MMA_Matthew
04-30-2013, 06:57 PM
After reading a recent post about anxiety and alcohol i decided to write a article on it to hopefully deter others from self medicating with this
deadly drug.
In saying alcohol is a deadly drug for anxiety suffers, It is everywhere and we are exposed to the commercialism of it be it While watching any sort of entertainment, it might be in your favorite comedy sitcom like two and a half men or in sports like the UFC. We find ourselves constantly bewildered by different beer and liquor commercials.
Outside of television, beer and liquor Adverts are spread all over magazines. Billboards promoting a particular brand of liquor are plastered around our sports stadiums. In some country's, beer and wine are sold in grocery stores and 24-hour off licences like next to snacks and soft drinks.
I would also like to note alcohol is present in many functions such as weddings, birthday party's, BBQ'S and of course. While alcohol can be safe in small amounts to healthy individuals it can be ultimately be destructive for people who suffer from an anxiety disorder i would even go as far as to say it can hinder your progress of getting
better for years. Many anxiety suffers use alcohol as an escape from their torment. Anxiety suffers can mistake alcohol as a short term or even long term cure.
I feel the need to emphasize that although alcohol is legal it is still a DRUG and even the smallest glass of wine can alter the way your brain functions for the evening or even pertinently after chronic abuse,
In this article i would like like to define what alcohol is and what anxiety is by definition.
anxiety disorders are medically defined as
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disturbances characterized by anxiety as a central or core symptom. Although anxiety is a commonplace experience, not everyone who experiences it has an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is associated with a wide range of physical illnesses, medication side effects, and other psychiatric disorders. The revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) that took place after 1980 brought major changes in the classification of the anxiety disorders. Prior to 1980, psychiatrists classified patients on the basis of a theory that defined anxiety as the outcome of unconscious conflicts in the patient's mind. DSM-III (1980), DSM-III-R (1987), and DSM-IV (1994) introduced and refined a new classification that considered recent discoveries about the biochemical and post-traumatic origins of some types of anxiety. The present definitions are based on the external and reported symptom patterns of the disorders rather than on theories about their origins. DSM-IV defines 12 types of anxiety disorders in the adult population. They can be grouped under seven headings:
Panic disorders with or without agoraphobia. The chief characteristic of panic disorder is the occurrence of panic attacks coupled with fear of their recurrence. In clinical settings, agoraphobia is usually not a disorder byitself, but is typically associated with some form of panic disorder. Patients with agoraphobia are afraid of places or situations in which they might have a panic attack and be unable to leave or to find help. About 25% of patients with panic disorder develop obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Phobias. These include specific phobias and social phobia. A phobia is an intense irrational fear of a specific object or situation that compels the patient to avoid it. Some phobias concern activities or objects that involve some risk (for example, flying or driving) but many are focused on harmless animals or other objects. Social phobia involves a fear of being humiliated, judged, or scrutinized. It manifests itself as a fear of performing certain functions in the presence of others, such as public speaking or using public lavatories.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This disorder is marked by unwanted, intrusive, persistent thoughts or repetitive behaviors that reflect the patient's anxiety or attempts to control it. It affects between 2-3% of the population and is much more common than was previously thought.
Stress disorders. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder. Stress disorders are symptomatic reactions to traumatic events in the patient's life.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is the most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorder and occurs most frequently in young adults.
Anxiety disorders due to known physical causes. These include general medical conditions or substance abuse.
Anxiety disorder not otherwise specified. This last category is not a separate type of disorder, but is included to cover symptoms that do not meet the specific DSM-IV criteria for other anxiety disorders.
All DSM-IV anxiety disorder diagnoses include a criterion of severity. The anxiety must be severe enough to interfere significantly with the patient's occupational or educational functioning, social activities or close relationships, and other customary activities.
The anxiety disorders vary widely in their frequency of occurrence in the general population, age of onset, family patterns, and gender distribution. The stress disorders and anxiety disorders caused by medical conditions or substance abuse are less age- and gender-specific. Whereas OCD affects males and females equally, GAD, panic disorder, and specific phobias all affect women more frequently than men. GAD and panic disorders are more likely to develop in young adults, while phobias and OCD can begin in childhood.
