The feeling of anxiety is one of the emotions that is characteristic of every person. The appearance of this feeling increases the degree of nervousness, which is reflected in the perception of the world around us. Most people encounter such emotions when under the influence of stress, which is provoked by troubles in family life or conflicts in the work team. Anxious personality disorder has several specific differences from normal expression of emotions. In this state, a person is strongly influenced by his own feelings, which are reflected in his lifestyle. Let's take a closer look at this disease.

Anxiety is a normal human emotion that each of us may experience from time to time.

From a psychological point of view, anxious personality disorder is a mental pathology, the cause of which is closely related to psychosocial and organic factors. People with this disease are characterized by such specific features as a feeling of unreasonable fear and anxiety. The power of expression of these emotions is so great that it leads to a change in the perception of the surrounding world and disrupts the usual way of life.

According to experts, this disease has a high prevalence. The first clinical manifestations of the disease are most often observed in childhood. It is important to note that this disease affects both sexes. . As you get older, the symptoms of a mental disorder increase in severity.. According to experts, a peculiar peak of exacerbation of symptoms of the disease is observed in people whose age has reached forty years.

The World Psychiatric Association published the results of studies according to which two and a half percent of the inhabitants of our planet have this disease.

The pathology under consideration is divided into several types, each of which has specific manifestations. Speaking about different types of disease, it should be mentioned that different forms of pathology have different causes. The generalized form of the disease can be provoked by factors of an organic nature. In some cases, the cause of the disease may be associated with the negative influence of social stimuli. Based on this, an individual approach is applied to each patient, which involves creating a treatment strategy taking into account the causes of the formation and severity of the pathology.

Main types of anxiety disorder

Anxious personality disorder is divided into four conditional groups, each of which has its own unique features and manifestations. In addition, experts consider this condition as one of the manifestations of a person’s personal qualities. Let's take a closer look at each group of disorders:

1. Generalized disorder- An anxious state is accompanied by gradually increasing nervous tension. It should be noted that, as a rule, there are no reasons for concern. This form of the disease is organic in nature. This suggests that to eliminate anxiety, treatment should be directed at eliminating the cause of the disease.
2. Panic form– with this form of the disease, the patient often experiences panic attacks caused by a groundless feeling of fear. Panic attacks develop at a rapid pace. It is important to pay attention to the fact that it is almost impossible to identify the cause of this condition. The development of an attack is accompanied by tachycardia, increased sweating and a feeling of suffocation. Many patients are firmly convinced that panic attacks are associated with cardiac attacks or mental disorders.
3. Social view– This type of anxious personality disorder is called social phobia. It manifests itself in the form of an increase in the severity of anxiety and worry in certain life situations. Such situations include public speaking or the need to create communication bonds with strangers. The cause of anxiety is the fear of criticism, which results in fear of ridicule and embarrassment in front of other people.
4. Phobias– this term should be understood as a specific unreasonable fear associated with various objects or situations. The person may be afraid of death, spiders, airplanes, or confined spaces. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the severity of fear can reach a critical level. This leads to people trying in every possible way to avoid objects or circumstances associated with a phobia, even to the detriment of their own interests.

Anxiety disorder is a serious mental illness, and it can have both organic and psychosocial origins.

Anxious personality disorder is one of the subtypes of a behavioral pattern that is characterized as evasive or avoidant behavior. In this case, the feeling of anxiety is not a specific symptom of pathology, but an integral part of character. Anxiety-depressive disorder is often observed in people with this type of personality. Most of these people have low self-esteem and a rather vulnerable psyche. Increased sensitivity to the opinions of others leads to the fact that a person performs various actions just to gain approval.

Patients whose behavior pattern is dominated by an avoidant form of anxiety tend to social isolation. They avoid various activities that involve close contact with other people. According to experts, there are a number of signs that can be used to recognize an anxious personality type. People with an avoidant form of disorder are characterized by constant analysis of the actions and words of others. Any criticism of them can only increase the feeling of insecurity. In this case, tears and hysteria may act as a defensive reaction. People with this type of character can be described using words such as “loneliness,” “timidity,” and “shyness.”

