Anxiety neurosis. Symptoms and treatment of anxiety neurosis Neuroses fears depression how to treat
When a person is in danger, it is normal to feel fear and anxiety. After all, in this way our body prepares to act more effectively - “fight or flee.”
But unfortunately, some people tend to experience anxiety either too often or too intensely. It also happens that manifestations of anxiety and fear appear for no particular reason or for a trivial reason. In cases where anxiety interferes with leading a normal life, the person is considered to have an anxiety disorder.
Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders
According to annual statistics, 15-17% of the adult population suffers from some form of anxiety disorder. The most common symptoms are:
Cause of anxiety and fear
Everyday events are often associated with stress. Even such seemingly ordinary things as standing in a car during rush hour, celebrating a birthday, lack of money, living in cramped conditions, overexertion at work or conflicts in the family are all stressful. And we are not talking about wars, accidents or diseases.
In order to cope with a stressful situation more effectively, the brain gives a command to our sympathetic nervous system (see figure). It puts the body into a state of arousal, causes the adrenal glands to release the hormone cortisol (and others), increases heart rate, and causes a number of other changes that we experience as fear or anxiety. This, let’s say, “ancient” animal reaction helped our ancestors survive in difficult conditions.
When the danger has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. It normalizes heart rate and other processes, bringing the body to a state of rest.
Normally, these two systems balance each other.
Now imagine that for some reason a failure occurred. (A detailed analysis of typical causes is presented).
And the sympathetic nervous system begins to become excited, reacting with feelings of anxiety and fear to such minuscule stimuli that other people do not even notice...
People then experience fear and anxiety with or without reason. Sometimes their condition is constant and enduring anxiety. Sometimes they feel nervous or impatient, have difficulty concentrating, or have trouble sleeping.
If such anxiety symptoms persist long enough, then, according to the DSM-IV, a doctor may diagnose generalized anxiety disorder» .
Or another type of “failure” - when the sympathetic nervous system hyperactivates the body for no particular reason, not constantly and weakly, but in strong bursts. Then they talk about panic attacks and, accordingly, panic disorder. We have written quite a bit about this type of anxiety-phobic disorder in others.
About treating anxiety with medications
Probably, after reading the text above, you will think: well, if my nervous system is unbalanced, then it needs to be brought back to normal. Let me take the appropriate pill and everything will be fine! Fortunately, the modern pharmaceutical industry offers a huge selection of products.
Some of the anti-anxiety drugs are typical “bullshit” drugs that have not even undergone normal clinical trials. If anyone is helped, it is through the mechanisms of self-hypnosis.
Others - yes, they really relieve anxiety. True, not always, not completely and temporarily. We mean serious tranquilizers, in particular those of the benzodiazepine series. For example, such as diazepam, gidazepam, Xanax.
However, their use is potentially dangerous. First, when people stop taking these medications, anxiety usually returns. Secondly, these drugs cause real physical dependence. Thirdly, such a crude method of influencing the brain cannot remain without consequences. Drowsiness, problems with concentration and memory, and depression are common side effects of treating anxiety with medications.
And yet... How to treat fear and anxiety?
We believe that an effective, and at the same time gentle on the body, way of treating increased anxiety is psychotherapy.
Just not outdated conversational methods like psychoanalysis, existential therapy or gestalt. Control studies indicate that these types of psychotherapy produce very modest results. And then, at best.
What about modern psychotherapeutic methods: EMDR therapy, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, hypnosis, short-term strategic psychotherapy! With their help, you can solve many therapeutic problems, for example, changing inadequate attitudes that underlie anxiety. Or teaching clients to “control themselves” in stressful situations is more effective.
The integrated use of these methods for anxiety neuroses is more effective than treatment with medications. Judge for yourself:
the probability of a successful result is about 87%! This figure is not only the result of our observations. There are many clinical trials confirming the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
noticeable improvement in condition after 2-3 sessions.
short-termism. In other words, you don’t need to go to a psychologist for years; usually 6 to 20 sessions are required. This depends on the degree of neglect of the disorder, as well as other individual characteristics of the person applying.
How is fear and anxiety treated?
