Is Anxiety a Mood Disorder
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Sometimes anxiety is just a bother for people, and for some it’s usually just being really uneasy or fretting over something. But for others anxiety is way more of a storm than that, and in some cases it can be completely debilitating for the person and really crimp their ability to live normally. Fortunately for the majority who have anxiety it’s not quite that bad, but there can be events that amplify it and this can be really true for people who have generalized anxiety disorders. At times like these it may be necessary to start on a medication like Buspar that works well for anxiety relief. But is anxiety a mood disorder?
No, it is not. Mood disorders and anxiety disorders are entirely different classifications, at least according to the medical community and the DSM-IV manual that is pretty much their bible when it comes to this kind of stuff. To make it simpler, mood disorders are seen the way they are as they involve the person having a low mood that doesn’t improve as it would for most people. People who are excessively anxious aren’t necessarily in a low mood at all. They may in fact be perfectly cheery but something is really ‘gnawing away at them’ as the expression goes.
So if you hear someone say they know of another with anxiety mood disorder, it may simply that they have a more elementary understanding of what that person might be dealing with. Is anxiety a mood disorder? No anxiety disorders are their own type entirely and mood disorders are ones like depression where chemical imbalances in the brain give the perception and altered and unfavorable view of the world around them. Depression does affect older people too, but there is one new radical therapist in the USA who suggests that depressed seniors start to participate in high-risk activities as a means of being less depressed!
Unappetizing Menu
That’s all we’ll say about depression in this entry, and again that’s because we’ve already laid out an answer to is anxiety a mood disorder. Anxiety can occur along depression, but they exist separately from each other. Luvox is a medication that may be the best fit for people who have anxiety with depression, and it is not uncommon for doctors to recommend they also side-supplement with Deplin here too. It is a nutritional supplement that may be recommended for people who aren’t getting the results they need from their depression treatment medication and are experiencing anxiety too.
Now the reason effective anxiety treatment is such a priority is because it affects so many people here in North America, and around the world too. There’s many different types of anxiety disorders, and we’ve only talked about the generalized ones here so far. It’s certainly not an appetizing menu. Social anxiety disorders can be very troublesome for people. They can range from anything from people avoiding appearing in public to children being extremely concerned they’ll be teased for loud flatulence during reading time at school.
Agoraphobia is another nasty type of anxiety too, and it’s where people become reclusive because they have a compulsion to avoid places, events, or situations. Is anxiety a mood disorder is a common misconception, and it is also a common misconception that agoraphobia is exclusively a fear of going outside. It is much more complicated than that. Phobias can be the cause of anxiety too. Let’s say a person with a fear of heights is told they’ll get a hundred bucks if they bungee jump just once. Easy $100 for most of us. But for this person it would be really difficult to even get up there in the first place, much less jump.
Augment Your Therapy
It’s a good thing that anxiety treatment medications work as well as they do. But one thing that has nothing to do with is anxiety a mood disorder that is always true about mental health disorder treatments is that adding therapy to your course of medication often promotes better treatment outcomes. One of the ones that is especially highly recommended is CBT, which is cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety. The maxim behind it is that by ‘changing your thinking, you can change your life’ and this is something that can be hugely beneficial for people struggling with anxiety
One last mention here around is anxiety a mood disorder is that it is never a good idea to use alcohol or recreational drugs to quell anxieties of any sort. This of course relates to adults exclusively, but if you believe you’re not able manage your anxiety and it comes on way too often then it may be time to talk to your doctor.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.