The main problem for people with anxiety disorders is managing professional and social activities. Due to low self-esteem, such people rarely make contact with others. Their social circle is very isolated, since the desire for isolation does not imply making new acquaintances. Despite this lifestyle, such individuals dream of family, tender feelings and care. It is important to pay attention to the fact that people with this character trait rarely achieve career success, because they try with all their might to avoid engaging in social activities.

Causes of the disease

Unfortunately, today there are no reliable facts that could tell us about the reasons for the development of personality disorders. According to scientists, a constant feeling of anxiety and fear has nothing to do with character traits or the influence of an unfavorable social environment. In most cases, the cause of the development of the disease is a combination of negative factors, among which we should highlight an unfavorable environmental situation, prolonged nervous strain, stress and disturbances in the functioning of the brain.

It is the problems associated with impaired functionality of the parts of the brain that are responsible for the manifestation of various emotions that are the primary cause of pathology. The cause of such disorders is closely related to the long-term influence of stress. Constant stimulation of the nervous system leads to the destruction of neural connections that transmit information between different parts of the brain. Research into this personal disorder has revealed that people with this disorder have subtle changes in certain areas of the brain. These departments are responsible for memory, which is associated with strong emotional shocks.

For people with any type of anxiety disorder, the persistent and core emotions are worry, severe worry, and fear.

Also, according to researchers, there is a high probability of a negative influence of hereditary factors. In addition, an important role is played by various social factors (psychotraumatic circumstances), which can cause the development of pathology in individuals with a hereditary predisposition.

Clinical picture

Symptoms of anxiety personality disorder vary from person to person and their manifestation depends on the form of the disease. However, experts were able to identify symptoms that are characteristic of all types of the pathology in question. These symptoms include:

• feelings of anxiety, panic and restlessness;
• insomnia and problems related to sleep quality;
• increased sweating in the extremities;
• tachycardia and shortness of breath;
• difficulty relaxing;
• feeling of nausea, dizziness and dry mouth;
• increased muscle tone.

Diagnostic measures

At the initial stage of the diagnostic examination, the doctor’s task is to conduct a differential diagnosis and collect anamnesis data. This approach is explained by the need to exclude somatic diseases. Despite the fact that today there are no generally accepted rules for diagnostics, a doctor can use various methods of laboratory testing for patient tests. With the help of laboratory tests, the doctor is able to determine the physiological causes of the formation of a personality disorder.

In the case where there are no somatic diseases, a specialist from the field of psychology is involved in the examination. Doctors in this field have special resources that allow them to identify the cause of the development of mental disorders. For this purpose, various tests and questionnaires are used to help determine the patient’s internal state.

The severity of symptoms and the duration of panic episodes allow an accurate diagnosis to be made. During its production, problems in maintaining normal life activities are also taken into account. An important role in this issue is given to the patient’s behavior and the degree of his interaction with the outside world. The data obtained is analyzed in detail, after which the specific form of anxiety disorder is determined.

Differential diagnosis is the only available way to determine the nature of the pathology, since an increase in anxiety and the appearance of groundless fear are inherent in many mental diseases. The doctor’s task is to exclude diseases such as senile dementia, schizophrenia and depressive disorder. Anxiety is a common symptom of drug and alcohol addiction. In addition, a similar condition manifests itself in diseases such as pheochromocytoma and thyrotoxicosis.

An anxiety disorder generally manifests itself in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood.

Treatment methods

Over the past few decades, medicine has made significant progress in the treatment of severe mental illnesses, including anxious personality disorders. Despite this, there is no single strategy for treating the disease. The treatment strategy is determined based on the form of the disease, the severity of symptoms and the individual characteristics of the patient’s psyche.

