Anxiety

There has always been a false belief that getting help for your mental health is a bad thing or is scary, but coming from a place of experience, it’s honestly very helpful. There are so many different sources out there, and talking to an adult will always start you on the right foot. Anxiety has become a very common experience for many teens and young adults. As of 2022, 31.9% of teens have some sort of anxiety disorder. Anxiety is considered a major problem for many high schoolers and many people seem to think that anxiety itself is becoming more common – in reality, more people are just getting diagnosed and important information about anxiety has become widespread.

Now that people are so comfortable online, they share their stories and hardships with people that can be complete strangers on the internet. Other people have become ‘inspired,’ more willing to share their own stories too. People feel much more ready to come out in the open with their anxiety and want to teach others about it. Nowadays there are so many informative articles you can read to learn about anxiety. There are plenty of articles that tell you how to tell if you are about to have a panic or anxiety attack and what you can do to calm yourself down. An example of these reliable articles is https://www.medicinenet.com/panic_disorder/article.htm.

There are some basic facts that everyone should know when it comes to anxiety. The first is that there’s a difference between a panic disorder and simply getting anxious. Getting anxious is a completely normal feeling, if anything it’s healthy! However, a panic disorder is something that a professional doctor has diagnosed someone with and isn’t always controllable. If you think you have any sort of panic/anxiety disorder it’s very important to go see a doctor about it. If panic attacks go untreated they can go on repeatedly for months or even years. A doctor can educate you about all the different types of anxiety – including the difference between a panic disorder and a phobia; or the difference between social anxiety and generalized anxiety. Moving on with life with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder can decrease productivity, serotonin, and “quality of life” according to https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24931537/. Anxiety disorders often come as a ‘package deal’ with depression or suicidal thoughts and intentions. So although it may seem like a common disorder or issue, it really can have quite a toll on your life. Another beneficial thing to know is that there is a big difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. A panic attack is on a much bigger scale than an anxiety attack and can feel much worse. Luckily, panic attacks don’t occur as frequently as anxiety attacks do. Panic attacks tend to have more severe physical symptoms and can feel like a matter of life and death. An article that articulates this well is https://www.healthline.com/health/panic-attack-vs-anxiety-attack#anxiety-attack.

Healthline provides the symptoms that accompany a panic attack, statistics, comparisons between the two, and plenty of more useful facts. Anxiety is a very difficult thing to go through, but educating yourself and others will forever be the best way to start. It never hurts to reach out.