Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Occasional periods of anxiety and stress are a regular part of the human experience. They alert you to danger and help you protect yourself. However, if you live with persistent fears, worries, or intrusive negative thoughts about situations or people that aren’t a threat, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States, affecting nearly 30% of adults at some point during their lives. There are several types of anxiety disorder, including:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Phobias
• Social anxiety disorder
• Separation anxiety disorder
• Agoraphobia

The team at Open Mind Psychiatry provides comprehensive psychiatric evaluations to diagnose the specific type of anxiety that’s disrupting your life.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

In general, anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive worries and feeling overwhelmed. Some of the other signs of anxiety include:

• Feeling restless or tense
• Poor concentration
• Panic attacks
• A sense of impending danger or doom
• Rapid respiration
• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Disrupted sleep
• An urge to avoid triggers

If you experience any of these anxiety symptoms, especially if they interfere with your regular activities, you should schedule a same-day or next-day consultation with the team at Open Mind Psychiatry for anxiety assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.

How is anxiety diagnosed?

The team at Open Mind Psychiatry uses QB Check to test for ADHD. QB Check is a computerized test that measures attention, impulsivity, and activity levels to help assess symptoms of ADHD. Combining motion tracking with performance tasks provides objective data that helps support clinical evaluations and treatment planning.

They may also perform a physical exam to check for signs of other medical conditions that could contribute to your symptoms.

How is anxiety treated?

The team at Open Mind Psychiatry works with you to create a personalized treatment program to resolve your anxiety. While each plan is tailored to meet your needs, the providers often combine medication and therapy.

For example, medication helps regulate your brain chemistry to relieve some of your symptoms. This provides you with mental clarity so you can focus on exploring the underlying issues that trigger your anxiety and learn how to recognize your negative, anxious thoughts to control your behavioral responses.

Through video chats or phone calls, your Open Mind Psychiatry provider monitors the progress of your therapy to ensure your anxiety is well-controlled.

If you’re living with anxiety, call Open Mind Psychiatry to schedule an appointment or request a consultation through the online booking system today.