Psychological diagnostics- the main goal of the first meeting between the client and the psychotherapist (sometimes two). Deep psychodiagnostics is what further treatment is based on. Therefore, it must be as accurate as possible, otherwise nothing will work. Here is a checklist for a good diagnosis:
the real, underlying causes of anxiety have been found;
a clear and rational treatment plan for anxiety disorder has been drawn up;
the client fully understands the mechanisms of psychotherapeutic procedures (this alone gives relief, because the end of all suffering is visible!);
you feel sincere interest and care about you (in general, we believe that this condition should be present everywhere in the service industry).
Effective treatment, in our opinion, this is when:
Scientifically proven and clinically tested methods of psychotherapy are used;
the work is carried out, if possible, without medications, which means no side effects, no contraindications for pregnant and nursing mothers;
the techniques used by the psychologist are safe for the psyche, the patient is reliably protected from repeated psychological trauma (and sometimes “victims” of amateurs of all stripes turn to us);
the specialist helps to increase the independence and confidence of his client, and does not seek to make him dependent on the therapist.
Sustainable results- this is a consequence of intensive joint work between the client and the psychotherapist. Our statistics show that on average this requires 14-16 meetings. Sometimes you come across people who achieve excellent results in 6-8 meetings. In particularly advanced cases, 20 sessions are not enough. What do we mean by “quality” result?
Sustained psychotherapeutic effect, no relapses. So that it doesn’t happen as often happens when treating anxiety disorders with medications: if you stop taking them, fear and other symptoms return.
There are no residual effects. Let's turn again to drug treatment. Typically, people taking medications still feel anxious, albeit through a veil. From such a “smoldering” state a fire can flare up. It shouldn't be this way.
The person is reliably protected from possible stress in the future, which (theoretically) could provoke the appearance of anxiety symptoms. That is, he is trained in self-regulation methods, has high resistance to stress, and is able to properly take care of himself in difficult situations.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, psychic hasthenia Janet and anxiety neurosis were isolated from Beard neurasthenia as an independent form. The latter was first described by Freud in 1892, i.e. several years before the creation of their psychoanalysis.In Germany, this form became known as Angstneurosen, in Anglo-American countries - anxiety nurosis and in France - neuroses d'angoisse. Although it was included in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases of the World Health Assembly, the clinic remained poorly developed, the boundaries were insufficient outlined. In Russian monographs, fear neurosis was not described. Our observations indicate that this is an independent form of neurosis.
The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of feelings of anxiety or fear. Most often it occurs acutely, suddenly, less often - slowly, gradually intensifying. Having arisen, this feeling does not leave the patient throughout the day and often lasts for weeks or months. Its intensity fluctuates between a slight feeling of anxiety and pronounced fear, followed by attacks of horror.
Fear is unconditional (which is its main difference from phobias), i.e. it does not depend on any situation or any ideas, is unmotivated, meaningless, devoid of plot (“free-floating fear” - free floating anxiety states). Fear is primary and cannot be derived from other experiences in a psychologically understandable way.
“The state of fear does not leave me all the time,” said one of our patients. “I experience all day long either a feeling of vague anxiety or fear. At the same time, I don’t know what I’m afraid of, what I’m waiting for. Just fear” There is often an expectation of some vague danger of misfortune, something terrible that is about to happen. “I understand,” said this patient, “that nothing terrible should happen and that there is nothing to be afraid of, but I am overwhelmed, absorbed in a constant feeling of fear, as if something terrible is about to happen.”
Often, under the influence of fear, anxious concerns arise that are psychologically understandably associated with it. They are not persistent. The degree of their intensity depends on the strength of fear.
“Sometimes the fear intensifies,” said another patient, “and then I begin to be afraid of everything: if I’m standing by the window, what if I throw myself out the window, if I see a knife, what if I hit myself, if I’m alone in the room, I’m afraid that if they knock, I won’t be able to open the door, or if I get sick, then there will be no one to help. If the husband or child is not at home at this time, then the thought arises whether something terrible happened to them. Once, during an attack of fear, I saw an iron, and the thought flashed - what if I turn it on and forget to turn it off.” With the disappearance or weakening of the feeling of fear, these fears also disappear. Anything that increases feelings of anxiety or fear can cause or aggravate these fears. Thus, unpleasant sensations in the heart area or hearing a story that someone died of a myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, got cancer or “went crazy” can give rise to corresponding fears. In this case, fear is primary, and the fear of dying from a heart attack, cerebral hemorrhage, getting cancer or a mental disorder is secondary. It is not of the nature of a persistent overvalued hypochondriacal idea or phobia, but only of an anxious fear. Under the influence of persuasion, the patient often agrees that he is not in danger of dying from “heart paralysis,” but the fear persists and either immediately changes the plot (“well, I don’t know, maybe it’s not a heart attack, but another terrible disease”), or temporarily becomes meaningless, “free-floating” fear.
