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Anxiety in Older Adults

 

             Anxiety is a big problem among people these days. Everyone had anxiety but some more than others. Through out this paper I will be sharing with you about 3 different types of anxiety; mixed anxiety-depression, anxiety associated with medical conditions or medications, and anxiety/agitation associated with dementia. Also I will be sharing my reaction and personal experiences I've had with anxiety.
             The first type of anxiety I would like to share with you is mixed anxiety-depression. In older patients, anxiety disorders are accompanied by depression and vice versa. Symptoms are usually common in both disorders (example: irritability, sleeping .
             problems, loss of appetite, poor concentration and bad memory). For the most part patients with anxiety are more active, restless, tachycardic and sweaty. Where as depression patients are slower moving, have low energy and lack motivation. .
             Such distinctions are mostly academic because the same classes of medications are used to manage both disorders. Some examples of these medications are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
             The next type of anxiety i would like to share with you is anxiety associated with illness or medications. This type of anxiety is the most common in late-life. Patients usually present a variety of behavioral and physical symptoms of anxiety that ranges from worrying about health and finances to full-blown panic attacks. Anxiety that is caused by medical conditions can be the result of several factors. The first being most common psychiatric conditions, anxiety symptoms and syndromes may present as coincidental comorbid conditions that in conjunction with commonly occurring medical illnesses such as cardiac, respiratory, and endocrine. The second factor is that anxiety can manifest in response to a physical stressor. Thirdly, anxiety can be manifestation of physiological changes that result from a medical illness or medication.


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