I’ll be honest - I don’t know much about anxiety although I’ve been reading a little online. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an issue with it first hand. I’ve had moments when I’ve felt anxious or stressed out - public speaking, exams, periods when I’ve felt overburdened with work and family commitments, moments when I’ve felt really agitated with mistakes I’ve made or anger at actions and words of others and have felt physical manifestations of those feelings, but I don’t think I’ve ever had an anxiety attack.
I see daily references here to ongoing anxiety issues. I have a few young people in my extended family who have started to have symptoms of periodic anxiety so it is something I’m trying to understand better so I can grasp what they are experiencing and be supportive where I can.
Is anxiety becoming more prevalent in society or are we just better about recognizing it, naming it, and talking about it?
I guess my thought is this could be a thread for sharing and talking about different aspects of life related to anxiety.
I am not an expert, but my mom suffers from anxiety. I was visiting her once, and I did many things for her, including deciding where we were going to eat, what we were going to eat, etc. I wanted her to make decisions, but she just didn’t, so I didn’t push it.
My last day at her house, I wanted to take her and other relatives to dinner, and I asked her to pick a place. I think I even narrowed it down to two, and neither was a bad answer. She simply COULD NOT make that decision. I remember being mad at her at the time, but now I realize it was her anxiety at work.
My daughter has anxiety and it has manifested itself in myriad ways- OCD when she was younger, then stomach aches (so bad they led to multiple ER visits, specialists, a colonoscopy/endoscopy at age 9), panic attacks as a teen…currently she is on a antidepressant which also works on anxiety. This seems to help somewhat but it’s not a magic bullet. At any rate, she comes by it naturally as much of my maternal side of the family has anxiety. My grandmother had electroshock therapy when my mom was 7 because she (my grandmother) was so worried about getting cancer. I also have an aunt who has been hospitalized more than once for anxiety and the rest of my maternal side is high strung, if not officially diagnosed. I’ve also struggled with anxiety since I was around 12. It’s a horrible thing and can be very impairing if not treated. Luckily, I’ve found a medication that has made a huge difference in my anxiety level (not a benzo or anything addictive). It’s the first time in my adult life I haven’t felt paralyzed by my anxiety.
My anxiety and depression have manifested in various ways. When I was a child, I got intensely homesick during trips, at least the first few nights. I was generally a very scared child. I had an eating disorder when I was in high school. I got married younger than I should have; I feared financial ruin and I thought my then husband would support me well. (He did not.) In my 20s and 30s, I had a few periods of deep anxiety and depression but was able to cope reasonably well, mostly because I was very focused first on my education and then on my children. Also, my ex had and has bigger problems than I do, and I realized I had a duty to not fall apart. For the past 10 years or so, I’ve been anxious, depressed, or both all the time. I’ve gotten used to never feeling happy; I’m relieved that I can function as well as I do so I try to not get bent out of shape about my lack of highs. When I do have anxiety attacks these days, they don’t last long, and they often manifest as feeling queasy and jittery.
Ex-h’s anxiety and D manifested as extreme indecisiveness and ADHD. D1 gets teary and feels sick to her stomach. D2 has OCD.
Some of my kids have signs of a heritable disorder of connective tissue, probably a mild form of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Their ligaments are more lax than the average person which creates physical instability. There is a correlation between EDS and anxiety, ADHD, and GI problems and a lot of other stuff.
Even before we knew about EDS, a neurologist told us he though my D’s anxiety had a physiological cause.
I tend to have a B12 deficiency and when I get low, I tend to feel very overwhelmed (besides my brain functioning taking a nosedive).
I also have autonomic dysfunction so sometimes my body shows signs of anxiety, usually a high heart rate, when I’m actually feeling relaxed.
I always want to try to make sure that physical causes that can be addressed are addressed before medication, especially if therapy is ineffective. I was very impressed when a psychiatrist we saw ordered blood work to check my D’s CBC, thyroid levels, electrolytes, irin levels, and B12 before bringing up medication.
