Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

Feeling anxious from time to time is part of being human and alive. While there's no evidence that older people are any more anxious than those who are younger, anxiety seems to be a fairly common experience later in life. Studies show that about 20 percent of those over the age of 65 report being troubled by the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety.

Are There Different Types Of Anxiety?

In recent years doctors have learned to distinguish between several basic types of anxiety. Normal Anxiety

Feeling anxious from time to time is a nor ­ mal part of living. You might even say that we are designed to feel anxious in order to protect ourselves from danger. When you perceive a threat, your nervous system becomes activated in a "fight or flight" response: Your muscles become tense and ready for action, and in order to supply them with more blood and oxygen, your heart pumps more quickly and your breathing quickens. This response occurs even when there's no immediate danger for example, when you're worried about your health or the well-being of your children. When the worry is resolved, the anxious sensations usually disappear. Anxiety As A Symptom

Anxiety and physical illness often go together. The most reasonable explanation for this is that being sick causes you to worry. Is your illness life-threatening? Will it cause pain? Will treatment work? Will you regain your health and independence? Can you afford health care costs? Although doctors don't know why, it appears that certain health problems themselves not just the worries they trigger are associated with anxiety. These include depression, especially among older adults. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and some types of cancer. Older people with hearing loss also tend to be more anxious, especially in social situations.

It's easy to blame certain symptoms on anxiety when they're actually caused by illness. For example, weakness, dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath and feelings of dread can be provoked by a silent, atypical heart attack, pulmonary embolism or a small stroke. Trembling, rapid heartbeat and rest less ness may be caused by hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hyperthyroidism (over functioning of the thyroid) or a rare tumor of the adrenal gland known as pheochromocytoma. Anxiety can also occur as a side effect of certain drugs. In fact, there are hundreds of prescription and over the counter medications that list anxiety or agitation as a possible side effect. These include calcium channel blockers such as verapamil, which is used to treat angina, and ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are often found in over the counter cold remedies. A drug called "theophylline," sometimes used to treat asthma and chronic bronchitis, can also produce anxiety symptoms, and because of this, few geriatricians recommend using this drug in older people.

Another common source of anxious symptoms is caffeine, found in coffee, tea, cola drinks, chocolate and some non-prescription medications. Studies show that as little as 200 milligrams of caffeine (one cup of coffee contains about 150 milligrams) can cause rapid heartbeat, shakiness and sweating in some people. Anxiety symptoms are also common during withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol and sedatives.