You’re such a worrywart.
Don’t be a Negative Nancy.
Nothing you worry about ever happens.
If people have said these things to you, it can feel hurtful and dismissive. They seem to be implying that if you’re worrying about trivial things, your worry must be trivial too. But chances are you struggle with something much more intense than they realize.
The Non-Trivial Consequences of Anxiety
Chronic worry, which may be diagnosed as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), has real and potentially serious physical, mental, and emotional consequences. Anxiety acts as stress on the body, leading to breakdown of the bodily systems that keep us healthy. It can damage internal organs like the kidneys, it can lead to inflammation, it can weaken the bones. Mentally, long-term anxiety can affect memory and cognition, and emotionally, anxiety can lead to depression.
So let’s say you’re one of the many people who worry a lot – and maybe get ridiculed or patronized for it. How do you know if you might have a diagnosable mental health disorder like GAD?
Diagnosing Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generally, an anxiety disorder is diagnosed when the anxiety is present most days for at least six months. Often anxiety is so intertwined with routine concerns (children, family, work, money, etc.) that you may assume it’s a natural side effect of everyday life. Or, maybe a medication or health condition is causing the anxiety and you’re aware that you’re not normally so anxious. Either way, when the anxiety starts to interfere with your life, you know it’s time to seek help.
How can anxiety interfere with life? Sleep deprivation, fatigue, poor concentration, forgetfulness, headaches, muscle tension, irritability, indigestion/bloating…and if that’s not enough, for some people anxiety keeps them from interacting with people, places, and events they fear will be overstimulating or otherwise overwhelming. Anxiety can, over time, interfere with relationships; after all, it’s hard to pay careful attention to someone else when you’re so caught up in your own recurring worries.
So if you feel like you’re always worrying about something, and if you have felt any of the symptoms listed above on a regular basis, chances are you have an anxiety disorder. Think of this as good news: all of that suffering you may have thought was normal is actually unnecessary–and treatable.
Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Treatment for anxiety can come in the form of individual therapy and also, in some cases, medication. For severe anxiety, an inpatient stay at a facility like Raleigh Oaks may be needed to stabilize your condition and set the foundation for continued treatment at home.
In treatment, a cognitive-behavioral therapist may work with you to uncover thinking and belief patterns that fuel your anxiety so that you can learn how to notice a negative thought occurring and shift it to something more positive. A therapist may also help you develop coping skills for dealing with anxiety so that you don’t turn to unhealthy escape routes (alcohol, drugs, food, compulsive gambling or shopping, etc.) to try to turn off your brain.
Your doctor or therapist may also recommend physical relaxation aids, like guided relaxations, massage, or yoga. And many treatment facilities, both inpatient and outpatient, implement group therapy as well. Talking with others who face similar struggles with anxiety can be a relief. You are not alone. In fact, about 30% of adults struggle with anxiety at some point in their lives.
Our main point? Chronic anxiety is not normal, no matter how many seemingly legitimate reasons you may have to feel anxious. When you’re feeling anxiety, you’re living in either the past or the future. Your heart rate and breathing are affected by the stress hormones that flood your body, ready to help you ward off danger. It’s time to take a deep breath and give your body the rest it needs. Treatment can help.
The (annoying) sentiment of “What you worry about never happens” may or may not be true. But what is true is this: anxiety is real, with real consequences, and you don’t have to suffer from it. There’s a path to peace, and our facility in Garner, NC, can help you take the first step.