B12 deficiency and as well as shortage B6 and folate can make a person anxious. It just messes with the brain and the nervous system.
Continuous stress just one thing after another just takes its toll on the body. Sometimes we need a break from it all but that doesn’t happen and the anxiety just gets built up inside till our body starts to shutdown and then we experience burnout and exhaustion. If a person has experienced several traumatic events in their life they are more prone to anxiety and depression. Everyone just has their limits on how much they are able to handle.
In general, I have a hard time believing much of anything is “new” or even increasing- we’re just pathologizing (for better or worse) more and more things. Certainly, anxiety has been around for a long time but since the advent of happy pills in the middle of the century, less people are put into institutions when having an attack (or attacks).
I’ve had anxiety and depression since my early teens. Sometimes, it’s under control. Sometimes, it’s not. I’m on zoloft, wellbutrin, and pamelor to try and control the symptoms. It had been doing ok until a recent family event sent me into a tailspin. (I have a little over 2 more months to deal with this family crap, too, so I’m desperately trying to find a therapist.)
It’s gotten to the point where I wake up Mr R in the middle of the night several nights a week because I’m having attacks. I hyperventilate, the room feels like it’s spinning, and I have bad heart palpitations. He calms me down and then I sob. And THEN I feel guilty for having woken him up with my problems. Rinse and repeat.
Another manifestation of my anxiety: I am in the middle of reading for prelims. I like the books I’m reading but to be on track I have to read about two a day. I am so far behind that every time I go to start, I am just overwhelmed with how behind I am and cannot start. I just can’t.
In a previous life, I probably would’ve dropped out of my program but thanks to meds (and an understanding department), I can somewhat keep it together.
My mom’s side is filled with depression (not so much anxiety) and so my mom has always understood it. My dad hasn’t but he’s been supportive. We recently had a discussion about how he can’t see my autoimmune diseases but he knows I have them because of what it does to me (fatigue, pain, etc)- which, again, he can’t see. I explained that it’s the same way with my anxiety & depression and he finally understood (well, as well as he’s ever going to).
My D, the psych head, would say many confuse different issues. Eg, she insists “panic attacks,” with the physical romani just described, and “anxiety” are separate. And then you have to filter for depression, stress, ptsd, and others.
I think we’re more inclined to accept these labels than before. More are aware, not afraid admitting certain challenges makes one weird or mentally ill.
@lookingforward Are you saying that too much is being lumped into a catch-all Anxiety label? I would think that panic attacks are manifested by anxiety, no?
In my reading I often see anxiety and depression linked together but as far as I know, they young relatives of mine have anxiety issues but no stated feelings of depression.
I believe it’s a combination of more knowledge and more diagnosis, and the increasing rate of change of change of society. Many people nowadays, especially the college bound, have to absorb SO MUCH MORE information than ever before. Meanwhile the social connections in American society have been unraveling for decades. Isolation, overwork, information overload are not good for many people and some get sick as a result.
@doschicos I think she means anxiety is often self labeled as a panic attack. She insists a PA has overt physical aspects. I say I’m panicking and she says no, that’s anxiety.
I agree with you that we all get dry throat, sweaty palms moments. That’s often situational, as you said - a speech, a flat tire. The trouble is when this seems to interfere often with our daily lives, ongoing.
D isn’t a psychologist but works in a therapeutic role.
As an anecdote, I was recently with a group of 6 moms with 16 kids among us ranging in ages from 23-14. Every mom had an incidence in their family of a kid having anxiety and/or suffering a panic attack. Those with 3-4 kids had 2 who have had an issue. Most of these kids have seen therapists or counselors at some point. I think the stress on kids today is definitely contributing to these issues. I can’t think of a single friend my age (50’s) who had anxiety problems back when they were young adults.
I have thought a lot about whether the rate of anxiety and related disorders is truly increasing, or whether our awareness of such is.
