Anxiety, which is a basic emotion necessary to sustain life, can sometimes be severe enough to negatively affect one's life. Stating that anxiety that lasts longer than two weeks, intensifies with stress and insecurity and negatively affects daily life should be considered a medical disorder, experts recommend seeking medical support.
Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Specialist Clinical Psychologist Selvinaz Çınar Parlak said that anxiety, which is an extremely effective and healthy emotion in life, can sometimes intensify in a way that negatively affects one's life.
Anxiety is a necessary and healthy emotion
Stating that anxiety is actually an evolved form of the survival drive, Clinical Psychologist Selvinaz Çınar Parlak said, "Anxiety is a necessary and healthy emotion for us to survive and sustain our lives. Anxiety is a state of emotion that occurs against negative expectations, a feeling of uneasiness and distress accompanied by a negative thought. These are negative expectations about the future and thus anxiety actually enables us to see a threat about the future, to take precautions and measures against a negative situation, and to reach the desired healthy and good situations about the future."
While it is a protective emotion, it can turn into a disease
Selvinaz Çınar Parlak noted that while anxiety is a very basic emotion in sustaining life, it can sometimes occur negatively for a long time with various stimuli, "In such cases, anxiety can become uncontrollable. This emotion, which is extremely effective and healthy in sustaining life, protects us against real risks. However, if it has turned into an intense anxiety that causes you to see a higher risk than in reality or to constantly think about risks, to prevent you from feeling safe, to disrupt the daily flow, we can now talk about the disease we call anxiety disorder."
It can cause panic attacks
Pointing out that although there is no real risk, the person can psychologically interpret the situation as very risky and fatal, Parlak said, "In this case, a picture emerges in which heart palpitations, tremors and other high bodily reactions occur, starting with breathing. This time, since the person is surprised by this physical picture and cannot control it, the state of anxiety intensifies even more. We call these situations panic attacks. Everyone can have a panic attack once in a lifetime in certain situations. However, if this is repeated frequently, if the person cannot focus on the place where he/she is while continuing his/her normal daily life within the framework of anticipatory anxiety, 'will I have a panic attack again', 'will it happen now', if he/she has difficulty in managing his/her anxiety, the individual is now in a medical disease state that we call panic disorder and continues with anxiety disorders."
Beware if restlessness and anxiety cannot be managed!
Selvinaz Çınar Parlak said, "There are various dangers in life and our seeing these dangers and taking precautions helps us to survive" and continued her words as follows:
"Only if we feel safe can we make realistic assessments. When this basic sense of trust does not occur, the person cannot get out of this process at moments when the feeling of insecurity intensifies with stress and anxiety disorder may begin. Especially if the anxiety lasts for more than two weeks and affects daily life, it is necessary to accept that this is now a medical disorder. At the same time, if the severity and frequency of panic attacks are at a level that prevents daily life, if the person is in a state of constant questions, visions, restlessness and anxiety in his mind, if he cannot manage his anxiety, it is necessary to accept that he has an anxiety disorder. Here, too, it is necessary to seek medical help. When he/she cannot calm himself/herself down and cannot continue his/her daily life as usual, he/she should definitely consult a psychiatrist and get support."
When it turns into a disease, a specialist should be consulted
Stating that it is normal for people to be anxious when they see various risks while living their lives, Parlak said, "But we expect them to manage this anxiety on their own and to go back and feel good and safe again. On the other hand, if the person cannot manage his/her anxiety on his/her own and becomes unable to cope with this anxiety, it has now become a disease. At this point, there are some biological and chemical changes in the brain. Depending on the biological changes in the brain, it is no longer in the person's hands to control their anxiety. When it becomes a disease, the person cannot control their anxiety, they cannot calm themselves down. In such cases, it is wrong for the person to expect to calm down his/her anxiety and to expect to overcome this situation with the suggestions, advice and recommendations of his/her relatives. There is now a medical disease here, a biological deterioration is also in question, and therefore a specialist psychiatrist should be consulted for the treatment of the disease."
Treatment possible with medication and psychotherapy
Expert Clinical Psychologist Selvinaz Çınar Parlak said, "First of all, the biological changes in the brain should be detected and accordingly, this disease should be treated pharmacologically, that is, with a drug. Panic disorder and anxiety disorders are treated with medication as well as psychotherapies to raise awareness and improve the disruptions in thought processes that lead to anxiety. Medication and psychotherapies are generally effective methods in the treatment of anxiety disorders."
