Laura L. Smith - Anxiety For Dummies

When people perceive danger, their most common response is to fight or flee. However, sometimes there is another reaction — freezing. This response is common in animals but less understood in humans. The well-known phrase “like a deer caught in the headlights” is an example of a freeze response. During this state, heart rate actually decreases, and the body becomes immobilized. Usually, this state is brief and can immediately change to fight or flight. This phenomenon explains why some people freeze during an emergency or find themselves unable to respond in a threatening situation. However, not as much is known about the human freeze response, and more research is needed to explain the nuances of why and when this occurs.

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FIGURE 3-2:The chronic effects of anxiety.

People with diabetes are at higher risk for developing anxiety. And people with anxiety are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Anxiety triggers the release of hormones that increase the levels of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. That release of excess sugar contributes to the development and/or exacerbation of diabetes.

In the other direction, diabetes can lead to anxiety because of perceived loss of health. Diabetes necessitates significant changes in lifestyle and increased attention and time for dealing with the control of blood sugar levels. Most people with diabetes also are well aware of complications such as increased risks for heart disease, glaucoma, neuropathy, and more.

The interaction of diabetes making stress worse and stress making diabetes harder to control calls for addressing the role of anxiety and stress in the improved management of diabetes. People with diabetes benefit from learning stress and anxiety management skills. In fact, glucose levels in people with diabetes generally decrease when anxiety is well controlled. So, if you don’t have diabetes, protect yourself by overcoming anxiety, and if you do have diabetes, know that anxiety management may help you control the disease.

As common as anxiety disorders are, believing that you’re suffering from anxiety when you’re not is all too easy. Prescription drugs may have a variety of side effects, some of which mimic a few of the symptoms of anxiety. Sometimes what you eat or drink can make you feel anxious. Various medical conditions also produce symptoms that imitate the signs of anxiety. We look at these anxiety imitators in the following sections.

Medicines prescribed to treat common conditions, such as asthma, inflammation, and depression, often have side effects. Sometimes those side effects can resemble the symptoms of anxiety. We list a few of the most widely prescribed types of drugs and their anxiety-mimicking side effects in Table 3-1. These medications have many other side effects that we don’t list here.

TABLE 3-1Angst in the Medicine Cabinet

Interesting, isn’t it? Even medications for the treatment of anxiety can produce anxiety-like side effects. Of course, most people don’t experience such side effects with these medications, but they do occur. And many other prescribed drugs may have anxiety-like side effects. If you’re taking one or more prescription drugs and feel anxious, check with your doctor.

In addition, various over-the-counter medications sometimes have anxiety-mimicking side effects. These include antihistamines that can cause both drowsiness and insomnia as well as restlessness and rapid heartbeat. Decongestants can also cause rapid heartbeat as well as sweating, dizziness, and blurred vision. Also, many types of aspirin contain caffeine, which can produce symptoms of anxiety if consumed excessively. These medications can cause restlessness, heart palpitations, tension, shortness of breath, and irritability.

Stress and anxiety often provoke people to binge on unhealthy foods and substances, which may lead to increased anxiety over the long run. In Chapter 11, we discuss foods that may help you calm your moods and alleviate your anxiety. Here, we tell you how to avoid foods or drinks that may worsen problems with anxiety.

Notice whether you have special sensitivities to certain types of food. Whenever you feel out of sorts or especially anxious for no particular reason, ask yourself what you’ve eaten in the past couple hours. Take notes for a few weeks. Although food sensitivities aren’t generally a major cause of anxiety, some people have adverse reactions to certain foods, such as nuts, wheat, dairy, shellfish, or soy. If your notes say that’s true for you, avoid these foods!

Alcohol may be very tempting to people with anxiety. Although alcohol may relax you in small quantities, too many anxious people try to self-medicate by imbibing. People with anxiety disorders easily become addicted to alcohol. Furthermore, in excess, alcohol can lead to a variety of anxiety-like symptoms. For example, after a night of heavy drinking, alcohol can leave you feeling more anxious because it clears the system quickly and the body craves more. That craving can lead to addiction over time. Even a couple of glasses of wine in the evening may help you sleep initially but disturb the quality of your sleep leading to fatigue in the morning. So, anxious people need to be cautious about their use of alcohol.