Having General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is not a joke. It is a daily struggle for many people in the world. Did you know that 40 million Americans over the age of 18 are affected by anxiety, which is 18% of the population? 7 million people suffer from GAD. Anxiety can control every aspect of a person’s life. It’s like a ghost constantly hovering above us not leaving us alone. We as people who suffer from anxiety disorder get judged for the fact that we over think and or over react. Many of us who suffer from anxiety also have a mix of depression which is very common. One half of people who are diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with GAD Anxiety. This affects 3.1 of the United States population, however only 43.2% only receive treatment. Depression has a huge affect on people who struggle with anxiety because when we get into a slump many of us just want to disappear.
The saddest part about struggling with anxiety is that no one really understands it, even some people who struggle with GAD aren't as severe as others. They try to help by saying, “just breathe.” Ummm, THAT DOESN’T WORK! Every second of every day our minds rush with thoughts and feelings and sometimes we can’t control it. It is not our fault. Our thoughts can go from “I'm not good enough, I’m going to fail this test and etc” Another bad part about anxiety is that it can ruin friendships. How? Here’s how. Friends who do not have anxiety cannot understand the constant rushing thoughts, the constant pain of our chest tightening and stomach aching. Yes, they have times were they are anxious and nervous, but they don’t feel it every day like we do. Anxiety can control us. It can make us afraid of the world. Struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder is not funny. Many people struggle with it daily and it is something that people need to learn about so they can understand what it is. People need to understand the differences of GAD and regular nervousness.
Anxiety is like rushing waves, constantly trying to push us down and we can not come up for air. We are drowning and cannot do anything about it, but we are trying your best to get a air, but we just can’t. We are trapped in the world of what ifs and not what is happening right then and there. Our body is trapped in this ongoing pain of our stomachs swirling and our chest suffocating us making our heart rate race like a racing horse. Anxiety makes us feel like we are going to throw up and or pass out. The sad part is that it is so hard for someone to comfort us when we are having an anxiety attack, sometimes you feel like they're the ones suffocating you when in reality, they are trying to help you. It is so hard to explain how we feel on the inside that we just bottle it up until we implode. Sometimes you think you're getting better when you're not. It takes time and energy to improve one's anxiety, but it is not impossible. We just have to strive and continue working on it. It’s okay to battle something internally, always know you are not alone and you always have someone! Love who you are, even though you hate your anxiety!
References:
https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics#
https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-he...
