Welcome to my first twitter thread!

Today our topic is something that plagues all of us in our life in many different ways.

Goal: share valuable information about four types of anxiety disorders: GAD, PTSD, panic attacks, and separation anxiety

Lets dive into ANXIETY!

1/22

First: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

-GAD affects roughly 6 million people in the US every year. Most commonly affected is women.

-GAD can cause a constant state of worry, fear, and overall dread which interferes with a person's daily activities

What are the symptoms?

2/22

GAD symptoms can affect every person different

1. Emotional
-intrusive thoughts
-indecisiveness
-persistent worry

2. Physical
-tense muscles
-chest pain
-insomnia

3. Behavioral
- unable to relax
-lack of focus
-seeking validation

How do you diagnose?

3/22

Diagnosis of GAD:

-A person must have >6 months of the following:

1. excessive worry
2. difficulty controlling these worries
3. 3 of the following:
-fatigue
-no focus
-tense muscles
-insomnia
-irritable

How do we treat?

4/22

Treatment of GAD:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy: speaking with a therapist will greatly reduce and help manage the triggers that cause this anxiety

2. Medications:
-antidepressants
-buspirone
-benzodiazepines: short term

How do you avoid anxiety?

5/22

Avoiding Anxiety Triggers:

1. Lifestyle modifications:
-exercise regularly
-healthy diet
-reduce exposure to triggers
-practice mindfulness
-keep a journal
-avoid alcohol, drugs, nicotine, caffeine
-8 hours of sleep per night

Next up: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

6/22

Second: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

As the name implies, this can occur after some type of traumatic event
-Male: war or some type of urban violence most common
-Female: sexual assault or death is most common

-PTSD can worsen as time goes on

What are the symptoms?

7/22

PTSD Symptoms:

1. Intrusion
-nightmares
-flashbacks
-fearful thoughts

2. Avoidance
-refusing to discuss event
-avoiding things that remind them

3. Arousal
-insomnia
-irritability
-feeling tense

4. Mood
-guilt
-adhedonia
-detachment

How do you diagnose?

8/22

Diagnosis of PTSD:

A person must have experienced the following for more than one month:

1. exposed to death, serious injury, or sexual assault

2. The symptoms above:
- 1+ intrusion sx
- 1+ avoidance sx
- 1+ mood sx
- 1+ arousal sx

How do you treat?

9/22

Treatment of PTSD:

1. First line is medication with antidepressants

2. Cognitive processing therapy: teaches a person to restructure how they think about the certain triggering event

How do you avoid?

10/22

Prevention of PTSD:

1. Support support support
-find a support group that can help you talk through the triggering event

2. Develop coping strategies
-these can vary person to person in order to restructure how you think

Next up: Panic Attacks

11/22

Third: Panic Attacks

Attacks usually occur as a result of heightened anxiety and occurs more often in women

A panic attack can often stem from a trigger or random occurrence and is said to be one of the most intense experiences in a person's life

What are the symptoms?

12/22

Symptoms/diagnosis:

1. The attack can last from 15 seconds to hours.

2. An attack involves at least 4 of the following:
-chest pain/tachycardia
-dizziness
-fear of death
-nausea
-numbness
-sweating
-rapid breathing

3: 1+ month of on going fear

How do you treat?

13/22

Treatment of Panic Attacks

1. Talk therapy
-identifying potential triggers
-creating a plan to overcome fears

2. Medication
-benzodiazepines: Xanax is most common
-antidepressants: SSRIs or SNRIS
-beta blockers: reduces heart rate

How do we prevent these attacks?

14/22

Prevention of Panic Attacks:

1. Avoid certain substances that can cause these symptoms such as caffeine, alcohol, other recreational drugs

2. Healthy sleep habits

3. Join a support group

4. Mindfulness exercises

Next up: Separation Anxiety

15/22

Last: Separation Anxiety

This anxiety occurs when someone is afraid of being separated from a person, persons, or a pet

-Often occurs in <2 year old children but adults can experience this as well

What are the symptoms?

16/22

Symptoms of Separation Anxiety:

1. unusual distress about being separated from someone

2. fear of being alone

3. physical symptoms when separated

4. needing to know where someone is at all times

The symptoms can last up to 6 months or more

How do you diagnose?

17/22

Diagnosis of Separation Anxiety:

1. Inappropriate and excessive fear concerning separation from a person and 3 of the following:
-excess stress when away from someone or home
-fear of harm
-refusal to be away from home
-nightmares about separation

How do we treat?

18/22

Treatment of Separation Anxiety:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy: identify triggers and things that make the anxiety worse

2. Anti-anxiety medications

3. Support groups

Next: conclusion

19/22

Conclusion:

Anxiety affects all of us different ways.

As discussed, these are just some of the more common forms of anxiety and the different ways people can recognize the symptoms and seek out how to improve their life!

Conclusion continued below!

20/22

Conclusion part 2:

Common themes to overall reduce anxiety in your life:

-Exercise regularly
-Eat a healthy diet
-Sleep 8 hours per day
-Find a good support system
-Reduce alcohol and drug intake
-Practice mindfulness in the form of meditation or yoga

21/22

The END!

I hope if you read this far that you learned something valuable! Can't wait to do this again.

Next thread: The medicine behind sleep and why it is so important!

Have a great Monday!

22/22