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Causes of Anxiety
Anxiety Causes
Anxiety may be caused by a mental condition, a physical condition, the effects of drugs, or from a combination of these. The doctor's initial task is to see if your anxiety is caused by a medical condition.
- Common causes of anxiety include these mental conditions:
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- Panic disorder: In addition to anxiety, common symptoms of panic disorders are palpitations (feeling your heart beat), dizziness, and shortness of breath. These same symptoms also can be caused by coffee (caffeine), amphetamines ("speed" is the street slang for amphetamines when they are not prescribed by a doctor), an overactive thyroid, abnormal heart rhythms, and other heart abnormalities (such as mitral valve prolapse)
- .Generalized anxiety disorder
- Phobic disorders
- Stress disorders
- These common external factors can cause anxiety:
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- Stress at work
- Stress from school
- Stress in a personal relationship such as marriage
- Financial stress
- Stress from an emotional trauma such as the death of a loved one
- Stress from a serious medical illness
- Side effect of medication
- Use of an illicit drug, such as cocaine
- Symptom of a medical illness (such as heart attack, heat stroke, hypoglycemia)
- Lack of oxygen - In circumstances as diverse as high altitude sickness, emphysema, or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot with the vessels of the lung)
- The doctor has the often-difficult task of determining which symptoms come from which causes. For example, in a study of people with chest pain that could be heart disease but turned out not to be heart related, 43% were found to have a panic disorder -- a common form of anxiety.
Anxiety & Panic Disorders Guide
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Common Treatments for Anxiety & Panic Disorders
Too Scared: Tale of Social Anxiety Disorder
We follow Becky Bruno, a teenager suffering from social anxiety disorder, as she explains how she learned to start enjoying her life.
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