Anxiety is a state of fear, uneasiness, and worry triggered when faced with a challenging situation in our lives.
This biological response is expressed as sweating, rapid palpitations, and a feeling of restlessness that prepares us to fight or flee situations.
However, people suffering from anxiety disorders experience these reactions in everyday situations, disrupting their relationships, job performance, sleep and eating habits, and hobbies.
If you suffer from anxiety, you can take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. In fact, it’s the most common mental health condition in the United States, affecting 18% of the total population.
Here are ten facts about anxiety that you probably didn’t know.
What do you Know About Anxiety?
Learning more about anxiety may enhance your awareness and help you decide to seek treatment if you are still on the fence about it.
Read on and discover ten facts about this common mental health condition.
Anxiety is the Mental Illness With the Highest Prevalence in the U.S. Population.
More than 40 million Americans over the age of 18 suffer from an anxiety disorder. Although this condition is highly treatable, only 36% of sufferers decide to get professional health, either because they dread the social stigma or out of misinformation.
Anxiety Disorders Could be Genetic
Not all people who go through a traumatic event develop an anxiety disorder. This is because a genetic component makes some individuals more prone to developing this condition after exposure to stressful experiences.
Anxiety and Depression are Related
Although they may seem to be opposite conditions at first glance, anxiety is often the trigger of depression. People who suffer from depression sometimes develop anxiety symptoms as a result of the mental exhaustion caused by this mental disorder.
At the same time, people suffering from anxiety may also develop depressive symptoms due to the poor choices to accommodate the condition (e.g., avoiding pleasurable activities, meeting new people, taking risks, etc.).
Women are More Vulnerable to Developing Anxiety Than Men
According to the ADAA, women are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety.
Women’s fight or flight mechanism is easier to activate and stays on for more extended periods than in men. This is partly due to the hormonal variance between men and women.
Anxiety Often Begins Early in Life
Although it may seem that anxiety is reserved only for grown-ups, about 7% of children, according to CDC, suffer from an anxiety disorder.
However, since children lack the verbal skills to express their symptoms, they often appear in the form of stomach aches, headaches, or temper tantrums.
Anxiety Disorders Lead to Other Health Complications
Anxiety not only affects our mental and emotional well-being. A Harvard study found that it can lead to gastrointestinal problems, heart disease, respiratory disorders, and chronic pain, among others.
Prolonged exposure to high cortisol levels (the hormone released when we are anxious) weakens the immune system and makes us more prone to a variety of illnesses.
Anxiety Makes us Feel Anger
Anxiety makes us feel isolated and powerless in the face of circumstances, which leads to frustration and feelings of anger.
That is why people suffering from anxiety disorder may become more irritable, impatient, and aggressive as a way to externalize their discomfort.
Related Illness
Some people who suffer from anxiety have a co-occurring disorder or illness, which worsens the symptoms and slows down the recovery process.
For example, some people suffer from depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at the same time.
Stress is not the Same as Anxiety
All humans experience anxiety and stress at some time in their lives, but they are not the same thing. Stress is the physical response to a potentially dangerous situation, and anxiety is the reaction to stress.
Anxiety can Impair Your Memory
People who suffer from anxiety are constantly thinking about the potential harm that could befall them in the future. That is why they struggle to stay focused on the present and do not pay full attention to what is happening to them.
Anxiety Therapy Treatment in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota
If you are experiencing anxiety symptoms that make your life difficult, a trained mental health professional can help you find relief.
At McNulty Counseling & Wellness, we use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and other scientifically proven psychotherapy approaches to help you find relief from your anxiety.
When treating anxiety, our goal is to get to the core of the underlying issues and triggers that are causing your symptoms. Through the therapy process, your counselor will help you gain a better understanding of your cycle of anxious thinking by identifying the triggers for your symptoms.
Then, your therapist will help you become aware of your irrational beliefs and replace them with more realistic ones that support a healthy pattern of thinking and behaving.
At McNulty Counseling and Wellness, you can book an in-person meeting or online therapy session to help you regain control of your life and take concrete actions to live it the way you want it and not just the way your symptoms let you.
Please take a look at all our counseling services in our St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Sarasota offices, and start taking care of yourself today.
