Anxiety Neurosis

Many of you must have heard about anxiety i.e. suffering from anxiety. Is anybody have extensive knowledge about this? I have something to share with you. So, let me take this opportunity and discussed on this topic in this article. So let’s begin with..

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

Anxiety is a common phenomena. Each and every person are suffering from the state of anxiety. The general meaning of anxiety is the state of being worried or eagerness. Anxiety neurosis is the most common form of psychoneurosis occurring in individuals. Anxiety is closely related to an individual’s need and motives. If the essential needs linked with affection, security, self-esteem, achievement and freedom are not satisfactorily gratified, then it may give rise to the feeling of excessive anxiety which in turn results in a neurotic behaviour. But all the anxiety behaviour can not be termed as ‘Neurotic’. It is only when the anxiety behaviour patterns become more persistent and interfere with our ability to lead a normal life and thus depict ‘break downs’ in adjustment mechanism, that they are usually labeled as ‘Neurosis’. 

The anxiety neurosis lives in a relatively constant state of tension, worry and uneasiness. The person is oversensitive in interpersonal relationships and frequently feels inadequate and depressed. The anxiety neurosis represents a behaviour dominated by anxiety which interfere with the individual’s personal and social adjustment.

SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY NEUROSIS

There are various physiological and psychological symptoms on the basic of which the patients of anxiety neurosis can be identified.

Ø PHYSIOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS:

The physiological symptoms of anxiety neurosis are as below-

• Mild nausea (inclination to vomit), loss of appetite (desire) and some loss of weight.
• Feeling of hurt burn, high blood pressure, increased pulse rate, suffocation, difficulties in breathing.
• Cold sweat, headache, muscle tension or pain, dryness of the mouth, trembling of hand and lips.
• Speech disorders, sleep disturbance.
• Inappropriate eating habits, chronic mild diarrhea, frequent urination and difficulties in digestion.
• Excessive use of alcohol and sleeping tablets or pill etc.

Ø PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS:

In anxiety neurosis these are the following psychological symptoms-

• The person is not free of his anxiety even in his sleep and dream. He dreams of such unpleasant things which further heighten his anxiety.
• The individual may have anxiety attacks at times. These attacks may be for a few minutes and sometimes even for hours. He may feel dizziness. He may feel difficulty in breathing. He fells as if his heart is sighing. No time and day may be specified for such attacks.
• In anxiety neurosis the patient feels fear and uneasiness. Sometimes the same is very acute and sometimes very mild.
• The neurotically anxious individuals often complain of lack of concentration in work and interest in life. They are always uncertain and fearful of making mistakes.

A patient of anxiety neurosis may require both psychopathic and medical treatment. However psychopathic treatment is more important from the point of view of permanent cure. The primary duty of the psychiatrist should be to help the patient to understand the fundamental cause of his malady (problem). Then he should desensitize the patient against those situations which generally create fear and anxiety in him.

In extreme cases, medical treatment may be helpful in relieving the patient of high tension for sometime. With the use of tranquillizers as the physical symptoms gradually disappear, the mental and emotional tension may also be decreased simultaneously.

The Insulin therapy may also be helpful in the chronic cases. Besides these the insight therapy, group psychotherapy r used in the treatment of the anxiety neurosis patient.

Personal interview is of great help and significant in this regard. The main purpose of use medicine and the psychiatric treatment is to assure the patient that he still has the capacity to meet the various situations of life as any other persons. In this manner necessary courage, patience, confidence, frustration-tolerance capacity should be developed in him.