There is a growing body of studies that discuss how addiction is not only a disease, but it’s a developmental disorder. This is very true for anyone who self-medicates different types of anxiety disorders with alcohol or drugs. By turning to alcohol or drugs as a way to manage your anxiety, you begin to lose control. So what are the different types of anxiety disorders, and how can you get help?
What are the Different Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can develop for a variety of different reasons, and more people struggle with anxiety than ever before. One of the most common reasons people struggle with anxiety is due to a genetic predisposition to the illness. When this happens, the part of the brain responsible for fight or flight is overly active in various situations. For others, long-term exposure to stress can make you develop different types of anxiety disorders.
Common anxiety disorders include:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
Humans survive based on something called context-dependent learning, and this is how self-medicating leads to addiction. When you begin experiencing anxiety and turn to alcohol or drugs to calm down, your brain thinks this is the best solution. Eventually, you begin to find that your substance abuse is causing you even more anxiety than you had before. The problem is that your brain is so conditioned to substance use to deal with anxiety that you’re no longer able to control your substance use.
Trauma Types of Anxiety Disorders
People who experience trauma at any stage in their life are at a much higher risk of developing different forms of anxiety. There’s an unfortunate stigma about addiction in which many people don’t understand how much trauma plays a role. There is a large number of people who develop an addiction based on suffering from trauma. At its worst, a traumatic experience can result in a person struggling with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Living with PTSD is extremely difficult because it can be triggered at any time and bring you back to a terrible place in your memories. When someone experiences a traumatic event, the brain begins to go into a high alert expecting danger. As a way of trying to protect you, the body’s alarms begin going off as a way to try to protect you. The problem is that the body can do this at times that make your life unmanageable, so you may abuse substances as a way of coping.
How Treatment Helps with Red Oak Recovery®
Red Oak Recovery® is an addiction and anxiety treatment program in North Carolina, and we can help you recover. Our mission is to not only help young people overcome their addiction to drugs or alcohol but their anxiety as well. We offer young adult rehab programs that can help you regain control of your life. Some of the methods we use here include:
What are the different types of anxiety disorders? Learn more about how to manage your anxiety with Red Oak Recovery®. To learn about your options, call us now at 866-457-7590.
