Tough times add to panic, anxiety disorders

Simply picking up the paper or turning on the TV these days can make a person anxious.

The Dow is down, unemployment is up and major cities have neighborhoods full of empty, foreclosed-on houses.

Americans have so much anxiety about personal finances, the economy and job losses that the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released this week online a "Guide to Getting Through Tough Economic Times."

For most, the collective anxiety causes a few moments of panic in the daily routine or the occasional sleepless night. For the 40 million U.S. adults who suffer from anxiety disorders, however, it can mean a daily routine of persistent panic.

And those who have Generalized Anxiety Disorder -- characterized by persistent, excessive, and unrealistic worry about everyday things -- may be in a constant state of panic, overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues -- even when there is no apparent reason for concern, according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is treatable, and clinical trials have shown the best way to treat it is a combination of medicines and group or individual psychotherapy, said Craig Stevens. He's the chairman of the pharmacology and physiology department at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. For decades, the most popular drugs prescribed to treat anxiety disorders were benzodiazepines -- drugs such as Valium and Xanax that relax

the brain and body in a way similar to alcohol, but carry a risk of dependency and potential for abuse.

Due to that risk and other side effects, doctors have started to move away from treating long-term anxiety disorders with benzo drugs -- and toward a class of medicines known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SNRIs), commonly used as antidepressants, Stevens said.

Because these medications are used to fix serotonin imbalances in the brain, they may be able to repair the misfiring neurons that are triggering anxiety attacks.

"Anxiety is normally an adaptive response in humans, one of the normal adaptive responses that help us survive in life," Stevens said. "For those with chronic anxiety, it's possible (their brain's neurons) are miswired or overactive."

People who have anxiety disorders can't just "snap out of it," so to speak.

"In the same way you can't just run a four-minute mile, they can't get out of the door because of agoraphobia or anxiety," he said. "They can't inhibit these ruminating thoughts -- their brain is wired differently."

That's why antidepressants are promising as a method of treating anxiety disorders, he said.

"The brain is very plastic, much more than we ever thought. There's some amazing brain data that shows new neurons being made with the use of antidepressants such as Prozac."

Fixing that imbalance could mean a more balanced, less panic-stricken life for those with anxiety disorders. And it may fix other medical problems, Stevens said, that can stem from chronic anxiety -- such as high blood pressure, stomach disorders, and substance abuse as a way of self-medicating.

But some with anxiety disorders are reluctant to seek treatment, either because of the stigma attached to seeing a doctor for mental health issues or because of fears of addiction, dependence or side effects of the medications.

"People shouldn't be afraid if they take them the right way, under a doctor's supervision," Stevens said. "We are making progress, and the stigma is going away. But quite frankly, it's also a matter of compassion."

Tough times: Possible health risks

Economic turmoil can result in a host of negative health e9ects --physical and mental. For some, it can substantially increase the risk for developing problems such as:

--Depression

--Anxiety

--Compulsive behaviors (overeating, excessive gambling, spending, etc.)

--Substance abuse

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More than just temporary anxiety?

Think you might su9er from Generalized Anxiety Disorder? Take the following self-test. If you answer "yes" to several of the following questions, talk to your doctor.

Are you troubled by:

--Excessive worry, occurring more days than not, for at least six months

--Unreasonable worry about a number of events or activities, such as work or school and/or health

--The inability to control the worry

Are you bothered by at least three of the following?

--Restlessness, feeling keyed-up or on edge

--Being easily tired

--Problems concentrating

--Irritability

--Muscle tension

--Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or restless and unsatisfying sleep

--Anxiety interfering with daily life

Source: Anxiety Disorders Association of America