Treatment of anxiety disorder involves a comprehensive approach, which includes the use of medications and psychotherapeutic correction. Drug treatment includes drugs from the group of antidepressants and potent sedatives. One of the main stages of therapy is the study of the patient’s emotional reaction to mental pathology. The task of a psychologist is to work through internal conflicts, as well as create a behavioral strategy that is based on the nature of the disease.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy involves teaching the patient ways to change their own thinking and behavior. This means that the patient must learn to react differently to certain life circumstances.

For prevention purposes, doctors recommend eating a healthy diet and following a clear daily routine. Physical activity and long walks in the fresh air help get rid of problems that interfere with the quality of sleep. The main task of the patient is to learn relaxation techniques and eliminate nervous excitement. For this purpose, various relaxation auto-trainings are used.

Anxiety disorder is a psychopathological condition that includes several mental illnesses characterized by high levels of anxiety, muscle tension, inappropriate emotional reactions and behavior of the patient.

The number of people suffering from anxiety disorders is increasing every year, and their age is decreasing. Back in the middle of the last century, the disease was most often diagnosed in patients aged 40-50 years who had experienced severe emotional shock or trauma; today, symptoms of anxiety disorder are increasingly occurring against the background of complete well-being in children and adolescents, starting from preschool age. The reason for this increase in the number of cases and the decrease in the age of patients is not yet known, as well as the exact reasons for the development of the disease.

As with other mental illnesses, the exact cause of the development of anxiety disorder in patients is not known. There are several theories of the origin of the disease: psychological, biological and others, but so far not one of them has been accurately confirmed.

It is known that in patients suffering from an anxiety disorder, the transmission of nerve impulses in the cerebral cortex is disrupted, excessive activation of various centers in the cortex occurs, as well as partial destruction of neurons in these areas. But it has not yet been possible to find out whether these changes are a cause or a consequence of the development of the disease.

With anxiety disorder, the following changes in the nervous system of patients are distinguished:

• disruption of the transmission of impulses from one part of the cerebral cortex to another;
• disruption of the functioning of interneuron connections;
• a disorder (congenital or acquired pathology) of the areas of the brain responsible for storing information and emotions.

In addition to the supposed causes of the development of an anxiety disorder, there are also risk factors that increase the likelihood of a patient developing diseases of the nervous system:

• stress and psychological trauma;
• nervous and physical stress;
• endocrine diseases;
• substance and alcohol use;
• hereditary diseases of the nervous system;
• negative environmental impact.

All these factors in themselves cannot cause the development of an anxiety disorder, but they weaken the human body and its nervous system, which is why the risk of developing psychosomatic diseases increases several times.

Forms of anxiety disorder

There are such diseases:

1. Anxious personality disorder is one of the most common forms of the disease; as a rule, it develops in people with certain character traits: anxious, suspicious, with low self-esteem, too sensitive, with a weak nervous system. Even in childhood, they had an extremely negative attitude towards any criticism or attempt to evaluate their actions; growing up, such people consciously refuse social contacts, limiting their social circle in order to avoid any negative experiences. Anxious personality disorder can cause a complete refusal to communicate, perform daily activities, and so on.
2. – one of the most severe forms of the disease. In persons suffering from this form of the disease, symptoms of anxiety are observed continuously, for 6 months or more. They have all kinds of symptoms: mental, neurological and physical. Patients constantly experience anxiety, cannot get rid of nervous tension, fears, irritation, they experience insomnia, muscle tension, headaches, increased sweating and other symptoms.
3. – strong fear, up to complete loss of control over the situation, is caused by certain situations or things. This could be a fear of heights, darkness, enclosed spaces, insects, the color red, and so on. Moreover, the patient cannot cope with his fears on his own, and the manifestations of the disease begin to interfere with the patient’s full life. For fear of losing control of himself, he may refuse to communicate with people, leave the house, and so on.
4. Anxious social disorder or – also a very common problem, sufferers fear certain situations related to interaction with other people. This could be a fear of public speaking, dating, communicating with strangers, and the like. Unfortunately, without treatment, the patient’s condition can gradually worsen, fear spreads to other areas of life and prevents the patient from living normally.
5. Panic disorder is characterized by the occurrence during which the patient is overcome by uncontrollable fears, a feeling of danger, imminent death, and so on. These attacks can be associated with certain situations or occur unexpectedly. Such disorders are very dangerous both for the patient and for those around him, since a person’s behavior at the time of the attack may be inadequate, he can throw himself onto the roadway, jump out of a moving car, or show aggression towards the people around him.
6. – with this form of the disease, the patient experiences not only a feeling of anxiety and fear, but a general feeling of dissatisfaction with life, decreased mood, apathy, fatigue, and decreased performance.
7. – characterized by the presence of certain rituals, obsessive thoughts or actions in the patient. Such conditions have an extremely negative impact on the psyche of patients, since they cannot independently control their condition and get rid of obsessive actions or thoughts.
8. Mixed anxiety disorder - with this form of the disease, the patient experiences symptoms of several forms of anxiety disorder: depressive, obsessive, phobic.

