Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

What is anxiety?

All of us feel anxious now and then…when we start a new school, when we are about to take an exam, when we go out on a date.  For most of us, the anxiety isn’t too bad.  Usually the anxiety goes away when we finish the first day of school, we finish the exam, or we are on our way home after the date.  

For some people, though, the symptoms last a long time, are extreme, and are really disruptive to their way of living.  They may feel like things are out of control.  They may even feel like they may die from their symptoms.  This experience is called anxiety disorder.  The main symptoms are:

• Physical symptoms like trembling, shaky hands, excessive sweating, feeling like you can’t breathe or may be choking, stomach ache, feeling sick, dizziness and tense muscles.

• Emotional symptoms like worrying what others may be thinking about you, feeling the anxiety may never stop, feeling like things are not real, fearing a loss of control, or feeling that you are going crazy.

• Symptoms that keep you from doing things that you would normally do.  This might mean avoiding the things that make you anxious like skipping the exam or canceling the date.  It might also mean doing specific things to control your anxiety.  For example, some people try to control anxiety about germs by washing their hands a lot during the day.  Usually, though, these symptoms will be about feeling nervous and twitchy and just not wanting to do your usual stuff because of it.

What causes anxiety?

Lots of things can cause anxiety.  It may be a chemical imbalance in the brain, which makes it more difficult for some people to deal with stress than others.  Research shows that you are more likely to have an anxiety disorder if someone in your family has similar symptoms.  Sometimes the anxiety is triggered by a terrible, stressful experience like a death or someone hurting you in some way.  For others, anxiety just builds up over months or even years, and develops into negative, unhelpful ways of thinking which can make the problem get worse.

Is anxiety my fault?

The important thing to remember is that it is not your fault and you can do something about it.  Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues.

So, what can you do if you have an anxiety disorder?

• Learn what triggers your anxiety buttons.

• Talk to someone you trust who will support you.

• Learn some simple stress management techniques like yoga, relaxation, or breathing exercises.

• Be sure to take some time each day to relax and enjoy yourself.

• Get some exercise, even if it is 20 minutes a day.

• Try to eat healthy and get a good night’s sleep.

• Be realistic about the tasks you set for yourself and have some achievable goals. For example, if you are scared of heights, then going skydiving is probably a little too much at first.  Set small goals, accomplish them; then, move on.

• Give yourself permission to feel anxious from time to time, and try to figure out what is making you feel that way.  Hopefully, you can learn more about your own anxiety and how to beat it.

• Challenge your negative thoughts.  Sometimes these thoughts can trick us into thinking we can’t do something, so we try to avoid any anxiety.  You need to objectively look at your fears and beliefs, and then work out what is real and what is a mind trick.

These things may help but it also might be a good idea to get some extra help from someone who is trained in treating anxiety.  That might mean going to your doctor or school counselor or a mental health professional like a psychologist or another kind of therapist.  

You can also call the Teen Link telephone helpline or chat with a counselor online.  Teen Link is a program of the Crisis Center.  Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone who is trained to help or to someone who doesn’t know you.

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