Can Codependency CAUSE Generalized Anxiety?
The Answer is YES!
Surveys of the general population have been conducted in an attempt to assess how widespread various aspects of anxiety are. These surveys suggest that as many as one-third of all adults suffer from nervous conditions especially anxiety (Dader).
The proportion is lower for males, the economically well off, and
the young; it is higher for female s, the poor, and the
elderly. The clinical workers who probably see the greatest
number of anxiety symptoms are physicians in general
practice, who often prescribe tranquilizing drugs for
anxious patients. One tranquilizer, Valium, has become
the most frequently prescribed drug in the United
States. Find statistics for Western Europe are similar
(Koumjian).
The characteristics of anxiety can be caused by codependency...
and also include feelings of uncertainty, helplessness,
and physiological arousal. A
person who experiences anxiety complains of feeling
nervous, tense, jumpy, and irritable.
Often he or she has difficulty falling asleep at night. An
anxious person fatigued easily and has "butterflies
in the stomach," as well as headaches, muscle tension,
and difficulty in concentrating.
Common symptoms of anxiety and self-descriptions
given by people with high levels of anxiety .
The experience of intense anxiety may occur after
an event has taken place, in anticipation of a future
event, or when a person decides to resist a preoccupying
idea, change an undesirable aspect of behavior, or approach
a fear arousing stimulus. Although the behaviors observed
in anxiety disorders vary widely, they have nothing
in common. Earlier we discussed one kind of
anxiety disorder, the post-traumatic stress disorder,
which occurs after an intensely traumatic event such as
a serious accident or natural disaster . In this article we
discuss four types of disorders: (-which the causes of
anxiety usually are not so clear) i.e generalized anxiety
disorder is marked by chronic anxiety over a long period
( at least several months). A panic disorder consists of
recurrent, sudden anxiety attacks in which the individual
expresses intense terror and dread . In phobic disorders,
the anxiety has an identifiable cause - for example,
being near dogs or having to speak to a group. When
the stimulus is not present, the phobic person's tension
level is relatively low. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
anxiety results from efforts to prevent undesirable Out.
comes. The individual is plagued with a recurrent need
to war off disaster by thinking about certain ideas and/
or performing certain acts.
Common Anxiety Symptoms and Self-Descriptions
Indicative of High Anxiety Symptoms
1. Nervousness, jitteriness
2. Tension
3. Feeling tired
4. Dizziness
5. Frequency of urination
6. Heart palpitations
7. Feeling faint
8. Breathlessness
9. Sweating
10. Trembling
11. Worry and apprehension
12. Sleeplessness
3. Difficulty in concentrating
14. Vigilance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Self-Descriptions
1. I am often bothered by the thumping of my heart.
2. Little annoyances get on my nerves and irritate me.
3. I often suddenly become scared for no good reason.
4. I worry continuously and that gets me down.
5. I frequently get spells of complete exhaustion and
fatigue.
6. It is always hard for me to make up my mind.
7. I always seem to be dreading something.
8. I feel nervous and high-strung all the time.
9. I often feel I can't overcome my difficulties.
10. I feel constantly under strain,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many clinicians would describe people who are
suffering from anxiety disorders as neurotic.
Early versions of the classification system that was
strongly influenced by the psychodynamic perspective,
the word neurosis was used to describe disorders
marked by anxiety, personal dissatisfaction, and inappropriate behavior. These were
grouped together because it was thought that they all
arose from somewhat similar unconscious mental processes
and motivations. Though this view may some day,
be substantiated , that day has not yet arrived. Because
DSM is designed to satisfy maladaptive behavior
on the basis of 0E-servable characteristics rather than
theories about its source, it uses the obvious presence of
marked anxiety as the criterion for including disorders
in this group. In DSM they are referred to as anxiety disorder.
Some of the disorders from the former
neurosis category in which anxiety is not so openly expressed,
such as depressive neurosis and hysterical neurosis, have been
placed in other categories. This article is restricted to
a discussion of disorders in which the
individual is abnormally anxious, either generally or under
certain circumstances, but still has adequate contact
with reality and is rarely incapacitated enough to require
institutionalization. The role of anxiety in several other
disorders is described in later articles.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is usually defined as a vague, very un-easy feeling
of fear and apprehension. The anxious person worries a
lot, particularly about known dangers.
In addition, the anxious individual shows combinations
of the following symptoms: rapid heart rate,
shortness of breath, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fainting,
dizziness, sweating, sleeplessness, frequent urination,
and tremors. All of these physical symptoms accompany
fear as well as anxiety.
Frightened people, however, can easily state what they are afraid of.
People who suffer from anxiety disorders, on the other hand, are not
aware of the reasons for their fear. Thus, even though fear and
anxiety involve similar reactions, the cause of worry is not at all clear latter.
With generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety persists for
at least a month (usually much longer) and is not attributable
to recent life experiences. The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder
are several types: motor tension, hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system,
dread of the future and hyper vigilance.
~Motor tension. Individuals with this symptom are un-
likely to relax, are keyed up, and are visibly shaky with
tense. Strained facial expressions are common, as are
furrowed brows and deep sighs.
~Autonomic reactivity. In individuals with this
symptom, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
system seem to be working overtime. There is some
combination of sweating, dizziness, pounding or
racing heart, hot or cold spells, cold and clammy
hands, upset stomach, light-headedness, frequent urination
or defecation, lump in the throat, and high
pulse and respiration rates.
~Apprehensive feelings about the future. People with
generalized anxiety disorders worry about what the
future holds for them, for people close to them, or
for their valued possessions.
~Hyper-focus. People who suffer from generalized
anxiety adopt a sentry like stance in their approach
to life. (He constantly scans the environment for DANGER).
