Anxiety is probably second to depression when it comes to mental illnesses that are tossed around lightly and misunderstood. Similar to how depression is often misconstrued as just being sad, anxiety is often summed up as worrying too much. Anxiety is so much more than that!
What anxiety is not:
Anxiety is not just worrying a lot. Everyone worries; it's a part of life. Worrying about an upcoming test does not necessarily mean you have anxiety. The majority of the time, worrying about an upcoming exam is an indication that you are not as familiar with the material as you want or need to be. Worrying or being nervous about a social outing or a first date does not mean you have anxiety. In fact, its perfectly normal to be nervous about a first date. If you are one of the extremely fortunate souls that does not get nervous on a first date, please share your secrets with the rest of us.
Anxiety, especially social anxiety, is not refusing to leave your comfort zone. Most people don't necessarily enjoy leaving their comfort zones. Comfort zones are just that - they are comfortable. Venturing out of your comfort zone, talking to more people, or worrying less will not cure anxiety.
When most people think of anxiety, they think of someone who worries all the time; someone who perhaps bites their nails and is prone to hyperventilating.
What anxiety is:
According to The National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders " involve more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. The feelings can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships." As with depression, there are a variety of anxiety disorders, each with their own unique symptoms.
General anxiety disorder is typically characterized by "excessive anxiety or worry for months and face several anxiety-related symptoms." Often times, people with generalized anxiety disorder have trouble concentrating, experience restlessness, are easily fatigued, and have trouble sleeping.
Panic disorders typically involve "recurrent unexpected panic attacks, which are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate; sweating; trembling or shaking; sensations of shortness of breath, smothering, or choking; and feeling of impending doom." In these situations, telling someone to calm down may not be the most helpful thing to do. Instead, it might be more helpful for the person to know that you care and will be there to help in any way that you can. Everyone deals with panic attacks differently, so make sure to find out what would best help those around you if they experience a panic attack.
Social anxiety is often characterized by "a marked fear of social or performance situations in which they expect to feel embarrassed, judged, rejected, or fearful of offending others." In most cases, if someone is dealing with social anxiety they are very aware of it. Sometimes this can result in over analyzing conversations and reading so much into past words and actions that the person fears that his/her friends and loved ones will turn their backs on him/her and no longer love or support him/her. Again, this is just one example - one I happen to be personally very familiar with as this is something I experience on a regular basis in conjunction with my bipolar disorder.
Here's a few examples of what anxiety actually looks like.
Patrick Dempsey
Johnny Depp
Emma Stone
Adele
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John Green
David Beckham
Jennifer Lawrence
Scarlett Johansson