Sometimes, depending on the content of the alarming fears, patients take certain “protective” measures - more or less adequate to the content of the fear, for example, they ask not to leave them alone, so that there is someone to help if “something” happens to them terrible,” or avoid physical activity if they are afraid for the condition of the heart, they ask to hide sharp objects if there is a fear of going crazy (there are no rituals in this case).
The state of fear can periodically intensify sharply, giving way to attacks of horror with unmotivated fear or, most often, with the expectation of death, for example from “heart paralysis”, “brain hemorrhage”.
Due to the dominance of feelings of anxiety or fear, patients note difficulty concentrating on any activity, increased excitability, and affective instability. At times they are anxious, agitated, and seek help. They often experience painful, unpleasant sensations in the area of the heart or epigastrium, giving the feeling of fear a vital tinge. Blood pressure during the period of illness in most patients remains within the normal range or at its lower limit. At the height of the affect of fear it increases slightly. At this time, there is an increase in heart rate and breathing, dry mouth, and sometimes an increased urge to urinate.
During illness, appetite is reduced. Due to a constant feeling of anxiety and loss of appetite, patients often lose weight, although not very sharply. Sexual desire is usually reduced. Many experience difficulty falling asleep, anxious sleep with nightmares. The galvanic skin component of the indicative reaction often occurs spontaneously and is not extinguished throughout the entire study. Here is a typical observation.
She unexpectedly found out that her husband was married and was paying alimony for the child from his first marriage. I was shocked by this. I had a painful conversation with his first wife and listened to undeserved insults from her. His first wife did not lay claim to her sick husband and that same evening she left for her place in another city. The patient remained with her husband, but she became disgusted with him, and she immediately pushed him away from her, although before that she loved him very much and experienced a strong sexual attraction to him. I was in a state of confusion.
4 days after the incident, I woke up at night with a feeling of intense fear. The chest was compressed, there was an unpleasant sensation in the area of the heart, she was trembling all over, could not find a place for herself, was agitated, it seemed that she was about to die. Cardiac and sedatives did not bring relief. Since then, for 9 years, he has constantly experienced a feeling of fear, which is often unmotivated. “I don’t know what I’m afraid of,” says the patient, “I feel as if something terrible is about to happen There is a constant feeling of anxiety.” Sometimes fear is associated with certain specific concerns. So, he begins to fear that something might happen to his heart. “I sometimes think,” she says with tears, “that my heart might break from excitement At times I’m afraid to stay at home alone - suddenly something will happen and there will be no one to help me, and when the fear intensifies, I begin to be afraid and walking down the street alone.” Anxiety sometimes decreases significantly for 1-2 hours, sometimes it increases sharply. “Stupid thoughts often began to creep into my head,” she complained 2 years after the onset of the disease. “Yesterday I suddenly thought that I would die, how they would bury me, how the children would be left alone. If someone talks about death or an accident, it pops into your head and you close your eyes - they are dead. As soon as the knock is heard, the alarm intensifies. I have become even more impatient and irritable than before: I can’t do one thing for a long time, I don’t have the patience to stand in line for a minute. Once in a store I saw cashiers passing money to each other. Fear appeared - suddenly their money would be stolen, the police would come, and I couldn’t stand it out of fear. I left the store, and these thoughts went away, my anxiety became less.”
Throughout the entire period of illness, she did not leave work and did not tell her colleagues about her illness. She noted that she felt better at work. Work distracts from feelings of anxiety, however, even there it does not completely leave the patient. At home she has an outwardly good relationship with her husband. He is caring and attentive. She takes care of the children and runs the household. Since the onset of the disease, sexual desire remains low, although she lives a sexual life with her husband, sometimes experiencing sexual satisfaction.
