What is Anxiety?

We all feel nervous from time to time. We may be a bit nervous before a flight, or when a loved one misses a call and hasn’t called us back, or before our first trip to bat in a big game. We may feel fear when we are face to face with a bear or walking over an old bridge. 

All of those emotions are normal. They are your fight or flight system reacting to some type of fear. But if you find that you’re experiencing these emotions too often, or at irrational times, or you’re struggling with extreme symptoms that impact your quality of life, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Types of Anxiety

Anxiety is more than one condition. There are several different ways a person may experience anxiety and anxiety disorders. At Skycloud Mental Health, our psychiatrist nurse practitioners are licensed therapists, and can help provide you with a diagnosis to help you move forward with the best possible treatment for your mental health. Common anxiety disorders include:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or “GAD,” refers to a type of ever-present, ongoing anxiety that involves persistent worrying, constant feeling of stress, and physical symptoms like tension, shakiness, and trouble sleeping. Those with GAD tend to find that common experiences increase anxiety, or that they struggle with irrational worries or fears.

• Panic Disorder – Some people experience severe anxiety episodes with intense physical symptoms, including chest pain, lightheadedness, and trouble breathing. These are known as panic attacks. If an individual struggles with recurring panic attacks, or they struggle daily with the fear that they may a panic attack again, this is known as “panic disorder.”

• Social Anxiety Disorder/Social Phobia – Social anxiety disorder is a fear of social situations. More than shyness, a person with social anxiety feels extreme stress at social events. They may also exhibit a strong fear of being embarrassed or rejected, or they may have anxiety at the idea of attending a social event or function. This typically makes it difficult to cultivate long lasting relationships.

• Phobias – Phobias are intense fears of a specific subject or experience. For example, arachnophobia is a fear of spiders, and aerophobia is a fear of flying on an airplane. Some phobias are manageable, but if the phobia is too severe or it severely impacts a person’s life, a therapist can provide anxiety treatment that can help.

• Agoraphobia – Agoraphobia is also a phobia, though it is linked to panic disorder and trauma disorders. Agoraphobia is a fear of leaving either the home or places of comfort. Public areas, especially if they’re new or there are many strangers, trigger an intense fear. Those with agoraphobia often benefit from a combination of psychiatric medication and therapy.  

Several other mental health challenges were once considered forms of anxiety but are now their own separate diagnosis. Examples include obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We treat these conditions as well here at Skycloud Mental Health.

Why Choose Skycloud Mental Health?

Anxiety responds well to treatment. Both medication and therapy are heavily researched and proven effective strategies for addressing anxiety and anxiety-related disorders – as standalone treatments or combined.

Skycloud Mental Health is a telepsychiatry practice led by psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, also known as PMHNPs.

As a telepsychiatry practice, we are also able to treat you from a place of comfort – such as the comfort of your own home. As long as you have a phone or internet connection, we can make sure that you’re receiving psychiatric care with no commute and more flexible scheduling.

We are licensed to provide full support in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Arizona in every city and town all throughout each of these states.