For the sake of this article i will simplify anxiety disorders to anything that causes extreme terror in the mind of a person that cause debilitation to abnormal extent which leads to a loss of quality of life. It’s hard to be able to pinpoint where exactly anxiety and panic attacks are bound to happen. The fact about anxiety disorders is that it can happen anytime, night or die, alone or in a crowd.
The definition of Alcohol is An organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms. After alcohol is ingested, the body converts it to sugar-based fuel. Alcohol acts as a central nervous system depressant and can often deter-ate mental illnesses Through out history Alcohol has been made by natural fermentation but in modern times alcohol is made synthetically with chemicals to keep costs low and make the product more potent, The amount of alcohol a drink contains depends on many factors: the type of yeast used, the amount and type of sugar used, and finally the temperature during the process of fermentation. It is fact that most alcoholic drinks will contain 6-8% alcohol.
I want to make it very clear that just because alcohol comes in different strengths,types and amounts that DOES NOT mean that any brands are any dangerous then one an other to anxiety sufferers.
People with anxiety drink for many different reasons to calm them down, to make them more relaxed or to even make them more social some times a few glasses of wine before bed is a way of winding down after a hard days work. Regrettably alcohol is a depressant, it depresses specific parts of the brain, including those mechanisms that would normally allow you to be ration-able we have all seen the guy that's like " What's that guy doing chatting to my wife he must be trying to hit on her i'm going to go over their and say something mike." Dispite this adverse effect alcohol may temporarily relieve anxiety for a short time. That is why many sufferers of anxiety disorders fall back to alcoholism to alleviate their anxiety and panic attacks. However, alcohol can, in turn have very drastic effects on your life as a sufferer of an anxiety disorder Alcohol as depressant can aggravate the terror of anxiety and panic. Panic attacks after alcohol has wore off are very common among-st sufferers. Alcohol will heighten negative sensations through having shut down parts of the mind from the night before because of this, people with anxiety disorders will become worse than before they started drinking alcohol.
deadly drug.
In saying alcohol is a deadly drug for anxiety suffers, It is everywhere and we are exposed to the commercialism of it be it While watching any sort of entertainment, it might be in your favorite comedy sitcom like two and a half men or in sports like the UFC. We find ourselves constantly bewildered by different beer and liquor commercials.
Outside of television, beer and liquor Adverts are spread all over magazines. Billboards promoting a particular brand of liquor are plastered around our sports stadiums. In some country's, beer and wine are sold in grocery stores and 24-hour off licences like next to snacks and soft drinks.
I would also like to note alcohol is present in many functions such as weddings, birthday party's, BBQ'S and of course. While alcohol can be safe in small amounts to healthy individuals it can be ultimately be destructive for people who suffer from an anxiety disorder i would even go as far as to say it can hinder your progress of getting
better for years. Many anxiety suffers use alcohol as an escape from their torment. Anxiety suffers can mistake alcohol as a short term or even long term cure.
I feel the need to emphasize that although alcohol is legal it is still a DRUG and even the smallest glass of wine can alter the way your brain functions for the evening or even pertinently after chronic abuse,
In this article i would like like to define what alcohol is and what anxiety is by definition.