Symptoms of the disorder

As a rule, in the initial stages of the development of an anxiety disorder, patients do not seek medical help; they explain their condition by overwork, stress, exacerbation of chronic diseases, and so on. And only when the anxiety disorder begins to more and more actively “interfere” in the patient’s daily life, preventing him from living normally, does he realize that something is wrong with him and tries to take action.

Unfortunately, very often patients do not understand what exactly they are faced with and begin to be treated by a neurologist, endocrinologist and other specialists.

Taking sedatives, adaptogens or other medications can help get rid of some of the symptoms, but it will not be possible to completely get rid of the anxiety disorder in this way; it will return after a while. An anxiety disorder can be cured only with timely consultation with a specialist and receipt of comprehensive treatment: medication and psychotherapy.

It is worth paying attention to your condition or the condition of a loved one if you have several of the following symptoms:

Diagnosis of the disease

Anxiety disorder can be difficult to diagnose. To do this, it is necessary to carefully study all the patient’s complaints, find out the probable causes of the development of the disease, and also exclude other neurological and somatic diseases that can also give similar symptoms.

To be sure of the diagnosis, the therapist must exclude:

1. Endocrine disorders. Hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, diabetes mellitus and some other diseases of the endocrine glands can give similar symptoms.
2. Organic pathologies of the nervous system. Injuries and tumors of the brain, when certain areas are compressed, can cause the development of schizophrenia-like disorders.
3. Use of narcotic or toxic substances.

To exclude these and other somatic pathologies, the patient must undergo general and biochemical blood tests, blood for hormones, urinalysis, ultrasound of internal organs, EEG, ECG and other examinations.

If symptoms of an anxiety disorder are detected, the patient is referred for consultation to a psychiatrist to rule out diseases such as:

• schizophrenia;
• depression;
• senile disorder.

Anxiety disorders can be distinguished from somatic and other mental illnesses by the following characteristics:

1. Criticism of your feelings and behavior. Patients understand that their feelings and behavior are abnormal and actively try to get rid of the symptoms of the disease, unlike patients suffering from other mental disorders.
2. Constant and strong feeling of anxiety. Such anxiety interferes with the patient’s daily activities and negatively affects his health.
3. Absence or discrepancy between the causes of anxiety and the severity of symptoms. The patient himself understands that he has no special reasons for fears and anxiety, but he cannot cope with his feelings.

Psychiatrists and psychotherapists have special questionnaires that help clarify the diagnosis.

Treatment

Modern pharmacological agents and psychotherapy make it possible to completely get rid of all manifestations of an anxiety disorder, but for this the patient needs to tune in to a fairly long-term treatment, which will include taking medications (from 3 to 12-24 months), working with a psychotherapist (several months) and lifestyle change.

In addition to the competent selection of medications, regular psychotherapy and the patient’s work on his condition are of great importance. To do this you need:

One of the most important components of treating an anxiety disorder is teaching the patient relaxation techniques and breathing control. To do this, you can use breathing exercises, elements of yoga and other techniques that are suitable specifically for this patient.