At the beginning of the disease, the patient went for an inpatient examination to a therapeutic clinic. No somatic disorders were found there. Blood pressure 110/75 mm, urine and blood tests without pathological changes, basal metabolic rate - 12. She was transferred from a therapeutic clinic to a psychiatric clinic, where during the first 2 years of her illness she was hospitalized twice (1/2 and 2 months) with symptoms of fear neurosis.
In a psychiatric clinic, upon first admission, blood pressure sometimes approached the lower limit of normal, ranging from 105/60 to 115/70 mm. The pulse during anxiety was up to 100-110 per minute. There was no connection between the feeling of fear and fluctuations in blood pressure. In subsequent years, blood pressure was 110/70-120/80 mm. The electrocardiogram is always normal.
When studying the electrical activity of the brain, as well as the extinction of the orienting reaction, no symptoms of focal brain damage were found. The alpha rhythm dominates in all departments, and, as in the norm, it is most distinct in the parietal and occipital regions. Alpha rhythm oscillations are 11-12 per second, amplitude is 50-70 millivolts. Areas of spontaneous de-pression of the alpha rhythm are constantly observed. In the anterior and central sections there are low-amplitude slow oscillations (4 per second) with overlapping alpha oscillations. Opening the eyes and the action of a light stimulus caused incomplete depression of the alpha rhythm. Rhythm acquisition (from 3 to 30 light flashes per second) was not observed.
The clinic prescribed general strengthening treatment, attempts were made at hypnotherapy (the patient could not concentrate and did not fall asleep); Narcopsychotherapy and treatment with aminazine were carried out. Thus, during the second year of the disease, a three-month course of treatment with chlorpromazine (up to 450 mg per day and then maintenance doses of 100 mg) was carried out in the hospital and partly on an outpatient basis. During treatment I felt drowsy, with large doses I slept a lot, but as soon as I woke up, the anxiety resumed. In general, chlorpromazine slightly reduced this feeling. Sometimes andaxin significantly reduced anxiety, although its calming effect is usually much weaker than aminazine. However, it also happened that even large doses of andaxin (8 tablets per day) did not produce an effect. Tofranil did not reduce anxiety. It decreased significantly when the patient began taking Nosinane (50 mg per day) and Stelazine (20 mg per day). These doses turned out to be optimal for her, and she has been taking them for about a year.
So, in this case, fear neurosis arose after severe mental trauma. The peculiarity of this trauma was that it not only had a shock mental effect, but also caused a severe mental conflict associated with the coexistence of contradictory tendencies (a feeling of love for her husband and indignation at his behavior). As a result of a “collision” of nervous processes, inhibition of the unconditional reflex sexual desire arose, after which the patient developed a feeling of fear.
It is possible that the energy of sexual desire that did not find an outlet through the mechanism of positive induction caused the excitation of a passive defensive reflex, which underlies the feeling of fear. The resulting feeling of fear either remained isolated and was experienced as causeless, meaningless, or irradiated and spread along associative connections, reviving the corresponding ideas.
Under the influence of fear, the patient first came to life with those associations that were the most recent and strongest in the given situation. So, as soon as you told someone about death from heart disease, the fear of dying from the same appeared. As soon as the mother was late at work, the thought appeared whether something terrible had happened to her. Usually, if a loved one does not return from work at the usual time, a number of assumptions arise. At the same time, based on past experience, the process of probabilistic forecasting is carried out, the statistical (experimentally established) probability of various possible causes is determined. In this case, this evaluation process was disrupted due to the affective charge of certain ideas. And although, for example, the probability that the mother did not come home from work because she was late there is 99.99%, and the probability that she had an accident on the road is 0.01% , only the latter is taken into account. The patient’s insufficient extinction of the orienting reaction is probably due to a constant feeling of anxious anticipation of something that may happen.
