Anxiety

When should I seek help for anxiety?

It’s normal for everyone to experience some anxiety because it triggers the physical response that energizes you to deal with situations that are dangerous or make you fearful.

However, sometimes anxiety becomes such a constant part of daily life that you become used to it, and it’s hard to know when it crosses the line to cause more serious mental and physical problems.

As a general guideline, when it becomes chronic and you’re stressed more often than not, anxiety is a problem. Chronic anxiety raises levels of the hormone cortisol, which suppresses your immune system, increases your risk of heart disease and weight gain, interferes with sleep, and can trigger panic attacks. 

If you’re often worried about future events or you purposefully avoid places and people due to anxiety, it’s time to schedule a consultation with Suburban Behavioral Health Services.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

Anxiety causes emotional and physical symptoms, including:

• Excessive fear
• Feeling irritable
• Filled with dread
• Extremely worried
• Pounding heart
• Sweating
• Upset stomach
• Insomnia

There are about 10 different types of anxiety disorders, and each one has its own set of symptoms in addition to the general list. 

For example, phobias cause fear of something specific, such as spiders, while generalized anxiety disorder may cause fatigue and muscle tension. Panic disorder gives rise to severe heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and chest pain.

How is anxiety treated? 

The team at Suburban Behavioral Health Services tailors your treatment to the unique characteristics of your specific anxiety disorder. They use rating scales to assess the severity of your anxiety and continue to follow your progress as you go through treatment.

To begin with, most treatment plans include medication to provide symptom relief and psychotherapy to help you identify and manage anxiety-producing situations.

If you have severe anxiety, or your symptoms haven’t improved with medication, your provider may recommend one of these cutting-edge therapies:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

During TMS treatment, you sit comfortably in a chair and wear a helmet over your head. Specialized electromagnetic coils in the helmet send magnetic pulses deep into carefully targeted areas of your brain. These pulses stimulate nerve activity, which restores chemical imbalances and alleviates anxiety.