Anxiety problems, and mental health problems in general, seem to be on the increase in our fast paced modern day society. More and more anxiety and related disorders seem to be in the news.
Anxiety and its associated disorders are the most common of all the mental illnesses that afflict us. It is estimated that around 20% of the adult population will be affected by some form of anxiety disorder at some stage in their lives. For a population as large as ours that is a large number of people indeed.
People with some form of anxiety disorder are more likely to use scarce health care resources. They go to the doctor more often than average, and are more likely to end up in hospital than the average.
This of course places a large burden on our health care system and the amounts of money spent on combating anxiety and its related disorders is massive. It is estimated at over $40 billion dollars a year.
There are a range of anxiety problems that people encounter, some well known and some not so well known. Post traumatic stress disorder is well documented as it is experienced by so many of our soldiers who have seen active duty, but some of the other forms are less well known.
Some types of specifically recognised disorders are specific anxiety phobias, such as fear of spiders or heights, panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and social anxiety problems.
And then there are anxiety problems that are not specifically defined and are known as generalized anxiety disorders. They are characterised by a constant and persistent fear of or worry about ordinary things.
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Of course there are always situations where almost everyone would be anxious, these happen to all of us in our lives and it is normal to be anxious when encountering situations such as these. The mere fact that an individual is suffering from some form of worry or fear is not of itself evidence of an anxiety disorder.
But people who suffer from generalized anxiety disorders suffer from a continuing fear or worry when there is no reason to fear or worry. That is the important distinction, there is no need to be scared or worried, but they continue to be.
This condition can take over their lives to the point where they feel they cannot control it and it is manifestly excessive. That is where there may well be a problem for the individual, and the continuous worry can seriously interfere with their life.
If you feel that you are becoming more and more anxious about things which shouldnt really be a cause of such anxiety, or that your anxiety is out of control, it is well worth investigating further. It is not helpful to attempt to ignore the situation and hope it will go away, it may not, and may well get worse.
Seeking help is the most important thing you can do in this situation.
Peter Crump
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/if-ive-got-an-anxiety-problem-what-should-i-do-55226.html
Comments
How should I tell my parents about my anxiety problem?
I believe I have an axiety problem. Now I don’t know for sure if this is true because a professional hasn’t diagnosed me with anything but I am almost certain I do have one. I am constantly nervous, in public I am constantly thinking about how people are viewing me at the time. Everything I do I try to hide because I don’t want people to view me differently because I will get embarassed. My palms are CONSTANTLY sweaty because I am always nervous. I’m very shy and hardly speak to anyone I don’t know well, and I hate it! I used to not care because I didn’t think it’d effect me much in life. But now I am 16 and in my sophomore year in high school and things are just way harder when I think like this. I want help, but it’s going to be hard to tell my parents because my dad is always angry and thinks he is always right. I know if I told him I have anxiety he’d just say "You damn teenagers always think of excuses in life!" and yell at me. How should I tell my parents about this?
well here’s what i did, and you can manipulate it to fit your own situation if you like;
i said mom i want to talk to a therapist and she said well okay but whats it about and i just told her i didn’t feel comfortable telling her yet..
so she took me to see one and the therapist helped diagnose me but then she referred me to pyschitrist to make sure and for medication..
with help of my therapist we told my mom what was going on and she took it well.
good luck and please don’t put this off because you are worried what your parents will think. this is serious and it gets in the way of your life. btw i’m sixteen too..
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I’d talk to a counselor at school. Explain it to them and then let them explain it to your parents, and then you guys can all talk it over. Parents are often more willing to accept what they hear from a professional. You could also see a therapist and go that route.
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Consider going to a Bible-based church youth group with one of your friends. Find out if there is a person you can talk to about this. Also, at 16 you can approach mental health centers, they have anxiety specialists that can help. Your local hospital will be able to refer you. First do your homework to get to know all you can about it, who knows, you may even find the answer. Your parents, your dad especially is probably anxious about his life, and taking care of the family, financial, or job pressures, a boatload of things that can impact the way he behaves. That is not your responsibility, yours is to find the solutions to help you move forward in life. Hope it helps some!
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You know, that sounds familiar. I was exactly the same at your age. And anxiety disorders were not very well recognized at the time (saying that makes me feel so old !:-). But the thing is I grew out of it, by doing things which forced me to speak in public, like theater (that’s a wonderful therapy, that is). Now I’m very happy to have gotten out of it, because I often have to speak in front of audiences, since as a researcher I must present my findings in conferences. I still get the nerves (with migraine and nausea to boot), but I manage.
My parents were a little the same as yours, but by explaining how I felt, I think they at least ended up understanding, at least partially. Also, I was lucky enough to get help at school through a voluntary group therapy, in which they also invited my parents to explain my troubles to them.
If there are any such programs at your school, I encourage you to go there. If there aren’t, you might maybe speak to the school nurse to know what kind of help you can get, and get her to speak with your parents.
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