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ANXIETY
What you need to know about Anxiety .
It is normal to feel anxious when you are stressed or have problems. Normal anxiety is temporary, and its symptoms(e.g. worry, fast heartbeats, sweaty/shaky hands, headache/tension)subside when you overcome the stress or solve the problem. But anxiety is abnormal if:
- you worry about things that normally would not cause much concern to most people;
- you continue to worry long after the problem has been solved/gone away;
- you worry about unlikely/unrealistic events e.g. dying from cancer though you are healthy;
- it affects your work/daily life.
Abnormal anxiety or excessive worry can make you ill, or worsen any illness you may already have.
SYMPTOMS
- Difficulty in sleeping.
- Constant worry/fear that something bad may happen.
- Expecting the worst in any situation.
- Poor concentration, deterioration in work performance.
- Loss of confidence, unable to make decisions.
- Palpitations (fast heartbeats),fast breathing.
- Stomach ache/diarrhoea, frequent urge to urinate.
- Sweaty/shaky hands.
- Feel dizzy/faint.
- Headache/neck ache, tense muscles.
- Tingling sensation/cramps in hands and feet.
- Undue worrying about own physical health. (Sometimes, these symptoms can occur suddenly for no apparent reason in a severe episode called a 'panic attack').
COMPLICATIONS
- Severe anxiety, where the person spends so much time worrying until he has little time for anything else. He isolates himself at home to avoid facing people/situations that worry him.
- Depression.
COMMON CAUSES
- No apparent cause.
- Not knowing how to relax.
- Inability to cope with stress from the daily demands of life.
- Being inadequately prepared/trained to handle problems/make decisions.
WHAT YOUR DOCTOR/PHARMACIST CAN DO FOR YOU.
- Give simple counselling.
- Treat with sedatives/tranquilizers.
- Refer you for psychotherapy.
- Refer you to a psychiatrist.
- Prescribe appropriate vitamin supplements to control the condition.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Do exercise to relax the mind and body.
- Talk to someone close to you on your worries.
- Ask for counselling from specified personel.
- Seek for the spiritual truth concerning your anxiety.
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