Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition worldwide. They are not just the product of a nervous disposition. They are real, often debilitating medical conditions.
Here are some of the common myths and misconceptions about anxiety disorders:
1. Anxiety Disorders are “Just in Your Head”
Fact: Anxiety disorders are real, biologically based medical illnesses. They are not caused by a character weakness or poor upbringing. Although there is often a genetic component to anxiety disorders, they can be treated and managed successfully with current biomedical and psychotherapies.
2. Anxiety is just a passing phase
Fact: Anxiety can be a chronic condition that lasts for months or years. It often comes and goes, but there are ways to manage it so it doesn’t get in the way of your life.
3. Anxiety disorders are rare among children
Fact: While it’s true that many children do grow out of their anxiety symptoms over time, as many as one in five adolescents suffers from an anxiety disorder.
4. Anxiety disorder means you’re weak
Fact: Anxiety disorders are not psychological problems but physical ones. They affect your body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls involuntary functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. When you have an anxiety disorder, your ANS becomes overly sensitive and reacts strongly to certain triggers — this causes a panic attack or other symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, trembling, shortness of breath, and more. These reactions can be dangerous if left untreated.
5. Anxiety is just a normal part of life
Fact: Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time; however, when you have an anxiety disorder, it’s different because it affects your daily life — it makes you worry about things you wouldn’t normally worry about and makes everyday situations seem difficult or impossible to handle on your own. People with anxiety disorders tend to avoid situations where they know they’ll feel stressed out.
6. Anxiety disorders affect only women
Fact: While women tend to have higher rates of anxiety disorders in general, men also experience excessive anxiety at some point in their lives. Some evidence suggests that men may be less likely than women to seek treatment for their symptoms due to the stigma associated with mental illness in general and specifically for having an anxiety disorder.
7. Anxiety disorders are just panic attacks
Fact: The term “anxiety disorder” is used to describe a wide range of mental health conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Panic attacks are one symptom of these conditions but not the entire diagnosis.
8. Many people with anxiety get better without treatment
Fact: Many people with an anxiety disorder improve over time with treatment, but others do not improve without treatment or may even get worse if they stop treatment too soon after starting it. People with severe anxiety can get better but may need long-term treatment to prevent their symptoms from returning later on.
Final words
If you’re struggling with an anxiety disorder, talking to a professional is the best option for diagnosis and treatment. Your local mental health professional can help you come up with a customized treatment plan that’s right for you.Get the best therapy for generalized anxiety disorder from an expert today!