The patient’s previous tendency to passive-defensive reactions (since childhood she was afraid to be alone in the room in the evening) could contribute to the emergence of fear and its fixation. Certain characterological features (honesty, integrity), as well as the patient’s ethical and moral attitudes, made her especially sensitive to this particular injury. The strength of the traumatic impact, in addition, was increased by the surprise of the message, and the surprise of the message, leading to a “mismatch between what was expected and what happened,” as we have seen, has a particularly strong emotional impact. Tranquilizers reduced the feeling of fear, but did not eliminate it completely. Below we will focus on the differential diagnosis between fear neurosis and obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Here we just note that, in contrast to obsessive-compulsive neurosis, the patient’s fear is meaningless, athematic, and substandard. The anxious fears that arise at the height of an attack of fear are short-term, changeable and close to those fears that, as we know, are characteristic of a healthy person. They are not phobic in nature.
The duration of fear neuroses is most often from 1 to 6 months; sometimes the disease takes a protracted course and can last for years. In general, in the involutionary period, as is known, states of fear arise more often than in other periods of life. During this period, fear neurosis easily takes a protracted course. The addition of hypotension, hypertension, cerebral atherosclerosis, and heart disease worsens the prognosis and leads to the emergence of mixed somatic-psychic forms, in which minor fluctuations in blood pressure or mildly expressed disturbances in cardiac activity cause a sharp increase in the feeling of fear.
The cause of the disease can be a strong mental shock, as well as less severe, but longer-acting psychotraumatic factors leading to the emergence of conflict (coexistence of conflicting aspirations).
One of the common causes of fear neurosis is the occurrence of acute neuro-vegetative dysfunction caused by a situation in which a collision (“collision”) of unconditioned reflex sexual arousal with the processes of internal inhibition occurs. This can be observed when strong sexual arousal is inhibited by an effort of will, for example, during interrupted sexual intercourse, which has become a system of sexual life. This sometimes happens when a woman has strong sexual arousal and remains unsatisfied, that is, when the release of sexual arousal does not occur.
The first attack of fear, which marked the beginning of the disease, plays a large role in the formation of neurosis. It can be caused not only by psychogenic, but also by physiological reasons, for example, acute vegetative crisis, vasopathic disorders leading to hypoxemia and physiologically caused fear. Such a crisis can occur after an infection or intoxication, but the main cause of the disease is not infection or intoxication, but the psychotraumatic effect of this experience or the influence of a psychotraumatic situation, which led to the fixation of the resulting feeling of fear.
Sometimes fear neurosis is not easy to differentiate from states of fear that occur in some cyclothymic depressions. They are characterized, in addition to feelings of anxiety, sometimes fear, low mood and signs of mild psychomotor retardation (general feeling of heaviness, “laziness,” sometimes emptiness in the head), sometimes constipation and amenorrhea, daily mood swings . With depression, there is often a deterioration in well-being in the morning and an increase in fear in the evening. Finally, cyclothymia is characterized by a phasic course of the disease (such phases with anxiety and fear often last 2-4 months and are replaced by light intervals, less often by hypomanic phases). Anxious fears are most often of hypochondriacal content.
The presence of ideas of guilt or self-deprecation (“I’m bad, lazy, a burden to the family”) is characteristic not of fear neurosis, but of depression and always raises the question of the possibility of suicidal thoughts and the need for timely hospitalization.
Ex juvantibus, the therapeutic effect of tofranil (prescribed for anxiety in combination with evening tranquilizers), in our opinion, speaks in favor of cyclothymia.
Obsessive states. Fear is present in each of us, big or small, most often caused by any stressful situations, manifested as a result of natural disasters, after injuries from road accidents or provoked by other extraordinary situations, often of a short-term nature. It's a different matter when fear takes shape obsessive neurosis , not leaving you day or night, tormenting you for absolutely any reason.
Basic cause of fear neurosis most often are psycho-emotional trauma or severe consequences of psychological conflicts. State of neurosisA in such cases, it is protracted (from 6 months to 1 year, and longer in old age) and accompanies a person for a fairly long period, weakening or intensifying, during which it is impossible to get rid of this feeling on your own.
Main symptom fear neurosis– this is anxiety and fear that does not depend on the situation, worldview or the outside world. This kind obsessive neurosis makes a person see potential danger even in the simplest life situations. Often realizing the groundlessness of their anxiety states, anxiety neurosis does not allow a person to control his feelings and can suddenly acquire a state of horror.
