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Quit looking at the falling markets and get to the gym Beating Anxiety Dr . Yoel Abells, National Post Published: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Last night, I had difficulty sleeping. I felt my heart beating rapidly as various thoughts raced through my mind: work, family issues, financial concerns. I was a bit sweaty and felt as though I had trouble taking a full breath. I got up and out of bed repeatedly, unable to find any solace. Eventually, I was able to fall back to sleep, but this was not a restful sleep. Clearly, I was suffering from an anxiety reaction. We have all experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. It can occur in many ways and with varying intensity. For most of us, this uneasy feeling is situational and time-limited, often connected to particular external stressors. Given these uncertain times, I am seeing more patients complaining of anxiety-related discomfort. But some people suffer from more paralyzing forms of anxiety. In these cases, the anxiety seems to be out of proportion to the situation prompting the emotional reaction and often becomes chronic in nature. When this occurs, one is said to be suffering from an anxiety disorder. There are many types of anxiety disorders, including the generalized anxiety disorder (the commonest form), panic attacks, phobias and acute and post-traumatic stress disorders. It has been estimated that between 5% and 10% of the population suffers from an anxiety disorder. Women appear to be affected more than men. However, the numbers may not be accurate because of under-reporting. Not infrequently, individuals who have an anxiety disorder have other co-morbid conditions such as depression. Anxiety can be characterized by different symptoms. The patient may complain of excessive worry and difficulty dealing with even minimal stress. However, often the initial presentation may be a constellation of somatic complaints such as chest pain, headaches, dizziness or abdominal discomfort. So what can one do to deal with these concerns? I believe that a large part of the situational anxiety -- the type that I was experiencing -- stems from a sense of loss of control. In these circumstances, it is important to try to gain and/ or maintain control over those things that one can. By so doing, there is a lesser sense of feeling overwhelmed and an overall greater sense of wellbeing. Finding social support systems is crucial and partaking in distracting activities such as exercise is beneficial. At times, more formalized support in the form of psychotherapy (especially cognitive behavioural therapy) is required. This is particularly true when the level of anxiety is dominating. In these cases, medications such as anxiolytics may be introduced, as well. But the use of these pharmacological therapies must be carefully supervised because of potential for significant dependence. These are indeed trying times, making more of us feel increasingly stressed and anxious. We must be prepared to confront these fears and address them with the help of family, friends and trained professionals. Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.