An anxiety disorder does not develop over night; it develops slowly and could get worse if not treated by a physician when symptoms first occur. Feeling anxious is normal. People may feel anxious anxiety could worsen. An exam- during finals week, an individual anxiety level is high because more stress is increase. Doing activities that alleviates stress helps an individual’s anxiety decrease- going to the pool or going out to eat with friends- getting away from the “toxic” environment can help the individual let loose and worry less.
Some may confuse normal daily stress with anxiety disorders because symptoms can be similar. Symptoms such as constantly stressing about everyday activities, short breath, or even feeling tired. These symptoms can occur due to the environment that you’re in or even previously diagnosed symptoms. One can have short breath and feeling tired due to having low iron or having insomnia. That is why going to a health care professional, psychiatrist, can help diagnose you with the proper diagnosis. A psychiatrist will look for symptoms-“know that they worry too much more than they should, have headaches, muscle aches, stomach aches, or unexplained pains, and have a hard time concentrating” (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2013).
Anxiety is related to depression. Depression can affect everyone around you, your relationships, family members, and friends if not controlled. When feeling anxious, you have “low levels of gamma aminobutyric acid” (Introductory Psychology Concepts, McGraw-Hill, 2010) Gamma aminobutyric acid is one of more than 50 neurochemical messengers. “Serotonin is involved in the regulation of sleep mood, attention, and learning.” (Experience Psychology, King, p.54) Medication that consists of serotonin is usually prescribed for a patient that has anxiety disorders. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, which is used to “transmit nerve impulse across the space between nerve cells or