Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic Disorder

Excerpted from
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic Attacks: The All-Natural Program That Can Help You Conquer Your Fears
By Douglas Hunt, M.D.

If you suffer with symptoms of anxiety, phobias, or panic disorder, you are not to blame-and you are not alone. Especially in our modern society', which grows more complicated and frustrating every day, anxiety disorders are commonplace. In fact, 6 percent of men and 13 percent of women in the United States have an anxiety disorder, according to a recent survey by the National Institutes of Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area, and medications are standard treatment. Many of my own friends and colleagues rely on one or more medications so they can ease anxiety and function productively.

I myself use the nutritional supplements I prescribe for my patients. For instance, I use my stress spray during daytime hours to stay relaxed and fall asleep easily at night. I believe that most people would choose a natural remedy over a medication, if only they knew about the options. The problem is, most people don't know exactly what's out there or how to distinguish between and take advantage of the many supplements lining natural food store shelves. Here's where my book comes in.

Anxiety Is Commonplace

One patient of mine-we'll call her Judith-said her anxiety began around the time of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Although this young magazine editor was shy most of her life, Judith suddenly became fearful of every new situation. Instead of going to clubs or shopping with friends on weekends, Judith had extra deadbolt locks put on her door and spent long hours in her small Manhattan apartment, peering out the window for anything suspicious. When asked to travel abroad with close friends, something Judith normally enjoyed doing, she quickly made up an excuse to avoid being put in a precarious situation of another possible attack.

Finally, it came to the point where Judith could not walk down the streets of Manhattan to her daily editing job without experiencing rapid heart rate, breathlessness, and a sense of numbness or disorientation. She took a leave from her job and lived with a close friend until she regained her confidence again.

When a person suffers anxiety, fear colors everything around them. The greater the level of anxiety, the greater the fear of common hazards-hazards that seldom bother others. You don't have to live this way! Treatment for anxiety disorders is readily available. Still, many people like Judith avoid seeing a doctor or they fail to disclose their problems to the doctor honestly-and completely miss an active life.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, a survey of physicians showed a significant increase in prescriptions of anti-stress medications. During this same time, doctors referred vastly more patients out to counselors than in previous years. Today, the number of people who are actively being treated for anxiety is just the tip of the iceberg. Yet countless people with similar levels of anxiety are suffering silently like Judith, afraid that their symptoms might be dismissed as trivial, afraid that they will be blamed for their problem altogether.

Anxious adults are not the only victims. Kids are fast approaching adult numbers when we consider the frequency with which they are placed on drugs. According to data published in the January 2003 issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, children are two to three times more likely to be given psychotropic medication now than they were in 1987, and these numbers are escalating.

Another comprehensive study of 3,242 youths between the ages of fifteen and nineteen, reported at the 2003 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, reveals that 36 percent of the participants reported a lifetime history of at least one period of depression for at least two weeks. Many of the adolescents told of having years of depression. Anxiety and related problems know no barriers in age or gender.

As we grow up, there are the normal states of anxiety that are universal. Preschoolers find certain objects or situations frightening. In grade school, fears focus more on physical harm and health. Adolescents agonize over social adequacy and performance. Within this enormous pool of kids growing up are some who are more sensitive than others. In fact, some experts believe that 10 to 15 percent of all children are anxious enough to be classified as having an anxiety disorder.

In addition to the group that falls within the normal range, you might question if there's a more extreme group outside the spectrum. Can it be that genetically predisposed individuals, who are more vulnerable, become more anxious than others under approximately the same levels of stress? I'll try to answer this question as I further explain the specific disorders.

Understanding Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders. Because no one can predict the future, some level of worry is normal and will always exist. Yet, undeniably, certain events suggest a greater chance of loss than others. Personal security, important relationships, freedom, or rare opportunities all may be uncertain and become a cause of great concern. The level of value you place on the unsettled circumstance or event determines your level of anxiety. While everyone worries about uncertainty, at least one out of seven people suffer from chronic anxiety.

In this book, I discuss a variety of anxiety disorders, which include phobias, fears, panic attacks, and stress-related maladies, among others. But first, let's look at the difference between the terms "anxiety," "fear," and "stress":

Fear - a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger.

Anxiety - a distressed mind caused by the fear of something.

Stress - an emotional tension caused by something frightening that may also destabilize the physiology of the body.

The term "stress" includes the element of physiological change. However, other than that difference, fear, anxiety, and stress are very similar in meaning, and all three are frequently interchanged in scientific literature.

In my mind, the terms "fear" and "anxiety" are the same, and any attempt to separate their meaning would be splitting hairs. The word "stress" may be used in place of "anxiety" with complete accuracy, but it may also be used when describing a stress-induced ulcer because of prolonged anxiety. The term "stress" is a broader term because it has been used in scientific fields other than psychology or medicine. For example, engineers use the term "stress" to describe metal fatigue, meaning a weakening of the metal parts of machines.