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| <p><strong>ANXIETY AND PANIC</strong></p> |
| <p><strong>What is anxiety?</strong></p> |
| <p>It is a general feeling of worry or a sudden feeling of panic or a fear of a certain situation or a response to a bad situation. </p> |
| <p><strong>What causes anxiety disorders?</strong></p> |
| <p>Your body feels anxiety when there is or is not a real danger. However, it feels the same. It can be due to an imbalance in your body, a memory or side effect of medicine or an illness.</p> |
| <p><strong>How is it treated?</strong></p> |
| <p>You doctor can help you form a plan and may also prescribe medicine.</p> |
| <p><strong>Tips for coping with anxiety</strong></p> |
| <p><strong>Control your worry</strong>-spend 30 minutes thinking on your concerns and what you can do about them. Try not to dwell on what might happen. Focus on what IS happening.</p> |
| <p><strong>RELAX</strong>-an easy technique is muscle relaxation. Begin by choosing a muscle and holding it tight for a few seconds, then relaxing that muscle. Do it with all your muscles. Another technique is counting backwards.</p> |
| <p><strong>Confront </strong>the things that have made you anxious in the past. Picture yourself confronting these things and after you feel comfortable, you can begin to actually face these issues.</p> |
| <p><strong>Exercise regularly</strong>-exercise can give you a sense of well being and help decrease your feelings of anxiety.</p> |
| <p>Get plenty of <strong>sleep. </strong></p> |
| <p>The feelings of anxiety are scary but they won’t hurt you. Label the level of your fear from 0-10 and watch it go up and down. Notice that it does not stay at a high level for more than a few seconds. When the fear comes, accept it. Wait and give it time to pass without running away from it.</p> |
| <p>Talk with your doctor, to make sure your plan is working. If it is not working, there are other treatment options. </p> |
| <p>The most important thing is to take action. Any action will help because it will give you a sense of control over your anxiety. </p> |
| <p><em>TCIMC 10/00</em></p> |
| <p>Patient Education Codes:</p> |
| <p>GAD-DP, GAD-HM, GAD-C, and GAD-LA</p> |
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