Anxiety is a common issue that people have at multiple stages of life. Anxiety often does not exist by itself. Sometimes is it related to stress. This could be stress at home, with family, with an unsafe living environment, due to work, or due to lack of financial or other resources. Other times anxiety could be due to genetic factors, or to lack of support.
Whatever the reason, anxiety can have a big impact o patients who suffer with it. The good news is that medical professionals like Doctor Manning and Holly Kilian, FNP, at Hampstead Internal Medicine, are here to help. You do not have to suffer debilitating anxiety alone.
First, we will look for a physical cause associated with your anxiety. The body and the mind are closely tied together. This could be a hormonal or metabolic problem, or it could be related to your diet or a nutritional issue. There are also medications or substances which can cause or exacerbate symptoms of anxiety. We will perform a physical exam and recommend further testing if necessary.
I have always been an anxious person. What can be done about my anxiety?
There are lots of effective ways to treat anxiety. It is important to remember that in many cases, a realistic goal is not for your anxiety or anxious tendencies to go away completely. Often a realistic goal is for you to feel better, happier, less anxious, and more functional.
If you have a hormonal or metabolic imbalance we will treat those underlying causes. Counselling is also extremely helpful in working with anxiety. Often this drug free treatment helps to change your perspective or identify the underlying cause of your anxiety. Physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, is a great treatment for anxiety. Sometimes, when anxiety is due to external forces (like stress in your life) it can be helpful to identify this causative agent and work to minimize the stress in your life. Finally, for some people, medications can help to deal with anxiety and increase your happiness and function.
Do you treat anxiety in primary care?
The doctors and nurses at Hampstead Internal Medicine treat anxiety frequently and have lots of experience treating anxiety, depression, and other types of mental illness. Most mental illness is treated in primary care. Primary care doctors are often more available and easier to access than specialists like psychiatry.