How is an anxiety disorder diagnosed during a pandemic?

Among the mental health disorders contributed to by the current global crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of anxiety disorders play a dominant role. These are mainly: panic anxiety, generalized anxiety and the so-called post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly known as PTSD. How are they different? Explains the psychiatrist.

1.  We are all exposed to severe and prolonged stress due to the coronavirus pandemic
2. According to the psychiatrist Dr. Sławomir Murawiec, several types of anxiety disorders resulting from COVID-19 can be distinguished
3. To minimize the risk of anxiety situations, we should limit access to pandemic information
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Coronavirus. Everyone is under stress

– You can escape from a volcanic eruption, and you can also leave the place affected by the earthquake. In a pandemic, however, there is nowhere to run, because there is a risk everywhere and there are some limitations – emphasized psychiatrist Sławomir Murawiec, MD, PhD during his recent online lecture on the impact of the pandemic on mental health.

The expert argued that virtually all, although the most health care workers, especially nurses, are exposed to severe and long-lasting stress due to the pandemic.

– The scale of the painful experience is varied: from getting sick and imminently threatening to life, through witnessing this type of situation, being in a special risk group, remaining in quarantine, to confronting information about the death of a loved one or its threat. The area of ​​traumatic experiences, however, also includes exposure to the effects of the sanitary and epidemiological regulations limiting the freedom of action, access to possessed goods, existential opportunities or medical support in non -andemic diseases, extended in time, emphasizing that all the above-mentioned situations lead to increased stress, which in some people, it may result in the emergence or intensification of mental health disorders.

Specifically, the most common mental disorders observed during a pandemic are, according to a specialist, various types of anxiety disorders and depression.

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When it comes to anxiety disorders, the most important are: panic anxiety, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Due to their frequent occurrence, it is worth knowing how to recognize them in order to be able to seek professional help in time (a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist). Untreated anxiety disorders not only cause suffering and significantly reduce the quality of life, but can also lead to more serious problems and complications (e.g. they increase the risk of attempting suicide or the risk of dying from coronary heart disease).

How to recognize panic anxiety?

– Panic anxiety is a situation in which someone suddenly experiences an unexpectedly strong fear of extreme, even enormous intensity. This is often accompanied by the feeling that you are dying or that you are about to lose control of yourself and go crazy. Then the heart beats like crazy, a person sweats, feels breathless, dizzy, has a feeling of unreality. People experiencing severe anxiety attacks are quite easy to diagnose, because they are people who say something like this: Doctor, recently I have been to the HED 5 times and they have sent me back saying that I am fine – emphasized the psychiatrist, that panic attacks are not limited to any particular situation or circumstance, but can occur at any unexpected moment.

Panic Attack – What is it?

Generalized anxiety – what is it?

Generalized anxiety is a little more difficult to recognize.

– Generalized anxiety is a disorder in which a person simply sits, but his head generates various black scenarios for the future. I will definitely get sick, I will die for sure, I will definitely get infected, and then I will infect my relatives. Although there is no specific, real basis for this yet, the head of such a man is already inventing problems that may arise. This disorder is less frequently recognized, because the environment often ignores it and simply gets used to such a person that they already are – said Sławomir Murawiec, pointing to the fact that also in this case anxiety occurs regardless of any specific external circumstances, and that it may be accompanied by “bodily” symptoms such as sweating, increased heart rate and muscle tension.

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Post-traumatic stress disorder – what are the symptoms?

Another of the anxiety disorders mentioned above that is more and more often diagnosed due to a pandemic is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

– He is known from many American films in which the protagonist returns from the war to his hometown, where instead of living peacefully, he wakes up at night drenched in sweat, because he dreams of situations he experienced before. Post-traumatic stress disorder arises as a delayed or prolonged reaction to stressful events or situations of an extremely threatening or catastrophic nature. These types of disorders may occur, for example, in those people who have been seriously ill with COVID-19 or witnessed the death of other people while in hospital – explained the psychiatrist.

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The typical symptoms of this disorder include i.a. recurring episodes of experiencing a mental trauma in intrusive memories or in dreams. They are often accompanied by feelings of dullness or emotional numbness, attempts to isolate oneself from other people, not reacting to the environment, and avoiding actions that could recall the trauma experienced.

In the context of various types of “pandemic anxiety”, it is worth adding that the significant risk factors for its occurrence in specific people, apart from inborn and acquired personality predispositions, general health, professional and family situation, also include the way of using the media.

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– People who do not experience a pandemic directly may expose themselves to additional stress through the media. Especially when a person gets very into the messages about it. You can then literally be paralyzed with fear, this constantly flowing, frightening information that creates a sense of danger. We have not experienced anything like this in such a great intensity before – emphasized Sławomir Murawiec.

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How to take care of your well-being?

Here are some of the top tips and tricks from mental health experts for the time of a pandemic:

1. Minimize watching, listening, reading, and searching for pandemic information that is driving a spiral of anxiety and stress. Look for information only in reliable sources.
2. Protect yourself and support others at the same time. Helping other people and staying in touch with them provides many mutual psychological benefits. 
3. Try as much as possible to keep the current, personal way of spending time and the rhythm of the day. Don’t give up on your favorite activities, interests and activities. 
4. Pay attention to your needs and feelings. If you experience a mental crisis, seek support from people you trust and know, or from mental health professionals.

1. If you need additional support in the fight against stress, try Lavender and Rosary for stress Herbal Monasterium – a supplement available at a favorable price on Medonet Market.

Author: Wiktor Szczepaniak.

Source:

Mental disorders in the pandemic era ”, lecture by Dr. n. med. Sławomir Murawiec from the Provita Polyclinic in Warsaw, delivered during the webinar “Work of medical staff during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)”, which took place as part of the Oncological Education Program and the Academy of Oncological Nursing in March 2021.

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