If you, or someone you know is thinking about suicide or hurting yourself/themselves
Please Call 911 for Emergencies
(800) 273-8255- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and answered locally.
General Anxiety Disorder
What is Anxiety?
A mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry, anxiety, or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities.
What are the symptoms?
- Usually self-diagnosable
- Symptoms include stress that's out of proportion to the impact of the event, inability to set aside a worry, and restlessness.
- People may experience:
- Whole body: fatigue, restlessness, or sweating
- Behavioral: hypervigilance or irritability
- Cognitive: racing thoughts or unwanted thoughts
- Also common: anxiety, excessive worry, fear, feeling of impending doom, insomnia, nausea, palpitations, poor concentration, or trembling
How is anxiety treated?
First, talk to your athletic trainer, doctor, or health care professional about your symptoms.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: A talk therapy focused on modifying negative thoughts, behaviors, and emotional responses associated with psychological distress.
- Meditation:Improves mental health and helps with relaxation.
- Psychotherapy: Treatment of mental or behavioral disorders through talk therapy.
Is there anything I can do to help myself?
- Avoid alcohol: May be harmful and aggravate certain conditions.
- Reduce caffeine intake: Reduces risk of aggravating certain conditions.
- Physical exercise: Aerobic activity for 20-30 minutes 5 days a week improves cardiovascular health. If injured, pursuing an activity that avoids the injured muscle group or joint can help maintain physical function while recovering.
- Stress management: Pursuing an enjoyable activity or verbalizing frustration to reduce stress and improve mental health.
- Quitting smoking: Quitting smoking tobacco.
- Relaxation techniques: Deep breathing, meditation, yoga, rhythmic exercise, and other activities that reduce symptoms of stress
- Healthy diet: A diet that provides essential nutrients and adequate calories, while avoiding excess sugar, carbohydrates, and fatty foods.
Who can treat me?
- Clinical psychologist:Treats mental disorders primarily with talk therapy.
- Psychiatrist: Treats mental disorders primarily with medications.
- Primary care provider (PCP): Prevents, diagnoses, and treats diseases.
Links/Resources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