You can learn such techniques under the guidance of specialists or on your own.

Drug therapy

It is almost impossible to cope with severe anxiety disorder without taking medications, and you need to start treatment with fairly serious medications; ordinary sedatives and sleeping pills will not have an effect. For treatment they usually use:

1. Antioxiolytics or anti-anxiety drugs - reduce the severity of anxiety, fear, help cope with nervous and muscle tension and other symptoms. Most often used in treatment: Diazepam, Clonazepam, Lorazmepam. Drugs in this group have a rapid (within 30-60 minutes) effect, but are addictive and have side effects. Therefore, their use should be under the strict supervision of the attending physician and only to alleviate the patient’s condition during the acute period.
2. Antidepressants are used to normalize the mental state of patients; modern drugs have a minimum of side effects and are not addictive, but just like the first generation drugs, they require long-term use - 2-12 months. Therefore, it is recommended to start taking them simultaneously with antioxidants, since the effect of their use will be noticeable after 1-4 weeks from the start of use. For the treatment of anxiety disorders the following are used: Fluoxetine, Amitriptyline, Paroxetine, Sertraline and others.
3. Neuroleptics are used only in cases of severe restlessness, anxiety, and inadequacy of the patient. All of these drugs have many contraindications and should be used only when absolutely necessary. The following can be used in treatment: Chlorprothixene, Sonapax, Aminazine.

Psychotherapy

Lifestyle changes and medications can help patients cope with the main symptoms of an anxiety disorder, but they cannot help get rid of the disease as a whole. For this purpose, psychotherapy is used - the patient’s work with a psychotherapist, during which the main problems that caused the development of the disorder are determined, and the patient learns to cope with them independently.

For various types of anxiety disorder use:

All these methods are effective, but require an individual approach, as they are not suitable for all patients.

A timely visit to a doctor and proper treatment guarantees relief from all symptoms of the disease; the main thing is not to try to cope with the problem on your own and not to “trigger” it by being embarrassed or not finding time for treatment.

Anxiety is an emotion that all people experience when they are nervous or afraid of something. Constantly being “on edge” is unpleasant, but what can you do if life is like this: there will always be a reason for anxiety and fear, you need to learn to keep your emotions under control, and everything will be fine. In most cases this is exactly the case.

It's normal to worry. Sometimes this is even beneficial: when we worry about something, we pay more attention to it, work harder, and generally achieve better results.

But sometimes anxiety goes beyond reasonable limits and interferes with life. And this is an anxiety disorder - a condition that can ruin everything and which requires special treatment.

Why does anxiety disorder occur?

As in the case of most mental disorders, no one can say for sure why anxiety clings to us: too little is known about the brain to talk about the reasons with confidence. Several factors are likely to blame, from ever-present genetics to traumatic experiences.

For some, anxiety appears due to the stimulation of certain parts of the brain, for some, hormones - and norepinephrine - are acting up, and for others, the disorder occurs as a result of other diseases, and not necessarily mental ones.

What is an anxiety disorder?

To anxiety disorders Studying Anxiety Disorders. include several groups of diseases.

• Generalized anxiety disorder. This is the case when anxiety does not appear because of exams or the upcoming meeting with the parents of a loved one. Anxiety comes on its own, it does not need a reason, and the feelings are so strong that they prevent a person from performing even simple everyday activities.
• Social anxiety disorder. Fear that prevents you from being among people. Some are afraid of other people's assessments, others are afraid of other people's actions. Be that as it may, it interferes with studying, working, even going to the store and saying hello to neighbors.
• Panic disorder. People with this disease experience panic attacks: they become so scared that they sometimes cannot take a step. The heart is beating at a breakneck speed, the vision is getting dark, there is not enough air. These attacks can come at the most unexpected moment, and sometimes because of them a person is afraid to leave the house.
• Phobias. When a person is afraid of something specific.

In addition, anxiety disorder often occurs in combination with other problems: bipolar or obsessive-compulsive disorder or.

