Beach House Center for Recovery is among Florida’s leading anxiety treatment centers, providing comprehensive support for addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. We proudly offer a variety of leading-edge programs that address the mental health issues that contribute to substance use disorder.
What is an anxiety disorder?
We all struggle with anxiety from time to time. It’s understandable to feel stressed or anxious because of a demanding job, problems at home, or challenging school assignments. Anxiety disorders, however, are far more destructive than the occasional feeling of stress or fear; they are persistent and frightening and can intensify substance use disorders.
People who routinely feel anxious might self-medicate with alcohol or other mood-altering substances. Sometimes the medications prescribed to treat anxiety can lead to addiction. Unfortunately, misusing substances can significantly aggravate existing anxiety disorders, leading to cycles of substance misuse.
Substance use disorder is one of the most common mental health problems in the U.S. and frequently co-occurs with anxiety disorders. According to current research, anxiety disorders are frequently precipitated by substance use disorders in certain subgroups, but it’s hard to establish their causal relationship.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Beach House Center for Recovery is an accredited anxiety treatment center offering treatment for several anxiety disorders, including the following:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of extreme daily worry that interferes with the performance of normal duties at home, work, or school. People with anxiety disorders might have legitimate concerns about health, finances, or relationships, but the emotions surrounding those concerns are disproportionately strong.
Anxiety disorder symptoms typically include the following:
- Agitation, tension, or restlessness
- Feelings of fatigue
- Lack of focus
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disorders
- Stomach cramps or nausea
- Persistent, uncontrollable worries
Panic Disorder
People with panic disorders often experience sudden, escalating episodes of severe stress and terror. A panic attack can strike without warning or be triggered by specific circumstances. Veterans who’ve experienced trauma are oftentimes inflicted with anxiety and panic disorders.
Symptoms of panic attacks include the following:
- Rapid or pounding heartbeat
- Sweating profusely
- Involuntary trembling
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling of impending doom
- Feeling of helplessness
- Chills
- Digestive disorders
People living with panic disorder constantly worry about future attacks and live in fear of circumstances that typically cause them. This fear might cause sufferers to avoid past-provoking situations, people, places, or things, disrupting normal life and inhibiting the ability to perform sometimes basic tasks.
Phobia Disorders
Phobias are overwhelming, unfounded fears of particular situations or things. Although it is natural to experience nerves in some circumstances – public speaking, for example – phobias are felt so acutely and intensely that they disrupt aspects of normal life. People with phobias experience the following symptoms:
- Intense dread or anxiety when thinking about certain circumstances, places, or things.
- Devoting time and energy to avoiding encountering triggering situations
- Experiencing severe physical and emotional responses when the situations are experienced.
Phobias are classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) as the following:
- Fears of animals
- Fears of environmental phenomena
- Fears associated with injuries, medical procedures, or blood
- Fears of performing certain actions
In addition to the above categories, the DSM-V has an “other” classification describing fears that do not fit into those situations, including the fear of ugliness or clowns.
To be categorized as a phobia, the symptoms must last more than six months and cause life-altering behaviors in response. Another physical or mental health disorder cannot cause the symptoms.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is a condition wherein a person feels extreme fear or panic around the prospect of being in social situations, having to perform in front of an audience, speaking in public, or talking to strangers. Social anxiety disorders are generally based upon the extreme dread of experiencing embarrassment or ridicule. This disorder causes sufferers to limit their exposure to people and social circumstances, which might negatively affect their professional, educational, and social prospects.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
While separation anxiety disorder is most commonly experienced by children, it can occur in adolescence and adulthood. This condition is characterized by feelings of extreme anxiety or fear of being apart from a person to whom the sufferer has developed a significant emotional attachment. A person with a separation anxiety disorder will make life decisions that minimize the possibility of ever being separated from the person to whom the sufferer has an attachment.
Evidence-Based Anxiety Treatment in Florida
Beach House Center for Recovery is among the leading anxiety treatment centers in Florida. With an experienced team of mental health clinicians, addiction specialists and psychiatric providers, we provide personalized treatment programs that address both underlying anxiety disorders and co-occurring substance misuse or addictions.
To learn more about our treatment center, please contact our compassionate and helpful admissions counselors today.