Causes of fear neurosis
Anxiety neurosis affects not only the mental abilities of the patient, making him irritable and emotional, but also significantly weakens his physical condition. In the background irritability and increased emotionality state of neurosis expressed in increased heartbeat and breathing, discomfort in the area heart and belly, dry mouth, frequent attacks of frequent urination, decreased appetite. Against the background of anxiety and fear, problems with sleep arise, significantly weakening the moral and physical state.
This kind obsessive neurosis does not arise out of the blue, most often causes of fear neurosis are:
- Stressful situations , which can lead to constant fatigue, difficult working conditions or, conversely, lack of work, frequent family conflicts , unfavorable environment (sharp noise, too bright lighting, etc.).
- State of neurosis fear can be provoked and nervous overstrain at some points in life (a new job, retirement, the appearance of a child in the family, marriage, fatal illness of one of the family members, etc.)
Symptoms of fear neurosis
TO symptoms of anxiety neurosis and worries include:
6. decreased appetite,
7. sensation "coma in the goal",
8. a constant state of anxiety and excessive attention to the functioning of one’s own body, to the physical condition of other family members or surrounding people,
In childhood anxiety neurosis accompanied by stuttering, nail biting, night enuresis, sucking a finger (usually the thumb), perverted eating behavior.
Often anxiety neurosis accompanied by phobias (most often agoraphobia, social anxiety and other specific phobias).
When diagnosing this type obsessive-compulsive disorder it is very important to exclude organic causes (psychosis or psychopathy), anxious depression , which, as a rule, is the basis for development fear neurosis.
Obsessive neurosis fear can occur with periods of remission of the disease, but during periods of relapse vegetative crises can be observed ( panic attacks ), increased irritability and tearfulness. In some cases (especially in older people), the condition fear neurosis may acquire other forms of mental disorders, among which most often occurs agitated depression .
Treatment of fear neurosis
IN treatment of fear neurosis Psychotherapeutic methods of treatment are of great importance, which include: attention to the patient’s anxieties and fears, training in methods and methods of management state of neurosis, a more lenient attitude on the part of the patient towards his fears and their accompanying phobias. A good psychotherapeutic effect can be obtained by using relaxation methods such as meditation, head massage, acupuncture, yoga, physical therapy for neuroses, breathing exercises, auto-training. Psychological assistance is important in solving various difficult situations for the patient. In old age to increase the effect of treatment obsessive neurosis often positive dynamics are achieved by the assistance of social protection workers.
IN treatment of fear neurosis To increase the therapeutic effect, drugs are prescribed - anxiolytics, which help consolidate the results of the psychotherapeutic treatment. To improve the psycho-emotional state in the treatment of fear neurosis, they do not resort to the prescription of synthetic tranquilizers and sleeping pills, but use mild herbal preparations that do not cause addiction and dependence.
Decoctions of medicinal herbs are recommended as maintenance therapy: chamomile flowers
, leaves lemon balm
or mint, linden color, oregano herbs And motherwort, root valerian officinalis, herbal preparations are prescribed. More effective in this case 
are Valeriana P(awarded gold medal exhibition "Medicine and Health", held in Perm in 2008) exhibitions and Motherwort P, which include, in addition to medicinal plant materials, vitamin C, which allows not only to stimulate the body’s defenses, but also to relieve the main symptoms fear neurosis, manifested autonomic dysfunction
and difficulty falling asleep, but also increase level of stress resistance
, remove free radicals that attack body cells during stress, neurotic and mental disorders.
Taller anxiolytic
has an effect 10 times higher than that of valerian cyanosis blue, on the basis of which the biologically active complex is produced Nervo-Vit, which is one from 100 best products
2012. Nervo-Vit contains: valerian officinalis, which provides a longer-lasting sedative effect, as well as lemon balm and motherwort, which help to obtain a faster sedative effect. Vitamin C Nervo-Vit enhances the effect of medicinal herbs and stimulates the synthesis of anti-stress hormones, which is important for reducing symptoms fear neurosis. The medicinal herbs included in Nervo-Vit are the best sedative mixture
, which during the production of Nervo-Vit is subjected to cryominding
at ultra-low temperatures, which allows not to lose some of their medicinal properties, which are partially lost during high-temperature treatment (herbal decoctions, infusions, extracts).
