Anxiety..

“Anxiety affects people in a range of ways, often depending on the nature of the anxiety’’ – Jill Stoddard

All of us at some point in our life must have experienced bodily changes (shortness of breath, heart beat increasing, restlessness, sweating etc) when encountered an unexpected situation, stressed or something unusual. Many a times we have heard people say, they are feeling anxious before they give a public speech, before a test or an examination, making a presentation, the first day of job, new college or while going for an interview; anxiety is basically our body’s natural way of responding to stress. It is a feeling of apprehension about what might happen next or the future outcomes. Anxiety is a natural and normal human emotion. Anxiety if lasting for more than 6 months and is effecting an individual’s day to day functioning, it is important to seek professional help. In such situations a person may have a mental illness; Anxiety disorder is when an individual has persistent, excessive fear/worry and constant anxiety or is overwhelmed. This may interfere with their work, relationships, school and other social situations and the person may need therapy and treatment from a professional.  Anxiety is not a pleasant, desired feeling but some amount of anxiety can help an individual to perform better and helps one to be motivated to do a better job.  Such anxiety generally comes and passes and doesn’t last long nor does it affect everyday life.

“Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” (APA).

FACTS about Anxiety:

Did you know these interesting facts about anxiety ;

• Anxiety (normal nervousness, anxiousness) is different from Anxiety disorder( excessive fear, anxiety).
• Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses and affect nearly 30% of adults at some point of life( APA)
• Even though anxiety disorders are treatable, only about one-third of people suffering receive the necessary adequate treatment.
• Approximately 8% of children and teenagers have once experienced an anxiety disorder, with symptoms developing before 21 years of age. (ADAA)
• Anxious people are more sensitive to facial expressions and changes one makes. They are quicker in perceiving facial changes when they communicate with people. They tend to easily over think and jump into conclusion.
• Genetics does play a role in anxiety. If one of your parents has anxiety, there is a greater chance of you developing anxiety.
• Anxiety disorders affect 25% of children between the age of 13 -18.

In a new review of research it was discovered that women, adult individuals within the age of 35 years and people with other health conditions are more prone to experiencing anxiety than other groups.

GENDER differences: women are twice/ thrice more likely than men to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Biological differences according to the ADAA can explain the reasons behind this. Women are more sensitive to corticotrophin- releasing hormone, a hormone affecting the response to stress. The female brain is also seen to take more time than men to process serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. Anxiety affects 23% of females and 14% of adult males.(NIMH,2017). Women are more likely than men to experience Generalized anxiety.

CULTURAL differences, anxiety is found to be more prevalent in developed countries. Eg: the US is considered to be the most anxious country on earth. Culture plays an important role as it can affect the presentation of symptom; helps understand and explains the reason behind anxiety and also the help-seeking facilities available. The way a counsellor or clinician looks at the symptoms and the meanings that they assign based on cultural differences also varies across cultures. Studies have shown that the rates of individual with anxiety and depression are higher in the southern states and that more in women.

PREVALENCE: The prevalence of anxiety as per some studies has found to be more in countries that are richer and developed compared to the poorer countries. The prevalence varies from 2.5 to 7 percent across countries.

STATISTICS: Globally an estimate of 284 million people in the year 2017 has experienced an anxiety disorder. In the year 2017,197.3 million people across India were found to have mental disorders out of which 44.9 million suffered from anxiety disorders. It was also found that anxiety and depression were the most common mental disorders that people suffer from across India. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found anxiety disorders to be the most common mental disorder in the general population as well. The CDC also estimated that the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders is more than 15 percent.

MYTHS

1. One must avoid the situations that lead to experiencing anxiety: This is not a wise and practical thing to do as it is nearly impossible to avoid stress at all. It is better to not view ourselves as fragile, unable to tackle situations as trying to avoid stress at all cost may lead to feeling more anxious. Keep in mind that certain amount of anxiety is necessary as it helps keep one motivated and perform better. Thus, one can be anxious and still achieve their goals.
2. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes can help one get through anxiety: Self- medicating though commonly used now, is not the best decision or choice one could adapt to deal with anxiety as it has the chances of causing more anxiety in the long run. These are just temporary ways to escape from anxiety and people for their better health must try and avoid resorting to substances to deal with anxiety.
3. Therapy for anxiety will take years to see improvement: Improvement can be observed with just a few Cognitive behavioural therapy sessions as well. CBT can teach ways and give tools to individuals that will help them see changes with the way they deal with anxiety in a few months or with few sessions, if followed in the proper and right way. It has been found that with CBT around 75 percent of individuals have seen at least a 50 percent improvement with symptoms.
4. Anxiety symptoms are all in one’s mind and is a mental thing: the common symptoms of anxiety are mostly restlessness, worry, tension, fear etc. But there are also physical symptoms that one may experience such as palpitations, choking, trembling, nausea, sweating, uncomfortable in the tummy, shortness of breath and more.  These symptoms clearly explain that anxiety is not only in one’s head but also does have physical symptoms.
5. Anxiety lasts for lifetime and cannot be treated, eventually it will pass: Many people have this perception and thus refrain from seeking help. They try and learn to live with it despite it causing difficulties with everyday life. But, anxiety disorder is treatable and many people have seen improvement with treatment.
6. Being shy or feeling nervous means , you have an anxiety disorder: On a daily basis we hear a lot of people say “I am having an anxiety attack’’, even if they are just nervous about a presentation or an upcoming event. In the mainstream many people tend to not understand that feeling shy or nervous about a situation does not mean having anxiety disorder. An individual with anxiety disorder will generally experience anxiety and symptoms that do not go off easily and it has an effect on their activities.
7. You are a coward for having too many anxious feelings and thoughts: Isolating oneself from others, feeling lonely, where one assumes that people around are having their best lives while they are breaking down. One might feel like it’s only them feeling low, but that definitely is not the case. There are people around who one can actually relate to but this can only happen if one opens up and talks about how their feelings.
8. Anxiety is mostly a problem experienced by adults: Anyone may experience anxiety at any age. A child to an adult may have different experiences of anxiety depending on their environment and the situations one encounters. It can cause behavioural, emotional changes in children just like in adults.
9. All anxiety is same: different people may experience different types of anxiety. Some people may experience anxiety only in particular situations while some may experience constant anxiety.

To conclude, each and every person experiences anxiety but if anxiety is prolonged and persistent then it is adviced to seek professional guidance.