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Anxiety Disorder
There's a big difference between feeling anxious and having an anxiety disorder.
A new poll shows just how often new parents look up that rash.
There are tools that can help quell anxious feelings, which can be tough to handle for most of us.
It starts with a tightness in my chest — like a rope that is being pulled from both ends around my lungs and heart.
It's more than worry.
Anxiety is constant, it doesn't just go away. Sometimes it may be heightened... making it essential to learning self-regulation of my thoughts. This involves acknowledging my triggers, knowing what scenarios or environments may cause my anxiety or panic to heighten.
The first person I told asked me, "What does that even mean, to have a mental illness?" I struggled to explain how I felt. That was three years ago. Today, I think I have a better grasp on what it means to live with a mental illness. So now I'll finally try to answer that question.
Panic disorder is associated with anxiety that continues after the panic attack has resolved. Patients with panic disorder worry about having another attack or that they might lose control. Sometimes they fear they're suffering from a serious medical condition that hasn't been diagnosed. As a result, they change their behavior to avoid situations that might provoke another attack.
Is there anything more tragic than going through life "unseen," feeling crushingly alone despite being in community? That's exactly what living with the stigma of compromised mental health feels like.
We all feel worried or anxious at times; that's what makes us human. Anxiety can be a healthy internal warning system for us to pay attention to something important. It's our body's way of signalling to us that something matters and needs to be done.