How to understand that this is a disorder

The main symptom is a constant feeling of anxiety, which lasts for at least six months, provided that there are no reasons to be nervous or they are insignificant, and emotional reactions are disproportionately strong. This means that anxiety changes your life: you give up work, projects, walks, meetings or acquaintances, some activities just because you are too worried.

Other symptoms Generalized anxiety disorder in adults - Symptoms., which hint that something is wrong:

• constant fatigue;
• insomnia;
• constant fear;
• inability to concentrate;
• inability to relax;
• trembling in hands;
• irritability;
• dizziness;
• frequent heartbeat, although there are no cardiac pathologies;
• increased sweating;
• pain in the head, stomach, muscles - despite the fact that doctors do not find any violations.

There is no exact test or analysis that can be used to identify an anxiety disorder, because anxiety cannot be measured or touched. The decision on the diagnosis is made by a specialist who looks at all the symptoms and complaints.

Because of this, there is a temptation to go to extremes: either diagnosing yourself with a disorder when life has just begun, or not paying attention to your condition and scolding your weak-willed character, when, due to fear, an attempt to go outside turns into a feat.

Don’t get carried away and confuse constant stress and constant anxiety.

Stress is a response to a stimulus. For example, a call from a dissatisfied client. When the situation changes, the stress goes away. But anxiety may remain - this is a reaction of the body that occurs even if there is no direct impact. For example, when an incoming call comes from a regular customer who is happy with everything, but it’s still scary to pick up the phone. If the anxiety is so strong that any phone call is torture, then this is already a disorder.

There is no need to bury your head in the sand and pretend that everything is fine when constant stress interferes with your life.

It is not customary to consult a doctor with such problems, and anxiety is often confused with suspiciousness and even cowardice, and being a coward in society is shameful.

If a person shares his fears, he will more likely receive advice to pull himself together and not become limp than an offer to find a good doctor. The trouble is that you won’t be able to overcome a disorder with a powerful willpower, just as you won’t be able to cure it with meditation.

How to treat anxiety

Persistent anxiety is treated like other mental disorders. This is why there are psychotherapists who, contrary to popular belief, do not just talk to patients about difficult childhoods, but help them find methods and techniques that truly improve their condition.

Some people will feel better after a few conversations, others will benefit from pharmacology. The doctor will help you reconsider your lifestyle, find the reasons why you are nervous a lot, assess how severe your symptoms are and whether you need to take medications.

If you don't think you need a therapist yet, try taming your anxiety on your own.

1. Find the reason

Analyze what makes you worry the most and most often, and try to eliminate this factor from your life. Anxiety is a natural mechanism that is needed for our own safety. We are afraid of something dangerous that can harm us.

Maybe if you are constantly shaking with fear of your boss, it’s better to change jobs and relax? If you succeed, it means that your anxiety is not caused by a disorder, there is no need to treat anything - live and enjoy life. But if you can’t identify the cause of your anxiety, then it’s better to seek help.

2. Exercise regularly

There are many blind spots in the treatment of mental disorders, but researchers agree on one thing: regular physical activity really helps keep your mind in order.

3. Let your brain rest

The best thing is to sleep. Only in sleep does the brain, overloaded with fears, relax, and you get a break.

4. Learn to slow down your imagination with work.

Anxiety is a reaction to something that hasn't happened. It's the fear of what might happen. Essentially, anxiety exists only in our heads and is completely irrational. Why is this important? Because counteracting anxiety is not calm, but reality.

While all sorts of horrors are happening in the anxious imagination, in reality everything goes on as usual, and one of the best ways to turn off the constantly itching fear is to return to the present, to current tasks.

For example, keep your head and hands busy with work or sports.

5. Stop smoking and drinking

When the body is already a mess, it is at least illogical to shake the fragile balance with substances that affect the brain.