That is why the drugs in the series "Secrets of Longevity"
, the line of which includes the herbal preparations mentioned above, are more effective in the treatment of various diseases, including mental, neurotic and somatovegetative disorders.
Increase the physical condition of the body, weakened state of neurosis, improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, reduce irritability and tearfulness, characteristic symptoms fear neurosis, Vitamin complexes will help. Vitamins Apitonus P, will provide the body with all the necessary nutrients (amino acids, enzymes, macro- and microelements, vitamins of the main groups) due to the content of natural sources - bee pollen) and royal jelly
. 
Antioxidants will improve blood circulation and normalize redox reactions in the body -
Some people constantly expect danger, although there is no reason for this. Such people suffer from fear neurosis, which is one of the forms of neuropsychic disorders characterized by feelings of fear, obsessive thoughts, drives, memories, desires, states and (or) actions. Often a person may retain criticism and an adequate assessment of the surrounding reality.
Symptoms
- Anxiety, feeling of insecurity.
- Excitement, panic.
- Impairments of consciousness, thinking, and perception.
- Dry throat, difficulty breathing.
- Increased sweating.
- Urination to urinate, diarrhea.
- Frequent heartbeat. Rapid pulse.
Reasons for development
Fear can arise due to subconscious internal conflicts, excessive physical and psychological stress. It can also be a reaction to a severe stressful situation, such as divorce. Psychoanalysts believe that external manifestations of fear are caused by internal fear. People suffering from neuroses have internal conflicts on a subconscious level, which is usually the cause of panic.
Phobias are so-called problematic conditions and associated situations. Phobias arise in a person against his will, but with awareness of their painfulness and a critical attitude towards them. Most phobias develop against the background of chronic somatic and neurological diseases.
Treatment
Psychotherapeutic methods and behavioral therapy are used to treat fear neurosis. First of all, it is necessary to mention psychoanalysis. When talking with a patient, the psychoanalyst tries to find out the cause of the neurosis or phobia and thereby open the path to recovery for the patient. Other methods of psychotherapy are autogenic training and logotherapy (the purpose of this method is to develop self-confidence in the patient, thereby giving him the opportunity to look at his fear from the outside). The goal of behavioral therapy methods is to teach the patient to control their fear. An example is the method of systematic desensitization. The essence of the method is to reduce the patient’s sensitivity to those situations that give rise to fear or phobia.
A doctor should be consulted if a person is unable to overcome his fear on his own. The doctor will examine the patient, because... constant fear of various things and phenomena can be a symptom of a somatic illness, for example, angina pectoris. If you are physically healthy, your doctor will refer you to a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
Fear neurosis is usually accompanied by various mental changes: the patient often has a feeling of insecurity, anxiety or agitation, and cannot concentrate. There is a disturbance in thinking and perception. In addition, physical ailments also occur: palpitations, rapid pulse and breathing, dry throat, a person feels as if he has a “lump in the throat.” There is a feeling of chest tightness, the pupils dilate, sweating increases, nausea, tremors, vomiting, the urge to urinate, and diarrhea appear.
Anxiety neurosis is a psychiatric and neurological disorder, which is based on a constant feeling of fear, anxiety, sometimes almost panic, which is difficult to explain. The developed disease begins to significantly limit the person, interfering with full functioning and ability to work. It is worth knowing about the main symptoms and treatment of anxiety neurosis.
Features of the disease
Anxiety neurosis sometimes causes difficulties in diagnosis; often people pay attention to their condition only when vegetative and somatic symptoms appear, ignoring a depressed emotional state and a constant feeling of anxiety. Therefore, they often begin to look for the cause of illness in the field of cardiology or other neurological disorders, only over time moving towards psychiatry.
Causes and types
Various factors lead to the occurrence of this disease. Experts find it difficult to determine the specific causes of this disease. Typically, anxiety and other symptoms are caused by constant stress, severe emotional and physical stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle.
Also, some experts highlight a genetic factor; some people are more predisposed to depression and anxiety than others. Some people's nervous systems are not as strong as others. Severe systemic diseases that exhaust the body can also provoke attacks of anxiety neurosis.
