Anxiety and College Students

Anyone know what anxiety is?

What is Anxiety? A normal human emotion that everyone experiences at times; feelings of fear, worry, or uneasiness Feelings of intrusive thoughts or concerns Can be a reaction to stress Anxiety helps us anticipate difficulties ahead and prepare for them Last bullet: note that anxiety can be beneficial, alert us if were in danger

What can cause anxiety… Problems at work or in school Tests or obligations Relationship and friend issues Family Financial problems Uncertain about career choices / future Alcohol Life

EVERYONE experiences anxiety! What gives you anxiety? EVERYONE experiences anxiety! Write down a couple of things that give you anxiety

Physical and Emotional Manifestations Cold or sweaty hands & feet Shortness of breath Dry mouth Heart palpitations Muscle tension Physical weakness Numbness Nausea Dizziness Fear or confusion Inability to relax Poor concentration Feelings of panic Feeling nervous Feeling powerless Sense of impeding danger, panic, or doom

Fight or Flight Involuntary response in which internal processes prepare someone to either fight the perceived threat or run away It is triggered when we view a situation as threatening Was a necessary response when we used to encounter physical dangers on a daily basis  now most of our dangers are psychological Example: you see a lion, heart beats, muscles tense up, intensely alert, you are paralyzed for a second with fear and then you make a decision to either defend yourself or run away People with anxiety may have a hypersensitive fight or flight response (may activate really easily) Is common among those who suffer from anxiety

When is it a disorder? “When symptoms become chronic and interfere with our daily lives and ability to function” (PsychCentral) Excessive, intense, persistent worry and fear Most common mental disorder, affects more than 25 million Americans Anxiety vs. Anxiety Disorder Last bullet: disorder consists of persistent or recurrent anxiety that prevents one from full participation in life.

Diagnoses Generalized Anxiety Disorder Panic Disorder Panic Attacks Social Anxiety Phobias Agoraphobia Separation anxiety disorder Selective Mutism OCD PTSD

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Persistent or excessive worry about activities or events (what-ifs) Worry is out of proportion than the actual situation Difficult to control, impedes ability to focus on current tasks Becomes a vicious cycle Affects 3-4% of population Does not usually cause people to avoid situations, no element of a panic attack Responds well to CBT It is the thinking, dwelling, ruminating Someone is ten min late  fear they got into a car crash Cbt: learn to see problems in a different perspective, learn methods to reduce anxiety, can be fully treatable

Generalized Anxiety Symptoms Physical: headaches, trembling, twitching, irritability, and frustration Inability to concentrate, disrupts sleep, high levels of self-consciousness, quick startle response, and inability to fully relax NOTE: as opposed to most other anxiety disorders, they don’t feel too restricted in certain settings, they don’t avoid certain situations but it is still debilitating

Panic Disorder Repeated episodes of sudden intense anxiety, fear, or terror that strike suddenly with no warning and peaks within a few minutes Many tend to develop anxiety between episodes in which they worry about when the next episode will arise Strikes between 3 and 6 million Americans Twice as common in women as in men Lives become restricted, avoid many things such as driving, shopping, etc. Criteria: recurrent panic attacks and at least one of the attacks has been followed by one month or more of one or more of the following (persistent concerns about the consequences of the attack such as losing coonctrol, having a heart attack, or fears of having additional attacks, OR, a significant change in behavior related to the attacks so for example avoiding exercise.

Panic Attacks Panic attack: severe episode of anxiety in response to a certain trigger An episode is also known as a panic attack Feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, pounding heart, chest pain, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, dizziness, numbness  many think they are having a heart attack Typically lasts a few minutes, can last up to 10 minutes and in rare cases an hour or more REMEMBER, not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop a panic disorder Also, a panic attack can occur in the context of any anxiety disorder or other mental disorder or medical condition.

Social Anxiety Overwhelming worry and self – consciousness about everyday social situations Fear of being judged or behaving in a certain manner that may cause embarrassment, humiliation, or ridicule Fear of “messing up” when talking or interacting with others May fear public speaking, may avoid eating or drinking in public due to fear of being embarrassed Typically experience anxiety symptoms Typically experience anxiety symptoms like heart palpitations, dry mouth, tremors, sweating, gi issues, muscle tension, shaky voice, blushing or even a panic ayttack Avoid certain people or places Incidence is between 5 to 13 percent of people in US will experience this during their life time Women outnumber men 3:2 among those with social phobia Most likely to develop in teenage years

Phobias Intense irrational fear of a certain object or situation (snakes, elevators, flying) Level of fear is usually inappropriate to the situation May result in desire to avoid this object or situation Can result in panic attacks Strikes more than 1 in 10 people (more prevalent in women) A phobia is not the same thing as lets say social anxiety or a social phobia (they fear social interactions where they think they’ll be judged, theyre not fearing oanic attacks or enclosed spaces or specific objects) The fear of r anxiety is out of porportion to the actual danger posed by the object

Agoraphobia Anxiety of certain places or situations in which you may feel trapped or helpless Feelings of panic Results in avoidance of going to those specific places

Separation Anxiety Disorder Childhood disorder consisting of excessive anxiety related to separation from parents or guardians It is a normal life stage that develops around 7 months of age, strongest between 10-18 months of age, and typically subsides by 3 years of age. 4%-5% of children suffer Up to 80% of children who refuse to go to school suffer from SAD

Selective Mutism Consistent failure to speak in specific situations (ex. School) You are willing to speak in other situations but not all situations Can interfere with school, work, and social functioning

OCD Marked by persistent invasive thoughts or compulsions to carry out repetitive or ritualistic actions to decrease anxiety Common symptoms: frequent washing, concerns about harm to self or others with consequent checking Problems with symmetry, arranging rituals, hoarding

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Living through an actual or perceived life and death experience or being surrounded by violence and death (wartime experiences, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, natural disasters) Elicits fearful feelings including flashbacks, hallucinations, and panic attacks Avoidance of reminders of event Lack of interest in normal daily activities Emotional Numbing: dethatched from reality Treatment: CBT talk through horrors They may not forget what they witnessed, but they can learn to focus on other, more positive things

Comorbidity

Comorbidity

Causes Brain chemistry: part of brain that controls fear response may be involved (brain chemicals involved such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) Genetic predisposition: anxiety disorders run in families Environmental factors: traumatic experiences and stress Medical factors: stress from illness, side effects of medication, symptoms of a medical illness Traua resets bodys normal fear processing system so that its hyper reactive to stress

Ways to cope with anxiety Deep breathing Accept that you are anxious Use positive-self talk Use a calming visualization Remind yourself that your brain is playing tricks on you Talk to someone Exercise Journaling Lavender Reduce caffeine intake Deep breathing: diaphragmatic breathing activates the bodys relaxation response, helps body release fight or flight mofe response of sympathetic nervous system and activates parasympathetic nervous system When we don’t accept anxiety and we try to eliminate it at times, it can perpetuate the idea that the anxiety is intolerable and may worsen it. Brain playing tricks: panic attacks Positive self talk: the anxiety feels bad but it wont kill me and I can use strategies to manage it Remove anxiety provoking things: not everything, but some things like turning off the news Journaling: (pay attention to what is causing you anxiety) END with saying that these can be good techniques for anxiety symptoms, bot if you have an anxiety disorder, it could be helpful to seek out counseling…

Who We Are University Counseling Services 15 Counselors Social Work Graduate Interns Peer Educators (M-HOPE) 2 clerical staff members WE’VE MOVED! Old O’Connor, 2nd Floor Website ://http://www2.binghamton.edu/counseling/

Write down techniques you can use next time you feel anxious