6. Learn relaxation techniques

The rule “the more the better” applies here. Learn breathing exercises, seek out relaxing yoga poses, try music or even drink chamomile tea or use lavender essential oil in your room. Everything in a row until you find several options that will help you.

Anxious personality disorder is a personality disorder in which the patient has a high degree of desire to avoid any social interactions, the patient experiences a feeling of inferiority, and has extreme sensitivity to the value judgments of others, especially negative ones.

Causes

The reasons that cause the development of an anxious personality disorder are not fully understood. A combination of social, genetic and psychological factors can lead to an anxiety disorder.

A large number of patients with a history of anxious personality disorder have a painful experience of prolonged rejection and criticism from relatives or others.

Symptoms of Anxious Personality Disorder

Characteristic symptoms of anxious personality disorder:

Increased sensitivity to criticism;

Maximum self-isolation from society;

Feelings of inferiority or inferiority;

Self-loathing;

Feeling of distrust of other people;

Extreme degree of shyness and modesty;

Avoidance of intimate relationships;

Tendency to addiction (psychological, chemical);

Problems with professional fulfillment;

Avoiding physical contact in any way;

High self-criticism.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is made exclusively by a psychiatrist. Most often, making a diagnosis is not difficult, since we can talk about an anxious personality disorder if the patient has causeless anxiety for several weeks in a row.

To diagnose this condition, the method of psychological tests is widely used: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Personal Anxiety Scale, the Spielberger-Hanin test, etc.

Types of disease

Anxious personality disorders are classified into:

Obsessive-compulsive disorders;

2. Anxiety-phobic disorders:

Panic disorder;

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Patient Actions

The patient needs qualified medical assistance.

Treatment of Anxious Personality Disorder

The main methods of treating anxiety personality disorder include psychotherapeutic treatment and drug treatment.

Methods of psychotherapy are aimed at determining the causes of the development of an anxiety disorder in a patient, as well as teaching the patient techniques for overcoming anxiety. Relaxation and meditation techniques can also help.

The patient should avoid drinking alcohol, caffeine, and smoking cigarettes, as this additionally stimulates the nervous system and increases the feeling of anxiety, if any. The effectiveness of psychotherapy largely depends on the patient’s desire to get out of a state of anxiety; the use of special techniques can reduce the patient’s sensitivity to provoking factors and stabilize the situation.

Drug treatment of anxiety personality disorder includes taking antidepressants, tranquilizers, and adrenergic blockers.

The action of antidepressants is aimed at reducing the patient’s feelings of anxiety and relieving vegetative disorders; the drugs are prescribed over a long course.

Tranquilizers relieve muscle tension, reduce the severity of anxiety, eliminate feelings of fear, and normalize sleep.

Beta blockers are used to relieve vegetative symptoms of the disease (rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure).

Complications

If left untreated, this condition can worsen and lead to a significant decrease in the patient’s quality of life, and the patient may develop depression.

Prevention of anxiety personality disorder

A general system for the prevention of anxiety personality disorder has not currently been developed. For prevention purposes, you should adhere to the following recommendations: stop consuming caffeine-containing foods and energy drinks, consult a doctor about taking medications if they affect the nervous system.

Anxious personality disorder is a lack of self-confidence accompanied by feelings of inferiority and, as a result, avoidance of social contacts. This is why anxiety disorder is also called avoidant or avoidant.

This disorder was identified relatively recently - it first became a separate nosological entity in 1980. Before that, the symptoms of an anxiety disorder were classified as different types of psychopathy.

Personal characteristics of patients

No special studies have been conducted to determine the gender and age composition of patients. Numerous clinical observations characterize patients as timid, shy, dependent on public opinion. These qualities are inherent in them from early childhood, and reach their greatest flourishing in their youth, at the age of 18-24 years. Anxious personality disorder in children is manifested by avoidance of contacts with peers and adults, including parents. The feeling of inferiority is compensated by feigned arrogance and attempts to demonstrate very high intelligence.

