matters and events related to different areas of life on a daily or almost daily basis. The mind can also be overcome by constant thoughts of catastrophe. The disorder often hinders coping with normal daily routines and work, as it often weakens the ability to concentrate, the quality of sleep, general energy and problem-solving.
What helps with anxiety disorder?
Disorders with anxiety and fear symptoms are common: at least one in ten people suffer from them during their lives. The most common ones are anxiety disorders, panic disorders, fear of social or public situations and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Milder anxiety, tension and fear symptoms are considerably more common.
If you notice that you or a someone close to you have symptoms that do not seem to ease and limit your life, it would be important to find the right treatment.
Cognitive psychotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy have proven to be the most effective forms of therapy. Unfortunately, therapy is not an option for everyone, in which case other forms of psychosocial treatment are emphasised.
Self-care methods and self-care programmes where you practise encountering the anxiety and increasing tolerance are often sufficient for mild symptoms. Such exercises are called exposure exercises. It’s also important to learn to calm the body with different methods, such as breathing exercises. Treatments provided by various professionals are also based on the aforementioned methods. In addition, habits affects anxiety. Sufficient rest, sleep, relaxation, eating rhythm and exercise suitable for you are important in treating anxiety.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves obsessive thoughts, either with or without compulsions. Obsessive thoughts are disturbing and time-consuming thoughts that are repeatedly intrusive, anxiety-inducing, unpleasant and strange. Obsessive thoughts may include the fear of doing something bad to someone or becoming seriously ill.
Some people with OCD try to reduce the anxiety related to obsessive thoughts by always acting in a certain way. Such compulsions may include a compulsive need to shower, to check several times that electrical devices are turned off or continuous counting of things. Occasional and mild obsessions and compulsions are common and do not yet indicate an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Approximately two to three per cent of people suffer from OCD at some point in their lives.
Panic disorder
Panic disorder involves recurring, severe anxiety attacks, that is, panic attacks. One in three people experience an individual panic attack at some point in their lives, whereas a panic disorder occurs in two to five per cent of people.
Panic attacks are normal, temporary and human reactions, for example, in difficult life situations and events, and often pass naturally. The symptoms may be diverse: palpitation, shortness of breath, tremors, sweating, visual and hearing distortions, numbness or tingling of the skin or paralysis. If the attacks are recurring, it’s common for the person to start avoiding situations or places where there’s a risk of attacks and where it could be difficult to get out.
Social phobias
If a person constantly fears and maps out situations in which they feel that they’re being observed, assessed and criticised by others, this may be a fear of social situations. Fear can trigger a reaction such as panic disorder and at worst, limit life every day and make the person avoid almost all interactions with other people. Sometimes this can be limited to performance situations.
Fear of public places
The fear of public places is related to places or situations where it may be difficult to get out when anxiety symptoms begin. The symptoms may resemble a panic attack. In this case, people often start avoiding places and situations that may include congested vehicles, situations requiring queuing, shopping centres, large parties, cinemas or other public places and events with a large number of people.
