Anxiety

If anxiety dominates your life, it’s time to get expert care at Oasis Healing Arts. Advanced practice psychiatric nurse Linda Hilliker, MS, CNS, RXN, offers evaluation, diagnosis, and personalized treatment of anxiety disorders in the Broomfield, Colorado, office and through online telehealth appointments. Call the office or book your visit using the provided online scheduler now.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a label for feelings of worry, fear, and nervousness. Some anxiety is common, for example, before a big test. Usually, anxiety dissipates after the triggering situation ends. 

Anxiety disorders continue, though. The worry doesn’t fade and often starts to cause problems in your life. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder, even more common than depression. 

What are the signs of an anxiety disorder?

Anxiety disorder symptoms depend on the specific disorder, with the main ones including: 

Generalized anxiety disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder causes ongoing excessive worry and fear that disrupts your daily life. Often the things you worry about are relatively minor, but you can’t let go of the anxiety. Along with nervousness, stress, and tension, you may experience issues like stomach cramps or difficulty sleeping. About 2% of adults have a generalized anxiety disorder. 

Panic disorder 

Panic disorder happens when anxiety rises to a peak and causes intense physical and psychological symptoms (a panic attack). You may experience heart palpitations, shaking, sweating, powerful feelings of impending doom, and other negative symptoms during an attack. Panic disorder affects 2-3% of Americans.

Specific phobia

Specific phobia involves ongoing excessive fear of a thing, situation, or activity that’s not usually dangerous. Snakes, spiders, and flying are a few common phobias. About 8-12% of Americans have a specific phobia.

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder occurs when you have considerable anxiety in social situations or in anticipation of social situations due to fear of embarrassment or rejection. It can prevent you from eating out, going to events, or functioning normally at work. It affects about 7% of Americans.

Separation anxiety disorder

Separation anxiety disorder refers to when you’re extremely scared of separation from a loved one. This may cause severe anxiety, sleep problems, and difficulty functioning. About 1-2% of Americans have separation anxiety disorder. 

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is an overpowering anxiety in situations that feel unsafe and that you cannot quickly escape from. Common examples include fear of being exposed going outside or to certain places such as , being in a crowd, grocery shopping, or using public transportation. It affects about 1-3% of teens and adults.

About 31% of Americans have one of these anxiety disorders. 

How are anxiety disorders treated?

Linda personalizes anxiety disorder treatment plans to the disorder and your symptoms. Treatment usually includes therapy and medications like antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and beta-blockers to manage physical anxiety symptoms. In-office care and telehealth are both available. 

Call Oasis Healing Arts or click online scheduling for anxiety help today.