Anxiety
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It is normal to feel anxiety, worry, or concern in regard to health, wealth, or family problems. However, the symptoms of anxiety disorders involve more than temporary concern and can negatively impact an individual’s life in many ways. At PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, we provide care and support for clients with both anxiety and substance abuse by helping clients build improved methods of caring for their mental health needs. We understand that it is difficult for individuals to admit when they are struggling. However, through accepting help and support, our clients are empowered to make changes in their lives and heal.
Anxiety Disorders
For individuals with anxiety disorders, worry and concern do not dissipate over time. Instead, symptoms both persist and worsen. This causes many challenges in a person’s life, disrupting their ability to perform at work or school and interferes with relationships in their lives. Each person will experience unique challenges, which are partially due to the type of disorder they are struggling with.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Usually involving a persistent feeling of anxiety or dread, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) often involves persistent symptoms that last months, if not years. Symptoms often include:
- Being easily fatigued
- Persistent worry or concern
- Restlessness, irritability, or feeling on edge
- Difficulty sleeping
- Lack of focus or concentration
- Unexplained physical aches and pains
- Gastrointestinal issues
Panic Disorder
When a person is struggling with panic disorder, they have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. Panic disorder is not synonymous with panic attacks, and not all who have panic attacks will develop panic disorder. Instead, an individual with panic disorder will have panic attacks unrelated to a specific trigger. This often causes fear of when the next one will occur.
Symptoms of a panic attack include:
- Sweating
- Pounding or racing heart
- Chest pain
- Trembling
- Feeling impending doom
- Sense of being out of control
- Racing heart
Social Anxiety Disorder
Individuals with social anxiety disorder experience anxiety symptoms that are related to social situations. The fear of social situations is caused by feelings of being watched, self-consciousness, and uncertainty around people. Individuals with social anxiety disorder often experience:
- Blushing, sweating, or shaking in social situations
- Stomachaches
- Pounding or racing heart in social situations
- Rigid body posture
- Difficulty making eye contact
- Fear of being judged negatively
- Overwhelming self-consciousness
Phobia-Related Disorders
A phobia is an intense fear or avoidance of a specific thing, person, or situation. Anxiety in certain situations is normal. However, phobia-related disorders feel concern that is beyond the actual danger present in a situation. Individuals with a phobia are likely to avoid situations with a certain phobia. They feel intense and immediate fear when in contact with a phobia-related object or situation.
Related Substance Abuse
Living with an anxiety disorder causes many challenges and discomforts in a person’s life. These cause many disruptions in their daily life. At The Perry Clayman Project, we understand that symptoms of anxiety can cause a person to search for a way to resolve symptoms that are disrupting their life. As a result, individuals who are struggling with anxiety are more likely to also have issues with related substance abuse.
However, substance abuse can also cause symptoms of anxiety, making the connection between anxiety and substance abuse more of a challenge to sort out alone. Working with a mental health care professional at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project helps individuals sort out how anxiety and substance abuse interact in their lives.
Treatment
The treatment for anxiety varies for each person, and the path to healing is unique based on a person’s needs, history, and symptoms. However, it is often a combination of medication, psychotherapy, and stress management that is the most effective in managing anxiety long-term.
Both individual and group therapy help clients address thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are impacting a person’s symptoms. Medications provide a method for individuals to address underlying imbalances in the brain that are related to symptoms. Stress management and other self-care techniques serve as a way for individuals to have healthy coping methods for managing their symptoms.
Combined Anxiety and Substance Abuse
When an individual is struggling with a combination of anxiety and substance abuse, treatment needs to address both. Treatment for anxiety is one piece of the puzzle. When a client at PCP heals their mental health, it helps them to make improvements in every piece of their life.
However, addiction treatment is also vital. Healing from addiction at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project generally begins with either drug or alcohol detox. In detox, clients take the step of beginning to heal from their physical dependence on a substance. Detox at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project includes making clients comfortable while in detox and having the support they need to be safe while detoxing.
After detox, addiction treatment includes counselling, interacting with the 12-Step process, and learning new ways to cope with challenges in life. Both individual and group counselling serves as a way for clients to learn why they are struggling with addiction. This may include mental health challenges like anxiety. However, treatment for addiction also involves helping clients build new skills that help them decrease their risk of issues with substance abuse and maintain good mental health in the future.
Anxiety disorders can cause many issues in your life, both personally and professionally. To learn more about how you can heal from anxiety and related substance abuse at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, call us today at 08000 380 480.