illustration of anxiety

We do live in a culture that does not take mental health seriously especially if you live in Nigeria or any Africa country. There's loads of stigma. Some people tells you to simply suck it up, or get it together, or to prevent or tell you to stop worrying, some will even tell you that it is all for your head. But I'm right here to inform you that anxiety disorders, they are as real as diabetes.

Hello again. It's AprokoPharmacist, and I've observed some thing with my patients. They regularly describe to me a few conventional signs of an anxiety disorder. Constant worry, problem sleeping, aggravating muscular tissues (tensed muscle) and war with concentrating. But they are not getting treatment. 

There are a lot of problems with mental health care in this country. And most people don't have insurance to cover it. Some have been made redundant or downplayed in the past and don't think asking for help will do any good. Some worry about stigma and its impact on future jobs or relationships. But severe anxiety is not a moral or personal failure. It's a health problem, just like a sore throat or diabetes. He should be treated with the same kind of seriousness. 

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Before we dive or get to  talk about anxiety disorders, let's talk about the anxiety itself. Anxiety is actually very real in human and normal emotion we feel in a stressful situation. It is related to fear.But while fear is a response to an immediate threat that subsides quickly, anxiety is a response to more uncertain threats that tend to last much longer. It's all belong to part of the threat detection system, which all animals have to some degree, to help protect us from predators.

Anxiety begins in the brain's amygdala, a pair of almond-sized nerve bundles that alert other areas of the brain to be ready for defensive action. Then the hypothalamus transmits the signal, activating what we call the stress response in our body. Our muscles contract, our breathing and heart rate increase, and our blood pressure increases. , With a higher level thinking area called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. It works like that. If a person sees something they think is dangerous, such as a tiger, they send a signal to the amygdala, saying "it's time to run or run.

“This part of the brain called Ventromedial prefrontal cortex can tell the amygdala, 'Hey, look. The tiger is in a cage. Do you know what a cage is? They cannot escape from a cage. “All most like feedback loop that can help control the response. The hippocampus is also involved. It provides context, saying things like, 'Hey, we've seen caged tigers before. We are in a zoo. You are safe.

“In most people with anxiety, those threat detection systems and mechanisms that reduce or inhibit them function poorly and worry us about the future and our safety within it. But for a lot of people, it gets carried away. persistent pervasive anxiety that disrupts work, school, and relationships and causes them to avoid situations that may trigger symptoms. Anxiety disorders are not uncommon at all. 

According to data from healthcare bodies like World Mental Health Survey, researchers estimate that about 16 percent of individuals currently have or have had an anxiety disorder. They include social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and phobias Studies have shown that people with anxiety disorders not only have different ways of reacting to stress, there may be real differences in the way their brains work. 

A model describes the lags possible in the connections between the amygdala and other parts of the brain.You learn to identify disturbing thoughts and determine if they are realistic. Over time, cognitive behavioral therapy can reconstruct these neural pathways that suppress the response to anxiety.

The good news is that there is a sufficient treatment for anxiety and you don't have to be in pain. Remember, this is not about weakness. It's about changing brain patterns, and research shows our brains have the ability to reorganize and form new connections. 

A good first step is to do the basics.Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep since your mind is part of your body. This could also help if you to try meditation. Instead of our heart rate rising and our body tensing,  with awareness and breathing, we can slow down the fight-or-flight response and improve how we are feels at the particular time.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of speech therapy, can also be fantastic. You learn to identify disturbing thoughts and determine if they are realistic. Over time, cognitive behavioral therapy can reconstruct these neural pathways that reduce the response to anxiety.

Medication can also provide relief, both short and long term. Short-term anti-anxiety drugs may down-regulate the mechanisms for detecting escalating threats. Studies have shown that long-term medications and cognitive behavioral behaviors