Anxious-phobic neurosis can be called the most common form of the disease, which is mainly haunted by unreasonable anxieties and fears. They can vary in intensity and worsen periodically, but there is no pronounced depression.
Anxiety-depressive neurosis is sometimes called a mixed disorder in which anxiety and fears manifest themselves as strongly as depressive symptoms. With a mixed disorder, the patient feels more depressed and tired.
Often people consult a doctor when chronic anxiety neurosis develops. Anxiety and other symptoms become constant with periodic worsening of the condition. At the very beginning of the disease, on the contrary, anxiety episodes are rare, provoked by physical and emotional fatigue, otherwise the patient feels quite well.
Important! If you suspect anxiety neurosis, you should contact a neurologist or psychotherapist.
Symptoms
There are several groups of signs of the disorder; you should pay attention to their appearance first:
- Emotional signs of anxiety. These include constant anxious thoughts associated with various events and fears about the future. Such thoughts often have no basis and seem irrational from the outside.
- Physical manifestations of anxiety. They usually manifest themselves in the inability to relax, constant muscle tension, and a feeling of physical fatigue that does not go away after rest.
- Motor manifestations of anxiety. People often call them nervous tics; the patient may constantly adjust his clothes, things, fuss, and tremble. Sometimes it is impossible to literally sit still; a person needs to constantly walk or do something.
This is the main symptom of this disease. Also, over time, various vegetative symptoms may develop, these include heartbeat disturbances, the appearance of pain in the area of the heart muscle, shortness of breath, headaches and dizziness.
Some patients develop severe sleep disturbances, insomnia may occur, and constant drowsiness may occur. Some people with this disease become more fearful and become more afraid of even ordinary everyday situations. In rare cases, urinary problems occur.
Advanced neurosis leads to serious limitations in performance. This disorder usually does not lead to disability, but it has been noticed that patients in the later stages of the disease begin to cope worse with the usual volumes of work, and everything begins to be more difficult.
Important! Similar symptoms may indicate other psychiatric and neurological disorders; a comprehensive diagnosis is required.
Treatment at home
This disease usually does not require hospitalization or hospital treatment, so you can start therapy at home under the supervision of a specialist. It is worth preparing for the fact that treatment for an anxiety disorder can be quite lengthy, sometimes taking years. However, with the right treatment regimen, relief will become noticeable very soon.
Treatment on your own, without the help of a neurologist or psychotherapist, is unacceptable; it is impossible to get out of a depressed state and constant fear on your own. In addition, often starting full-fledged psychotherapy is one of the main steps on the path to getting rid of neurosis.
Tablets and other drugs often only help relieve symptoms; treatment is based on sessions with a psychotherapist, anti-stress therapy, normalization of work and rest schedules, switching to a healthy diet and an appropriate lifestyle in general. Only in this case will it be possible to achieve a stable result.
In case of severe anxiety, constant fear that interferes with normal life activities, tranquilizers may be prescribed. Treatment with Atarax and its analogues is common; Grandaxin and other drugs of this group can be prescribed.
Antidepressants are prescribed less frequently and are usually required if depression is the most prominent symptom of the disorder. Only in this case will taking medications be most effective. It is worth remembering that such drugs can only be prescribed by the attending physician; taking them independently is dangerous to health.
Various physiotherapeutic and manual techniques can also be used. They use massage, warm baths, electrophoresis and other methods of combating anxiety. They may also recommend doing sports.
Treatment with homeopathy and other non-standard methods can only be carried out simultaneously with official therapy; it is also advised to treat them with caution; improper treatment can seriously harm a patient with neurosis. Homeopathy is best used to strengthen the immune system.
Treatment with traditional methods
For neurosis, herbal treatment with a sedative effect is most effective. They will help ease severe anxiety, fears, and cope with sleep problems that arise with this disease.
It is recommended to use dried mint, sage, lemon balm, chamomile, and other medicinal herbs with a sedative effect. They are added to tea or an infusion based on them is brewed. For one glass of hot water, take one tablespoon of dried herb, brew for 15 - 30 minutes, the finished infusion can be diluted. One glass before bed is enough, you can add milk to the infusion. Instead of sugar, it is recommended to take the infusion as a bite.
