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Severe anxiety takes hold of your life, making it hard to get quality sleep or even eat. When it takes over your everyday activities, you need expert treatment to overcome your feelings of worry and fear.
When you're tired of dealing with anxiety daily, the Pacific Phoenix TMS team provides you with compassionate care and customized treatments. Dr. Elia R. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is our psychiatry expert, offering care to everyone who comes through the door with a mental health concern.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a mental health issue that causes extreme fear or worries, even when there's no apparent danger. Although everyone experiences slight anxiety in certain situations, feeling anxiety daily is not normal.
Anxiety is a normal response your body experiences when you're nervous or scared. You may feel anxious before a big test or when preparing for a first date. However, those feelings typically subside on their own.
However, if anxiety overtakes your life and you often feel overwhelmed, you may have an anxiety disorder. Several types of anxiety disorders exist, including general anxiety disorder, panic disorders, and phobias.
General anxiety disorder is the most common form of anxiety. If you have this disorder, you may worry about life situations like death, money, and work. Your worries are often overwhelming and happen daily for at least six months.
Anxiety is a severe problem for many people. It may cause difficulty sleeping and changes your appetite when it gets bad. Severe anxiety requires professional treatment in many cases.
Understanding anxiety symptoms
Everyone experiences different symptoms when it comes to anxiety. Your symptoms may come and go or be relatively constant. The symptoms are usually enough to disrupt your daily life and make it challenging to go about your normal activities.
If you have a general anxiety disorder, you may experience any of the following symptoms regularly:
- Restlessness
- Extreme worry
- Trouble sleeping
- Trouble concentrating
- Irritability
- Rapid heartbeat
- Unexplained pain
- Changes in your appetite
Worrying from anxiety often interferes with every aspect of your life, including your job and relationships. The symptoms of anxiety are exaggerated compared to natural stress. However, plenty of treatments are available to help you manage these symptoms.
What treatments can help?
You must get professional treatment when your anxiety is so bad that you're struggling to sleep or eat. Dr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is an expert when it comes to mental health issues like anxiety and offers the following treatments for anxiety:
Medications
Dr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez also offers medications to help you tame anxiety symptoms. She evaluates your symptoms to determine the best medication for you. Typical medications Dr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez uses for anxiety management are antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Lifestyle changes
Some things you partake in daily may be contributing to your anxiety symptoms. Lifestyle changes help you manage your symptoms effectively.
For example, you can cut back on caffeine, avoid alcohol and drugs, and get regular exercise. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of rest are vital in managing your symptoms.
Counseling
Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the leading forms of treatment for anxiety. Dr. Elia Gonzalez-Rodriguez and her team can recommend a qualified therapist who can tend to your counseling needs and work with the team on a joint course of treatment.
Self-care
Self-care can help you with anxiety without needing expert treatment in some cases. It's crucial that you try to manage your stress levels and practice relaxation exercises like meditation or yoga. Having a good support team is also a vital part of anxiety management.
Call 360-828-7802 to reach our Pacific Phoenix TMS team today at either of our convenient offices in Salmon Creek or East Vancouver, Washington. You may also request an appointment on our website.