What is Anxiety Disorder?

Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych MBA (UK), discusses What is Anxiety Disorder?

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Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych MBA (UK), discusses What is Anxiety Disorder?

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Video transcript

Featuring Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych (UK)
,What is Anxiety Disorder?
Duration: 48 seconds

Generalized anxiety disorder is common and a person that’s experiencing this particular condition tends to worry about everything in life, pretty much.

So when they go to bed, they start thinking about what’s going to happen the next day and they tend to worry about everything that’s going to happen the next day. They tend to have problems with sleep. They tend to have difficulties interacting with people. It tends to affect the functioning of the person.

If you think you have any of the symptoms of an anxiety disorder, please make sure to speak with your family physician and get appropriate help.

Presenter: Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, Psychiatrist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Psychiatrist

7 Common Anxiety Symptoms People Experience ( 7 participated.)

Many people wonder what anxiety feels like. While it’s different for everyone, there are some common anxiety symptoms that people experience.

Questions		True	False
1	A Sense of Panic : Some people even visit the emergency room during a panic attack because they’re convinced that they’re having a heart attack or are dying. Panic attack symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, tightness in your chest, a feeling of choking, nausea and a fear you’re going crazy.
2	Sleep Problems : If you have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), it can keep you up at night. You may stay awake overthinking and overanalyzing situations or get into a cycle where fatigue makes you more anxious as you get more and more overtired.
3	Muscle Pain: When you feel stressed for an extended period of time, your body may start to tense up. During a panic attack, adrenaline often pumps through your body, constricting your blood vessels. If your muscles don’t receive proper blood flow, it can lead to aches and pains.
4	Restlessness: People with anxiety are constantly responding to the fight or flight system, even though there is no real danger. With so much adrenaline coursing through your body, restlessness is generally the result. Restlessness can also be caused by a feeling of dread or danger, common during panic attacks.
5	Excessive Worrying: Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, whether you worry about family, your job or money. But if you have generalized anxiety disorder, you get into a cycle of constant worrying and negative thinking that interferes with your daily tasks.
6	Loss of Control: One of the most common anxiety symptoms is a sense of losing control. You may feel that if you can’t control everything in your life that something bad will happen. Worrying can exacerbate your sense of losing control, such as worrying about what will happen if you lose your job or if a family member dies.
7	Difficulty Focusing: If you have generalized anxiety disorder, the worrying and rapid thoughts can distract you from daily life. Sleep problems, restlessness and muscle pain can exhaust you physically, also making it hard to keep your mind on your job, family or hobbies.

This content is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.