More on Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment
Surveys of the general population have been conducted in an attempt to assess how widespread various aspects of anxiety are. These surveys suggest that as many as one-third of all adults suffer from nervous conditions especially anxiety (Dader).
The proportion is lower for males, the economically well off, and
the young; it is higher for female s, the poor, and the
elderly. The clinical workers who probably see the greatest
number of anxiety symptoms are physicians in general
practice, who often prescribe tranquilizing drugs for
anxious patients. One tranquilizer, Valium, has become
the most frequently prescribed drug in the United
States. Find statistics for Western Europe are similar
(Koumjian).
The characteristics of anxiety can be caused by codependency...
and also include feelings of uncertainty, helplessness,
and physiological arousal. A
person who experiences anxiety complains of feeling
nervous, tense, jumpy, and irritable.
Often he or she has difficulty falling asleep at night. An
anxious person fatigued easily and has "butterflies
in the stomach," as well as headaches, muscle tension,
and difficulty in concentrating.
Common symptoms of anxiety and self-descriptions
given by people with high levels of anxiety .
The experience of intense anxiety may occur after
an event has taken place, in anticipation of a future
event, or when a person decides to resist a preoccupying
idea, change an undesirable aspect of behavior, or approach
a fear arousing stimulus. Although the behaviors observed
in anxiety disorders vary widely, they have nothing
in common. Earlier we discussed one kind of
anxiety disorder, the post-traumatic stress disorder,
which occurs after an intensely traumatic event such as
a serious accident or natural disaster . In this article we
discuss four types of disorders: (-which the causes of
anxiety usually are not so clear) i.e generalized anxiety
disorder is marked by chronic anxiety over a long period
( at least several months). A panic disorder consists of
recurrent, sudden anxiety attacks in which the individual
expresses intense terror and dread . In phobic disorders,
the anxiety has an identifiable cause - for example,
being near dogs or having to speak to a group. When
the stimulus is not present, the phobic person's tension
level is relatively low. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
anxiety results from efforts to prevent undesirable Out.
comes. The individual is plagued with a recurrent need
to war off disaster by thinking about certain ideas and/
or performing certain acts.
Common Anxiety Symptoms and Self-Descriptions
Indicative of High Anxiety Symptoms
1. Nervousness, jitteriness
2. Tension
3. Feeling tired
4. Dizziness
5. Frequency of urination
6. Heart palpitations
7. Feeling faint
8. Breathlessness
9. Sweating
10. Trembling
11. Worry and apprehension
12. Sleeplessness
3. Difficulty in concentrating
14. Vigilance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Self-Descriptions
1. I am often bothered by the thumping of my heart.
2. Little annoyances get on my nerves and irritate me.
3. I often suddenly become scared for no good reason.
4. I worry continuously and that gets me down.
5. I frequently get spells of complete exhaustion and
fatigue.
6. It is always hard for me to make up my mind.
7. I always seem to be dreading something.
8. I feel nervous and high-strung all the time.
9. I often feel I can't overcome my difficulties.
10. I feel constantly under strain,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many clinicians would describe people who are
suffering from anxiety disorders as neurotic.
Early versions of the classification system that was
strongly influenced by the psychodynamic perspective,
the word neurosis was used to describe disorders
marked by anxiety, personal dissatisfaction, and inappropriate behavior. These were
grouped together because it was thought that they all
arose from somewhat similar unconscious mental processes
and motivations. Though this view may some day,
be substantiated , that day has not yet arrived. Because
DSM is designed to satisfy maladaptive behavior
on the basis of 0E-servable characteristics rather than
theories about its source, it uses the obvious presence of
marked anxiety as the criterion for including disorders
in this group. In DSM they are referred to as anxiety disorder.
Some of the disorders from the former
neurosis category in which anxiety is not so openly expressed,
such as depressive neurosis and hysterical neurosis, have been
placed in other categories. This article is restricted to
a discussion of disorders in which the
individual is abnormally anxious, either generally or under
certain circumstances, but still has adequate contact
with reality and is rarely incapacitated enough to require
institutionalization. The role of anxiety in several other
disorders is described in later articles.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is usually defined as a vague, very un-easy feeling
of fear and apprehension. The anxious person worries a
lot, particularly about known dangers.
In addition, the anxious individual shows combinations
of the following symptoms: rapid heart rate,
shortness of breath, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fainting,
dizziness, sweating, sleeplessness, frequent urination,
and tremors. All of these physical symptoms accompany
fear as well as anxiety.
Frightened people, however, can easily state what they are afraid of.
People who suffer from anxiety disorders, on the other hand, are not
aware of the reasons for their fear. Thus, even though fear and
anxiety involve similar reactions, the cause of worry is not at all clear latter.
With generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety persists for
at least a month (usually much longer) and is not attributable
to recent life experiences. The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder
are several types: motor tension, hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system,
dread of the future and hyper vigilance.
~Motor tension. Individuals with this symptom are un-
likely to relax, are keyed up, and are visibly shaky with
tense. Strained facial expressions are common, as are
furrowed brows and deep sighs.
~Autonomic reactivity. In individuals with this
symptom, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
system seem to be working overtime. There is some
combination of sweating, dizziness, pounding or
racing heart, hot or cold spells, cold and clammy
hands, upset stomach, light-headedness, frequent urination
or defecation, lump in the throat, and high
pulse and respiration rates.
~Apprehensive feelings about the future. People with
generalized anxiety disorders worry about what the
future holds for them, for people close to them, or
for their valued possessions.
~Hyper-focus. People who suffer from generalized
anxiety adopt a sentry like stance in their approach
to life. (He constantly scans the environment for DANGER).
More on Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment