It seems like everyone has anxiety these days. To be fair, there’s a lot going on in our world that is anxiety provoking. But what is anxiety exactly? How do we know when it’s just a feeling or something more, like an anxiety disorder? Does one’s personality make them more prone to experiencing anxiety?
First, it’s important to note we all experience the feeling of anxiety, even if we don’t meet criteria for an anxiety disorder or we are more laid back by nature. In the counseling world, we describe anxiety as a secondary emotion to fear, meaning fear is usually the primary emotion we’re experiencing, but it manifests itself through worry, panic, and other trademark symptoms of anxiety. If you’ve ever been a client of mine, you’ve probably heard me say that fear serves a purpose. It tells us what is important to us and motivates us into action. For example, if I see my toddler running down the driveway towards the street, my heart rate elevates, my feet start running after her, and I’m screaming for her to stop, as I have horrible visions in my head of what might happen if she runs into the street. My fear is serving a purpose here – it’s reminding me how much I care about my daughter and her safety, and it’s motivating me into action to stop her. Fear and anxiety can become more than just a feeling and turn into a disorder when they start interfering with our everyday functioning. Taking my example from above, if I become so afraid of my daughter possibly running into the street, I could decide that I will eliminate any possibility of that and stay inside our home forever. This would indicate that my feeling of fear is interfering with my behavior and my (as well as my daughter’s!) interacting with the outside world. At this point, I may meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, and could benefit from treatment for anxiety.
Anxiety can take different forms. We use the DSM-V to diagnose anxiety disorders, and conditions such as generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety fall under the category of anxiety disorders. Each of these conditions have specific criteria that must be met in order to qualify for a diagnosis.
Can anxiety and anxiety disorders be cured? I tell my clients that, no matter how effective therapy and/or medication are, we will still experience anxiety as a result of being a human with emotions and living in this broken world. That said, there are treatments that have been shown through evidence to be effective in minimizing the impact anxiety has one’s daily life. I practice one such type of therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), which you can read more about here. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold standard treatment for OCD. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is also effective in treating anxiety. In each of these different forms of therapy, you’ll learn tools you can implement when in intense moments of anxiety. Some of these tools include mindfulness and breathing, but also learning how to notice and relate to your thoughts differently. If you are looking for a therapist to treat your anxiety, I recommend searching for someone specialized in ACT, ERP, or some form of CBT for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
If you find that talk therapy alone isn’t helping, you might discuss medication options with your therapist and/or doctor. For those taking medication for anxiety, a combination of therapy and medication is usually the recommended mode of treatment, as medication can target neurotransmitters in the brain, while therapy teaches you skills you can use in the moment of high anxiety.
If you notice that your feelings of fear, thoughts of worry, and/or physical symptoms of anxiety are interfering with your ability to live your life in the way that you want you, please know that there is hope! Help is available to you! Feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to discuss with you how I treat anxiety, and to help you figure out the best mode of treatment for you.
