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What is Anxiety?


For anyone who wants to understand more about what it feels like to have anxiety, I suggest watching the video above.  This is what anxiety feels like, at least for this girl.  Anxiety is different from person to person but it is never good.  People who have anxiety tend to constantly experience feelings of worry or fear.  Some of these feelings can interfere with daily activities such as going to school or work. There are many different types of anxiety and it can be hard to cope with any of them. For each type of anxiety, I have attached a link that can give you more information on the particular disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): This type of anxiety includes constant and chronic worrying, nervousness, and tension.  This is generally continuous and can greatly interfere with day to day activities. GAD is the most common anxiety in teens. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad.htm

Social Anxiety: About 9.1% of adolescents suffer from social anxiety which is where everyday interactions cause irrational fear, self-consciousness, and embarrassment.  This greatly interferes with daily activities because it can become so easy for the fear to overcome you, so you cancel plans and stay home.  You skip school because you are afraid.  Like all types of anxieties, it can take over your whole life if you don't get treated. https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-social-anxiety-disorder#1

Specific Phobias: Some people who have anxiety aren't affected by it 24/7. For individuals with specific phobia, they are afraid of a specific object, situation, activity, or person.  While this may not seem as bad as the other anxieties, it is a terrible thing to deal with.  An individual could be terrified by dogs, which wouldn't affect them all of the time, because they wouldn't always be around dogs.  But if they did see or encounter a dog, they would be absolutely terrified. With specific phobia, the fear is proportionally greater than the actual danger or threat, but that doesn't dismiss the fear at all.https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/specific-phobias

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): OCD occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. The tern OCD is used a lot to describe someone that is overly cleanly or organized.  While people with OCD may have these attributes, that does not define OCD.  OCD is feelings or urges you get that you have to complete because you will not feel satisfied if you don't. OCD can be characterized by obsessive cleaning, rhythmic touching, performing patterns, or more.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truisms-wellness/201605/4-myths-about-ocd

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a set of symptoms that someone develops after they experience something harmful, terrifying or upsetting.  While not many teens develop PTSD, some do.  It is most common amongst soldiers or individuals in the military. https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/ptsd.html

Panic Disorder: This type of anxiety disorder causes panic attacks, which are sudden feelings of terror when there is no real danger.  You may feel as if you have no control.  If you see someone having a panic attack, try to follow the 1-2-3-4-5 method to try to calm the person down. Make sure that you stay calm in these situations to keep the other person calm as well.
https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/panic-disorder

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding | School psychology, Mental strength, Mindfulness


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