Reasons

No clear causes of anxiety disorder have been found. It is considered to be a multifactorial disease that occurs with a special combination of genetic, social factors and psychological characteristics. Shy, introverted and insecure individuals are quite common, but not everyone reaches the level of pathology. Their aggravation is facilitated by constant criticism and rejection in childhood, negative characteristics by parents or relatives. Such relationships, combined with a great desire for communication on the part of the child, lead to the formation of a defensive reaction in the form of low self-esteem, constant expectation of criticism and avoidance of contacts with others.

Symptoms

According to ICD-10, to be diagnosed with an anxious personality disorder, at least four of the following symptoms must be present:

• Confidence in one's own social unattractiveness, humiliation in relation to others, inability to communicate.
• Avoidance of social contacts in the absence of confidence in one’s attractiveness to others.
• Incessant anxiety and unpleasant premonitions.
• Excessive concern about possible criticism or rejection during communication.
• Avoidance of work or social activities that involve frequent social contact due to fear of criticism, rejection, or disapproval.
• Changes in lifestyle associated with anxiety and an increased need for safety.

Also mandatory for establishing this diagnosis is the presence of general signs of a personality disorder (covering several areas of the personality, severe personal suffering, social inferiority, persistence over time).

In everyday life, anxiety personality disorder is often called an inferiority complex. Outwardly, such patients appear to be deeply introverted individuals, but this is a compensatory mechanism that has developed to reduce the theoretical possibility of being rejected. Fear of ridicule and rejection, combined with a high need for social connections, forms the characteristic features of the communicative behavior of patients with anxiety disorder. They behave unnaturally, are constrained, demonstratively modest, unsure of themselves, often demonstratively avoid contact or, on the contrary, humbly ask for it. Even before the start of communication, they are firmly convinced of subsequent rejection and consider it the basis for further seclusion.

Patients perceive all reactions of others as critical or negative. Their social awkwardness may indeed cause some negative feedback, but this response is perceived as tragically exaggerated and seen as confirmation of their reluctance to engage in contact. Even a completely innocent explanation can be perceived as harsh criticism. No less than rejection, such patients are afraid of gossip and gossip, ridicule, and talking behind their backs.

The tendency to exaggerate negative aspects also extends to any risks of everyday life. They avoid public speaking, are afraid to express their opinion, and draw attention to themselves. Because of this, patients with anxiety disorder do not achieve success in their professional activities, occupying inconspicuous positions throughout their lives and currying favor with others. Often, with an anxiety disorder, the patient is unable to establish close or friendly relationships and remains lonely for the rest of his life.

The course of an anxiety disorder can vary greatly. The appearance of a friend or spouse who matches the patient’s ideas and provides him with full support significantly alleviates the symptoms. But even with this relatively favorable course, the patient’s social circle is limited to the family, and complete adaptation does not occur. Any communication problems can lead to severe depression or dysphoria. Anxious personality disorder is often accompanied by.

Treatment

In most cases it is limited to psychotherapy. In the case of anxiety disorder, an individual approach is extremely important. As a result, a rehabilitation program is formed, including techniques from cognitive behavioral psychotherapy and psychodynamics.

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy helps the patient develop communication skills and realize the discrepancy between his expectations and reality. The psychodynamic approach makes it possible to more deeply explore the causes of low self-esteem, find their origins and trace their formation, which helps the patient to realize the inconsistency of these ideas. Group classes are very effective. They allow you to practice communication skills and learn self-affirming behavior.

It is extremely important to subsequently apply the acquired skills in real communication. The patient must be taught an even attitude towards failures and a positive attitude towards successes. This will make effective communicative behavior self-reinforcing and allow for good social adaptation in the future.

Various types of meditation and relaxation may be recommended as complementary treatments to help reduce anxiety.

Drug treatment is not common and is used only for strict indications, such as tics, insomnia, extreme anxiety, depression or panic disorder. The most prescribed group of drugs are tranquilizers. Taking medications should not be combined with drinking alcohol, and it is also advisable to refrain from smoking during the treatment period.

Anxiety and Anxiety Disorder