5 myths about anxiety, debunked

The pandemic and the thus ensued lockdown have rendered most of us to spend all our time at home. It’s no wonder then that social media consumption has never been this high. We are constantly bombarded with information, most of which cannot be ascertained as true. Mental health talks have gained impetus, and social media is filled with posts about psychological well-being; but how can one trust the sources? Misinformation such as ‘quick cures to help deal with anxiety’ is highly incorrect and misleading, and may lead to more harm than good.

Anxiety is one of the most common problem that people seek help for in therapy. Anxiety issues stem not only from the environment, but also genetic factors. It manifests itself in different forms- for some it may be chronic anxiety, or anxiety may be experienced only in some situations, or due to recollection of past trauma- the trigger varies. While every person is different and experiences anxiety in various ways, there exist some commonalities. However, information available on the internet sometimes refuses to address certain key issues- leading to myths and misconceptions about anxiety, being formed. A few of these myths have been debunked below:

• Stressing less will cure anxiety

This is one of the biggest myths about anxiety- that removing a stressor will resolve your anxiety. That is not to deny the fact that leading a less stressful life will decrease anxiety; but the point remains that just removing the stressor will not get rid of anxiety. Anxiety is a reaction to stress, but undergoing effective treatment to deal with managing symptoms of anxiety is important, as it can manifest itself even under less stressful conditions.

• You do not need professional help to deal with anxiety, you can get over it on your own

This is probably the most dangerous myth about anxiety. This is where posts or articles like ‘quick cures to anxiety’ bring most harm. Most people believe such incorrect information and think that the anxiety just gets better over time. False internet cures like eating well, exercising and avoiding caffeine are not enough to reduce anxiety; and do not bring any improvement at all. Seeking professional help to manage the symptoms.

• Shifting attention away from anxious thoughts to deal with anxiety

You may think it makes sense that- if you do not think about, it wont scare you. However, while this may help push the anxiety away for the time being, it makes it worse in the long run. In anxiety inducing situations, our flight-fight response gets activated, and since the focus is on eliminating anxiety for the time being, flight (escape or avoidance) is the option we choose. Through appropriate anxiety management skills one can learn how to deal with the task at hand, instead of suppressing anxious thoughts which will only come back more frequently and with a greater intensity. The way to deal with a fire outbreak is figuring out how to save yourself, rather than covering your ears and pretending there isn’t a fire.

• Feeling anxious = having anxiety disorder

We all may have felt a bit worried and anxious due to impending deadlines to meet or due to exams. Feeling a bit worried does not mean that you have an anxiety disorder. In fact, a bit of stress is in fact good, its what pushes us to finish up our work. The difference between feeling anxious and having an anxiety disorder is that people with the disorder face a constant feeling of fear and worry, which gets in between their everyday life functioning. Physical symptoms such as anxiety attacks, breathlessness, trembling are consistently experienced. That is to say, anxiety disorders are chronic and way more distressing in nature than the feeling of a pit in your stomach before a deadline or exam.

• Anxiety is all about panic attacks

This is another myth that is probably most common. While panic attacks are a part of anxiety disorders, there are in fact different types of anxiety disorders with a range of symptoms. A few of them are:

– Phobias: irrational fears of a situation, thing or object.

– PTSD: anxiety experienced after an exposure to a traumatic event (war, murder of loved one), which results in flashbacks or dreams about the event, including survivors’ guilt where there is guilt experienced due to the fact that the person survived the incident.

– Panic Disorders: the person experiences recurrent, unexpected panic attacks. The person faces a daily fear of having panic attack.

– OCD: unreasonable fears and thoughts that give rise to compulsive behaviours; is usually characterised by the need to arrange objects in a specific manner or the fear of germs.

Anxiety is a more complex disorder than most of us are aware of, it isn’t a disorder to be taken care of lightly. Professional help is important, even more so because anxiety is often comorbid with other mental disorders such as depression. Thus, if you, or your friend or family member is experiencing anxiety- kindly do seek professional help.

References

Shpancer, N (2018). 7 common misconceptions about anxiety. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201807/7-common-misconceptions-about-anxiety