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Sample of Hamilton Anxiety Scale Practical
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Anxiety refers to a sense of agitation or nervousness, which is often focused on an upcoming potential danger. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” It might cause one to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be considered as a normal reaction to stress. For example, one might feel anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test or before making an important decision. The anxiety may give a person a boost of energy or help them focus. But for people with anxiety disorders, the fear is not temporary and can be overwhelming. An anxiety disorder, on the other hand, involves extreme anxiety, intense arousal, and extreme attempts to avoid stimuli that lead to fear and anxiety. The APA describes a person with anxiety disorder as “having recurrent intrusive thoughts or concerns”. These emotions like fear and anxiety, or the efforts to avoid experiencing them, can create a high level of distress, which can interfere with normal functioning. They differ from transient fear or anxiety, often stress-induced, by being persistent (e.g., typically lasting 6 months or more). Many of the anxiety disorders develop in childhood and tend to persist if not treated.
Physical Symptoms A. Motoric Symptoms: Tremors; Restlessness; Muscle twitches; Fearful facial expression B. Autonomic and Visceral Symptoms: Palpitations; Tachycardia; Sweating; Flushes; Dyspnoea; Hyperventilation; Constriction in the chest; Dry mouth; Frequency and hesitancy of micturition; Dizziness; Diarrhoea; Mydriasis Psychological Symptoms A. Cognitive Symptoms: Poor concentration; Distractibility; Hyperarousal; Vigilance or scanning; Negative automatic thoughts B. Perceptual Symptoms: Derealisation; Depersonalisation C. Affective Symptoms: Diffuse, unpleasant, and vague sense of apprehension; Fearfulness; Inability to relax; Irritability; Feeling of impending doom (when severe) D. Other Symptoms: Insomnia (initial); Increased sensitivity to noise; Exaggerated startle response.
According to the DSM-5, these are the various types of anxiety disorders:
1. Separation Anxiety Disorder (309.21): Separation anxiety disorder is characterized by a persistent fear of being away from home or without an attachment figure. This usually causes the person significant distress, and they may have difficulty going to school or work due to the separation.
disorder refers to the inability to speak in specific social situations. When encountering other individuals in social interactions, children with selective mutism do not initiate speech or reciprocally respond when spoken to by others.
3. Specific Phobia (300.29): It is common for individuals to have multiple specific phobias. A key feature of this disorder is that the fear or anxiety is circumscribed to the presence of a particular situation or object, which may be termed the phobic stimulus. There are generally five categories of specific phobias: animal type (spiders, snakes, dogs), natural environment type (tornadoes, heights, water, fire), blood injection type (Needles, medical procedures), situational type (flying on an airplane, enclosed spaces), other type (phobias that do not fit into the previous four categories). 4. Social Anxiety Disorder (300.23 ): The essential feature of social anxiety disorder is a marked, or intense, fear or anxiety of social situations in which the individual may be scrutinized by others. When exposed to such social situations, the individual fears that he or she will be negatively evaluated. The individual fears that he or she will act or appear in a certain way or show anxiety symptoms, such as blushing, trembling, sweating, stumbling over one’s words, or staring. 5. Panic Disorder (300.01): Panic disorder is a common mental health condition in which a person experiences recurrent panic attacks. A panic attack is an abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and during which time four or more of a list of 13 physical and cognitive symptoms occur. Some of the physical symptoms that may signal the presence of a panic attack include : dizziness, nausea, racing heart, trembling, sweating, chills, shortness of breath, the sensation of choking, chest pain, etc., 6. Agoraphobia (300.22): The essential feature of agoraphobia is marked, or intense, fear or anxiety triggered by the real or anticipated exposure to a wide range of situations like, using public transportation, such as automobiles, buses, trains, ships, or planes; 2) being in open spaces, such as parking lots, marketplaces, or bridges; 3) being in enclosed spaces, such as shops, theatres, or cinemas; 4) standing in line or being in a crowd; or 5) being outside of the home alone. When experiencing fear and
substance use. Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications, may also tend to increase anxiety.
Management will usually involve a combined approach (pharmacological and psychological).
and help one function better. Medications for anxiety disorders often include:
response to the illness. A mental health professional talks through strategies to help them better understand and manage the disorder. Approaches include:
Relaxation techniques include: progressive muscle relaxation , abdominal breathing, isometric relaxation exercises.
Lindsey Konkel, Anxiety disorders: what is anxiety? Symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention , https://www.everydayhealth.com/anxiety/guide Anxiety disorders , https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/anxiety-disorders/what-are- anxiety-disorders Anxiety disorders , https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9536-anxiety-disorders