Anxiety For Dummies. Laura L. Smith

by preparing for action in three different ways: physically, mentally, and behaviorally.

       Physically: The brain sends signals through your nervous system to go on high alert. It tells the adrenal glands to rev up production of adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones stimulate the body in various ways. Your heart pounds faster, and you start breathing more rapidly, sending increased oxygen to your lungs while blood flows to the large muscles, preparing them to fight or flee from danger.Digestion slows to preserve energy for meeting the challenge, and pupils dilate to improve vision. Blood flow decreases to hands and feet to minimize blood loss if injured and keep up the blood supply to the large muscles. Sweating increases to keep the body cool, and it makes you slippery so aggressors can’t grab hold of you. All your muscles tense to spring into action.

       Mentally: You automatically scan your surroundings intensely. Your attention focuses on the threat at hand. In fact, you can’t attend to much of anything else.

       Behaviorally: You’re now ready to run or fight. You need that preparation in the face of danger. When you have to take on a bear, a lion, or a warrior, you’d better have all your resources on high alert.

      Granted, in today’s world, you’re not very likely to encounter lions and bears. Unfortunately, your body reacts too easily with the same preparation to fight traffic, meet deadlines, speak in public, and cope with other everyday worries.

      When human beings have nothing to fight or run from, all that energy has to be released in other ways. So, you may feel the urge to fidget by moving your feet and hands. You may feel like jumping out of your skin. Or, you may impulsively rant or rave with those around you.

Most experts believe that experiencing these physical effects of anxiety on a frequent, chronic basis doesn’t do you any good. Various studies have suggested that chronic anxiety and stress contribute to a variety of physical problems, such as abnormal heart rhythms, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, ulcers, stomach upset, acid reflux, chronic muscle spasms, tremors, chronic back pain, tension headaches, a depressed immune system, and even hair loss. Figure 3-2 illustrates the toll of chronic anxiety on the body.

      Before you get too anxious about your anxiety, please realize that chronic anxiety contributes to many of these problems, but we don’t know for sure that it’s a major cause of all of them. Nevertheless, enough studies have suggested that anxiety or stress can make these disorders worse to warrant taking chronic anxiety seriously. In other words, be concerned, but don’t panic.

When people perceive danger, their most common response is to fight or flee. However, sometimes there is another reaction — freezing. This response is common in animals but less understood in humans. The well-known phrase “like a deer caught in the headlights” is an example of a freeze response. During this state, heart rate actually decreases, and the body becomes immobilized. Usually, this state is brief and can immediately change to fight or flight. This phenomenon explains why some people freeze during an emergency or find themselves unable to respond in a threatening situation. However, not as much is known about the human freeze response, and more research is needed to explain the nuances of why and when this occurs.

      © John Wiley and Sons

      FIGURE 3-2: The chronic effects of anxiety.

      ANXIETY AND DIABETES

      People with diabetes are at higher risk for developing anxiety. And people with anxiety are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Anxiety triggers the release of hormones that increase the levels of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. That release of excess sugar contributes to the development and/or exacerbation of diabetes.

      In the other direction, diabetes can lead to anxiety because of perceived loss of health. Diabetes necessitates significant changes in lifestyle and increased attention and time for dealing with the control of blood sugar levels. Most people with diabetes also are well aware of complications such as increased risks for heart disease, glaucoma, neuropathy, and more.

The interaction of diabetes making stress worse and stress making diabetes harder to control calls for addressing the role of anxiety and stress in the improved management of diabetes. People with diabetes benefit from learning stress and anxiety management skills. In fact, glucose levels in people with diabetes generally decrease when anxiety is well controlled. So, if you don’t have diabetes, protect yourself by overcoming anxiety, and if you do have diabetes, know that anxiety management may help you control the disease.

Mimicking Anxiety: Drugs, Diet, and Diseases

      As common as anxiety disorders are, believing that you’re suffering from anxiety when you’re not is all too easy. Prescription drugs may have a variety of side effects, some of which mimic a few of the symptoms of anxiety. Sometimes what you eat or drink can make you feel anxious. Various medical conditions also produce symptoms that imitate the signs of anxiety. We look at these anxiety imitators in the following sections.

      Exploring anxiety-mimicking drugs

Medicines prescribed to treat common conditions, such as asthma, inflammation, and depression, often have side effects. Sometimes those side effects can resemble the symptoms of anxiety. We list a few of the most widely prescribed types of drugs and their anxiety-mimicking side effects in Table 3-1. These medications have many other side effects that we don’t list here.

TABLE 3-1 Angst in the Medicine Cabinet

Drug Name or Category	Purpose	Anxiety-Like Side Effects
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors	Reduce high blood pressure	Nervousness, dizziness, insomnia, headaches, nausea, vomiting, weakness
Corticosteroids	Treat arthritis, inflammation, and pain	Fatigue, anxiety, dizziness, nervousness, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, sweating, tremors, confusion, shortness of breath, irritability
Bronchodilators	Treatment of asthma	Trembling, nervousness, sweating, shakiness, feelings of panic
Benzodiazepines	Treat anxiety	Dizziness, headache, anxiety, tremors, stimulation, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, irritability
Beta blockers	Reduce angina and high blood pressure, treat dysrhythmia	Dizziness, nausea, palpitations, insomnia, excessive sweating, disorientation
Novocaine	Still used by some dentists as a numbing agent, but newer agents are becoming more popular due to reduced side effects.	Rare side effects can include anxiety, irregular heart beat, and dizziness, which are especially troubling for patients who already have dentist-related anxiety.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)