Staff Writer
Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in his or her life. It is what makes people study more for their history test and be extra careful while driving on the highway. So, anxiety can be a good thing. However, it transitions into an anxiety disorder when the anxious feelings are felt more often than not and don’t always have an obvious cause.
Amelia Kelley, M.S., LPC
defines anxiety as, “A pervasive feeling of
worry or dread that interrupts daily life functioning and is not able to be
lessened or extinguished easily by the person suffering from these thoughts.
Often the worry or dread is concerning events not actually occurring, but
predicted events.”
Whether
teens have an anxiety disorder or are just feeling excess stress and anxiety,
they can learn to deal with it. One coping mechanism that has proven effective
is ensuring that teens get enough sleep, nourishment, and exercise. All three
of these can improve mood and energy, along with lower stress levels for many.
Another coping mechanism that has proven effective for many people is keeping a
positive attitude. This helps people to rid their minds of the stress and
anxiety. By feeding themselves a positive message, they are able to focus on
the good in their lives rather than the bad.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the United States and affect around 40 million people over the age of 18, or about 18% of the U.S. population (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) . Anxiety is treatable, but only one-third of people suffering from an anxiety disorder receive treatment. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, even though each anxiety disorder has its own set of symptoms, they all “cluster around excessive, irrational fear and dread.”
Eight percent of American
teens aged 13 to 18 have an anxiety disorder, with symptoms commonly emerging
much earlier in their lives. Only about 18% of teens with an anxiety disorder
receive treatment.
According to Kelley,
common symptoms can include: “pervasive worry
about things perceived or expected that may not be happening, sleep
disturbances, shakiness, nausea, light headedness, panic attacks, tingling of
limbs and numbness, and interruption of live events and skills due to constant
worry or avoidance,” along with a number of other symptoms such as illnesses
and weight gain. These physical symptoms are a direct result of the body’s
reaction to the anxiety.
There are multiple
anxiety disorders, with the most common being specific phobias, which affect
about 19 million adults in the United States. Social anxiety disorder,
generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorders are also common, affecting 15
million, 6.8 million, and 6 million Americans respectively. Overall, women are
more likely than men to suffer from an anxiety disorder, which can develop at
any age. Two other disorders that are commonly associated with anxiety are
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
which affect 2.2 million and 7.7 million Americans respectively.
Joining a support group,
talking to close friends or clergy, and practicing stress management techniques
are ways to make treatment more effective. Kelley says that anxiety can be
treated through, “behavioral therapy,
psycho-pharmaceuticals, nutritional adjustments, cognitive retraining and
working through subconscious thoughts and feelings replacing them with
conscious decisive ways of approaching thought.”
There are a number of
treatments for anxiety disorders, with psychotherapy and medication being the
most common. Psychotherapy helps the mental health professional and the anxiety
sufferer determine what the disorder is and how to properly treat it. One
common type of psychotherapy is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where the
mental health professional helps the client change his or her thinking patterns
and the way that he or she responds to anxiety-provoking situations. CBT is
commonly combined with medication. This combination is an effective treatment
method for many people.
It is very important for
teens to remember that anxiety is treatable, and that there are people who can
and will help them. It also important that teens who are suffering from anxiety
find a support system, whether through their therapist, family, friends, or
others.
For more information on
anxiety and other mental illnesses, go to: http://www.adaa.org/ or http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml.
