Anxiety disorder is a term covering a number of conditions such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.
Millions of people throughout the world are affected by anxiety disorders leading them to experience the often debilitating presence of anxiety attack symptoms that disrupt their lives.
These symptoms are generally characterized by feelings of light headedness or dizziness: heart palpitations, sweating or trembling and perhaps hot flashes.
Other symptoms may include a fear of doing something embarrassing, having a feeling of doom -- even feeling as if they are about to die, stomach upset and numbness or tingling of hands, feet or lips.
The good news is that having an anxiety disorder need not control your life.
If you suspect that you suffer from an anxiety disorder, it is important to speak to your doctor immediately as treatment can, without doubt, change your life.
The first step to successful treatment is correct diagnosis as a number of symptoms associated with anxiety disorders may also be caused by other medical conditions.
Make sure that you describe the exact symptoms you experience.
You will most likely be given a physical examination and tests to eliminate other medical conditions that may be the cause of your anxiety.
Some of the treatments available to help overcome your anxiety disorder are therapy, also known as psychotherapy.
There are a number of different therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy where old behavior is replaced slowly with new behavior.
This works well for phobias.
When using psychodynamic therapy your professional will help you to look at the underlying causes of your condition.
In this way you are able to understand more and take control.
It is important to choose the therapy that works best for you and your condition.
Everyone is different and what works well for one may not work as well for another.
Medications can help to block certain overactive inhibitors in the brain that may be the cause of your anxiety disorder.
Medication also tends to treat the symptoms.
You should make sure this is the best solution as taking medication on a regular basis can lead to side effects.
Side effects may in fact cause more harm than the benefits the medication is giving you.
Your doctor is the best person to recommend these treatments.
Many non-traditional forms of treatment have been successful for treating anxiety disorders.
For some people anxiety attacks may be able to be controlled by learning meditation and doing yoga.
There is also acupuncture and acupressure you can try to deal with physical problems.
Hypnosis works well for phobias.
Whatever your anxiety disorder there is a way to turn your life around.