I have a theory I have mentioned to several people who suffer. Back in the “Little House on the Prarie” days, I believe day to day life may have included many things that prevent anxiety. For one, people were physically a lot more active - farming, or walking to town, cooking meals and doing laundry were all very physical tasks and we know exercise is good for anxiety and depression. Two, people were outdoors more and we know sunshine and nature are also good for anxiety and depression. Three, people in small towns had a lot of community and connectedness. You needed to interact with the shopkeepers and neighbors on a daily basis, and we know that being social and connected in society is also good for anxiety and depression. Fourth, everyone (including the smallest children) had chores that needed to be done to keep the family going. We know that feeling productive and useful is also good in preventing depression.
So there is my completely NON peer reviewed analysis of anxiety disorders in history.
I say this as a sufferer, in the past, of extreme panic attacks. There were times when I was so paralyzed by panic and the feeling that I could not breathe or walk up the stairs without becoming short of breath and shaky. Oddly these attacks seemed to happen on days when I was home. When I absolutely had to be somewhere (kids school, doctor appointment) I could manage to get myself together. I think if I had had to go harvest corn several days a week I would have been in better shape. I eventually learned a lot of coping techniques and how to cognitively retrain my brain and have been panic free for years.
I suffer from anxiety, partly for situational reasons, and partly for health reasons. I was very severely, life-threateningly anemic for years, until I had major medical intervention last year. I had read about the connection between anemia and anxiety, but I didn’t realize the impact on me until I got well. Most of my behaviors and emotions have disappeared, and it’s been absolutely magical for my marriage and happiness. I wish I had found my doctor much earlier.
On the situational front, in the immediate and monstrous aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, I developed horrible anxiety attacks when commuting. During that time, the commute was often 3 hours in each direction with no bathroom. Ever since, I’ve had panic attacks when the bus is stuck in significant traffic. That has eased up since getting healthy, but I don’t think they will ever go away.
That’s his job, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the worst of my illness, actually, in all panic attacks, my husband is the only person who can comfort me. He’s a big guy and I’m fun sized, so I fold myself inside him and feel better quickly. I read a study recently about the physiological response of women in extreme medical stress when their person held their hands or otherwise had physical contact. It was really interesting.
And yet…when you read descriptions of life in that era – either fiction or nonfiction – there always seem to be some people who are “invalids.” I wonder whether some of them might have been suffering from mental health problems, such as anxiety disorders, that were not recognized as such at the time.
I was reading a biography of the Wright brothers recently, and it described a period in Wilbur Wright’s young adulthood when he became withdrawn and largely housebound for several years (missing out on college as a result). Might this have been mental illness? Similarly, might at least some of the problems that led to Elizabeth Barrett Browning being more-or-less an invalid for much of her adult life have been of mental origin?
I agree that physical activity, social interaction, outdoor life, and feeling productive and useful might have helped many people avoid or minimize anxiety and depression in the past. But there were also people who were unwell, and it’s not always clear whether their ill-health was physical or mental.
Emotional health problems go back in my family. I had a great aunt on my father’s side who committed suicide in the 1940s. At least two of my mom’s relatives in the old country (Bohemia) killed themselves. My grandfather physically abused my grandmother and their daughter, my mom, struggled with mental health issues for much of her life, including a very serious bout of postpartum depression, for which she was hospitalized, after I was born.
“I eventually learned a lot of coping techniques and how to cognitively retrain my brain and have been panic free for years.”
Love you comments and reasoning. I’ve had similar thoughts regarding societal changes and the impact on people. Any techniques you’re willing to share?
Logically I KNOW that he doesn’t mind one bit when I wake him up. This is the guy who sleeps on the ER floor just to make sure I’m not alone for even a minute. He has the patience of a saint.
But the anxiety monster tells me that I’m a bad spouse for waking him up and depriving him of sleep.
these attacks seemed to happen on days when I was home. When I absolutely had to be somewhere (kids school, doctor appointment) I could manage to get myself together. I think if I had had to go harvest corn several days a week I would have been in better shape. I eventually learned a lot of coping techniques and how to cognitively retrain my brain and have been panic free for years.