What is Anxiety Disorder?

-Ask the Expert-


Question:

Hi, since about two years I keep having panic attacks and real or delusional fears. The only way I have to stop it is to take Xanax (Alprazolam) twice a day. There always have to be someone with me. What can I do? 

I don’t want to take drugs for the rest of my life and be terrified by everything.

Thanks for the answer.

Answer:

Dear Patrizia, the problem that you are reporting is a pretty common face of the Anxiety Disorder.

But what is anxiety disorder?

As you probably know, Anxiety is an adaptive experience connected to our ability to foresee our future. By itself Anxiety has a benefic function of protection and awareness in front of potentially dangerous situations. Although, when it persists, it becomes a disturbing experience and can, like in your case, pose limits to one’s life.

Using “technical” terms to describe your situation, in this moment you are suffering of something that we call the “fear of fear”. In other words, your thought is constantly involved in a catastrophic prevision of your whole reality. The result of this can only be “catastrophic” itself. This does not mean that your life is really horrible, but just that you perceive this way because you are stuck in a negative psychological reality that keep feeding itself.

How do you get out of this cycle? How do you stop anxiety?
The answer is simple and complex at the same time. It is simple because your situation is fairly common, and there are plenty of ways to solve it (psychiatrists/psychotherapists can surely be of great help.) It is also hard, because in this moment you have problems accepting professional help since the negative feeling that you perceive of your reality prevents you to have an optimistic hope, and so you tend to rely on symptoms containment therapies (such as the Xanax), rather then starting a real transforming therapy.

In conclusion, my suggestion is to look for a good professional (psychiatrist/psychotherapist) in your area. Think about this: what you are going through right now is filtered by how your mind is perceiving your reality, so your fears and your anxious attacks are only one kind of realities generated by your mind, just one of the many ”worlds” that we think is our reality. But, after all, it is just a mind-loop that can be changed.

Good Luck!

Answer:

Paolo Chellini, Psychotherapist

Question: 
Patrizia, 36 year’s old

Publication date: 12/28/2006

Check out the original article at: rolandociofi's blog