Unpredictably intense feelings of fear or discomfort that occur repeatedly and reach a peak within a few minutes.

Patients experience anxiety when they leave home, are among people, or are in an environment that is difficult to leave.

Significant fear or anxiety resulting from one or more social situations in which others may scrutinize you.

Significant fear or anxiety about specific things or situations (such as flying). What the patient is afraid of is not the thing itself, but the terrible consequences that the patient thinks may occur when exposed to the thing or in a certain situation.

Excessive anxiety and worry about many events or activities for at least 6 months.

Excessive fear or anxiety that is asymmetrical to the developmental stage of separation from an attachment figure.

Psychological symptoms: The patient has persistent or episodic inexplicable anxiety, Fear, nervousness and uneasiness, being upset all day long, as if misfortune is about to happen Symptoms such as being on one's own head or that of a loved one, and being in a state of heightened alertness.

Physical symptoms: Involving the nervous system, skin flushing, paleness, sweating, palpitations, palpitation, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dry mouth, etc. may occur; Involving the genitourinary system, sexual dysfunction may occur, such as impotence, premature ejaculation, irregular menstruation and other reproductive system abnormalities, as well as urinary system abnormalities such as frequent urination or urgency; Involving the respiratory system, symptoms such as suffocation, suffocation, and hyperventilation may occur; Involvement of the cardiovascular system may result in patients often visiting the emergency room for suspected heart attack; Involving the gastrointestinal system, symptoms such as loss of appetite, abdominal distension and burning sensation, gastric neurosis, nervous diarrhea or constipation may occur.

Behavioral symptoms: such as restlessness, unnatural facial expressions, slight tremors of limbs, muscle tension and twitching, stiffness of movement, Shortness of breath, suffocation, choking, palpitations and increased heart rate, chest discomfort or pain, sweating, nausea, abdominal discomfort or pain and other symptoms.

genetic factors

neurobiochemical factors

neuroimaging factors

When external and internal reasons make patients depressed, excessively worried and fearful, If effective defense mechanisms are not used, anxiety disorders may develop.

For example: Generalized anxiety disorder is caused by unresolved subconscious conflicts and persistent distortion of information processing; Social anxiety disorder is caused by patients' excessive concern and concern about the evaluation of others, and may also be related to some negative experiences before adulthood; Specific phobias may be related to feared objects (i.e., conditioned stimuli) and traumatic experiences (i.e., unconditioned stimuli).

·Trauma, serious illness;

·Poor health;

·Accumulation of stress;

·Other mental illnesses (such as depression);

·The use or misuse of drugs or alcohol;

·Addictive substances such as caffeine and nicotine;

·Patient’s personality, etc.

Mainly manifested as excessive worrying psychological experiences and feelings, which are persistent or episodic in patients Appearing inexplicable anxiety, fear, tension and restlessness, feeling upset all day long, Symptoms include feeling as if misfortune is about to befall you or your loved ones, and being in a state of heightened alertness.

Somatic symptoms caused by reactive sympathetic stimulation, Involving the respiratory system, nervous system, genitourinary system, cardiovascular system, etc.

nervous system

genitourinary system

respiratory system

Cardiovascular System

gastrointestinal system

behavioral symptoms

The diagnosis of anxiety disorders mainly relies on psychological tests. Patients may need to fill in the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), State Anxiety-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Social Deficiency Screening Scale (SDSS) or Life Events Scale (LES), In order to help doctors diagnose and determine the severity of the disease to assist in formulating treatment plans.

Anxiety emotional reactions are generally accompanied by physiological and motor indicators Changes in physiological indicators can indirectly reflect the level of anxiety.

Commonly used indicators include: Electrodermal response, skin conductivity, skin temperature, skin blood flow volume, Electromyography, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, etc.

This is the most effective form of psychotherapy for people with anxiety disorders. Patients with anxiety disorders are prone to two types of erroneous logic: (One is to overestimate the possibility of something bad happening; The second is to imagine the outcome of the event in an overly dramatic or catastrophic way. )

The distorted perception of things by patients with anxiety disorders is one of the reasons why the disease does not heal for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to help patients change their bad cognition and reconstruct their cognition to achieve the purpose of treatment.

Explain knowledge about the disease to patients through psychoeducation, Reduce patients’ secondary anxiety about the disease by listening, encouraging, Techniques such as support convey positive emotions to patients and enhance treatment compliance.

In addition, some patients can be treated with biofeedback, Relaxation training and breathing control training can help relieve anxiety symptoms.

Benzodiazepines have a strong anti-anxiety effect, take effect quickly, and can improve sleep. The adverse reactions are minor and the treatment time generally does not exceed 2 to 3 weeks. Mild patients can use it intermittently.

If used in large quantities for a long time, it is easy to develop drug dependence and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is suddenly withdrawn. In addition, benzodiazepines have a muscle relaxing effect, which may cause elderly patients to fall and fracture easily.

Non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs (such as buspirone, etc.), which are suitable for outpatient treatment, Will gradually become a substitute for benzodiazepines. This type of drug has no obvious sedation, Side effects include drowsiness and weight gain, but the drug is less effective and has a slower onset of action.

Antidepressants are currently the main choice for clinical treatment of anxiety. Among them, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are popular due to their safety and effectiveness. It has become the drug of choice for treating anxiety disorders.

In addition, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic drugs, It is also effective in treating anxiety disorders. (However, tricyclic drugs have limited clinical application due to their toxic and side effects on the heart.)