anxiety disorders are medically defined as
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disturbances characterized by anxiety as a central or core symptom. Although anxiety is a commonplace experience, not everyone who experiences it has an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is associated with a wide range of physical illnesses, medication side effects, and other psychiatric disorders. The revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) that took place after 1980 brought major changes in the classification of the anxiety disorders. Prior to 1980, psychiatrists classified patients on the basis of a theory that defined anxiety as the outcome of unconscious conflicts in the patient's mind. DSM-III (1980), DSM-III-R (1987), and DSM-IV (1994) introduced and refined a new classification that considered recent discoveries about the biochemical and post-traumatic origins of some types of anxiety. The present definitions are based on the external and reported symptom patterns of the disorders rather than on theories about their origins. DSM-IV defines 12 types of anxiety disorders in the adult population. They can be grouped under seven headings:
Panic disorders with or without agoraphobia. The chief characteristic of panic disorder is the occurrence of panic attacks coupled with fear of their recurrence. In clinical settings, agoraphobia is usually not a disorder byitself, but is typically associated with some form of panic disorder. Patients with agoraphobia are afraid of places or situations in which they might have a panic attack and be unable to leave or to find help. About 25% of patients with panic disorder develop obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Phobias. These include specific phobias and social phobia. A phobia is an intense irrational fear of a specific object or situation that compels the patient to avoid it. Some phobias concern activities or objects that involve some risk (for example, flying or driving) but many are focused on harmless animals or other objects. Social phobia involves a fear of being humiliated, judged, or scrutinized. It manifests itself as a fear of performing certain functions in the presence of others, such as public speaking or using public lavatories.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This disorder is marked by unwanted, intrusive, persistent thoughts or repetitive behaviors that reflect the patient's anxiety or attempts to control it. It affects between 2-3% of the population and is much more common than was previously thought.
Stress disorders. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder. Stress disorders are symptomatic reactions to traumatic events in the patient's life.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is the most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorder and occurs most frequently in young adults.
Anxiety disorders due to known physical causes. These include general medical conditions or substance abuse.
Anxiety disorder not otherwise specified. This last category is not a separate type of disorder, but is included to cover symptoms that do not meet the specific DSM-IV criteria for other anxiety disorders.
All DSM-IV anxiety disorder diagnoses include a criterion of severity. The anxiety must be severe enough to interfere significantly with the patient's occupational or educational functioning, social activities or close relationships, and other customary activities.
The anxiety disorders vary widely in their frequency of occurrence in the general population, age of onset, family patterns, and gender distribution. The stress disorders and anxiety disorders caused by medical conditions or substance abuse are less age- and gender-specific. Whereas OCD affects males and females equally, GAD, panic disorder, and specific phobias all affect women more frequently than men. GAD and panic disorders are more likely to develop in young adults, while phobias and OCD can begin in childhood.
For the sake of this article i will simplify anxiety disorders to anything that causes extreme terror in the mind of a person that cause debilitation to abnormal extent which leads to a loss of quality of life. It’s hard to be able to pinpoint where exactly anxiety and panic attacks are bound to happen. The fact about anxiety disorders is that it can happen anytime, night or die, alone or in a crowd.
The definition of Alcohol is An organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms. After alcohol is ingested, the body converts it to sugar-based fuel. Alcohol acts as a central nervous system depressant and can often deter-ate mental illnesses Through out history Alcohol has been made by natural fermentation but in modern times alcohol is made synthetically with chemicals to keep costs low and make the product more potent, The amount of alcohol a drink contains depends on many factors: the type of yeast used, the amount and type of sugar used, and finally the temperature during the process of fermentation. It is fact that most alcoholic drinks will contain 6-8% alcohol.
I want to make it very clear that just because alcohol comes in different strengths,types and amounts that DOES NOT mean that any brands are any dangerous then one an other to anxiety sufferers.
People with anxiety drink for many different reasons to calm them down, to make them more relaxed or to even make them more social some times a few glasses of wine before bed is a way of winding down after a hard days work. Regrettably alcohol is a depressant, it depresses specific parts of the brain, including those mechanisms that would normally allow you to be ration-able we have all seen the guy that's like " What's that guy doing chatting to my wife he must be trying to hit on her i'm going to go over their and say something mike." Dispite this adverse effect alcohol may temporarily relieve anxiety for a short time. That is why many sufferers of anxiety disorders fall back to alcoholism to alleviate their anxiety and panic attacks. However, alcohol can, in turn have very drastic effects on your life as a sufferer of an anxiety disorder Alcohol as depressant can aggravate the terror of anxiety and panic. Panic attacks after alcohol has wore off are very common among-st sufferers. Alcohol will heighten negative sensations through having shut down parts of the mind from the night before because of this, people with anxiety disorders will become worse than before they started drinking alcohol.