Anxiety

Anxiety normally comes and goes throughout the day as you face challenging situations, but it turns into a life-disrupting mental health disorder for nearly one-third of teens and adults. If your anxiety doesn’t improve, it’s time to seek compassionate care from Jeanne Nicholson, ARNP, PMHNP-BC, at Nicholson Psychiatry, PLLC, in Bellevue, Washington. Jeanne does comprehensive evaluations, gets to the root cause of your anxiety, and develops a treatment strategy that helps you return to an anxiety-free life. Call the office today or book an appointment online to get help for anxiety.

When should I seek help for anxiety?

Anxiety is your body’s natural response when you’re stressed, face a dangerous or difficult situation, or dread an upcoming event. You can’t stop anxiety, but your feelings should calm down after dealing with the situation. 

Signs that your anxiety is a bigger problem include the following:

• Having ongoing, severe anxiety that disrupts your life
• Feeling anxious when you don’t face a known or anticipated challenge
• Changing your routine to avoid the event or place triggering your anxiety
• Experiencing anxiety that’s out of proportion to the triggering event

If you feel overwhelmed or your anxiety doesn’t improve, you may have an anxiety disorder, and it’s time to seek help at Nicholson Psychiatry, PLLC.

What type of anxiety disorder could I develop? 

You could develop one of the following anxiety disorders:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (constant worry over everyday issues and situations)
• Panic disorder (unexpected and recurring panic attacks)
• Agoraphobia (fear of leaving the place where you feel safe)
• Specific phobia (intense fear of an object, activity, or animal)
• Separation anxiety disorder (extreme anxiety when apart from family or caregivers)
• Social anxiety disorder (fear of new people, social events, or performing in front of others)

Many people think of separation anxiety as a problem that only affects children, but it occurs in people of all ages.

Does anxiety cause different symptoms? 

Fear, worry, and dread define anxiety, but you may experience many emotional and physical symptoms, including:

• Nervousness
• Restlessness
• Insomnia
• Nausea and vomiting
• Difficulty concentrating
• Racing heartbeat
• Excessive sweating

Anxiety may trigger a panic attack, which comes on suddenly and causes chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

How is anxiety diagnosed and treated?

Jeanne begins your evaluation by reviewing your current emotional and physical health and identifying any immediate needs. For example, you may need anti-anxiety medications right away if you have panic attacks or severe anxiety.

Then she completes a thorough evaluation, learning about your medical history, mental health symptoms, and how anxiety affects your life. She may ask you to complete a cognitive evaluation and run lab tests if needed to rule out physical problems. 

After diagnosing the cause of your anxiety, she creates a customized treatment plan. The treatment options for anxiety typically include medication management, therapy, stress management, and lifestyle recommendations to calm anxiety.

Anxiety prevents you from achieving your best life, so don’t wait to seek help. Call Nicholson Psychiatry, PLLC, today or request an appointment online for an anxiety evaluation.