Why People Should Stop Saying They Have Anxiety When They Don’t Have It an editorial by Dana
WHY PEOPLE SHOULD STOP SAYING THEY HAVE ANXIETY WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE IT BY DANA
By Dana Lasas, for BRIC ELA 30A Editorial Posted: November 16, 2017 9:57AM CST Last Updated: November 16, 2017 10:01AM CST
Image
credit: Google Images
Lately people have been abusing the terms such as panic attacks, nervous breakdowns, and anxiety to describe their daily struggles and problems, even though they don’t have those – this needs to stop.
All around social media and in
public (such as my high school), I often see and hear people saying the phrases
such as: "I'm going to have a nervous breakdown" "This is giving
me so much anxiety right now” “I’m about to have a panic attack”. People
particularly of my age group, use these words to add emotion to their sentence,
but little do they know, these words have the power to do more than just offend
people—they could trigger someone who is actually suffering from an anxiety
disorder.
Anxiety is recognized as a mental
health disorder. There is a difference between regular anxious feelings and a
Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is
characterized by excessive, often irrational, worry about events and situations
such as work, school, health, relationships, finances or routine activities. The
anxiety persists for at least six months, is difficult to control, and
interferes with occupational, social or other areas of functioning. There are
several types of anxiety disorders, such as a generalized anxiety disorder,
panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder (sometimes called "social
phobia").
People have taken this term and use
it to over exaggerate their everyday experiences. For example: when someone isn't
uncomfortable to go to a big party where they don't know anyone; they say they
have "social anxiety”. Whether it is for attention or just the general
lack of understanding how and what anxiety actually is, the continuous use of
anxiety terminology is a slap in the face to those who actually struggling with
this mental health disorder.
Sure a person can feel some anxiety
about certain things such as a presentation, a job interview, or even
experiencing a breakup. Matter of fact, it's healthy and normal to feel anxious.
After all, it’s the body's reaction to stressful, unfamiliar, or dangerous situations.
It’s a way that helps you stay alert and aware. But there is a big difference
between casual nervousness and sheer panic. So, saying you have panic attacks
or a mental breakdown or stating you have an anxiety disorder when you just
freak out for a couple seconds is not cool.
A handful of people around the
world suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder. In Canada, 2.6% of Canadians
aged 15 and older reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety
disorder. Although that’s what I’ve read, it isn’t entirely true. The survey
excluded people living on-reserve and on other Aboriginal settlements,
full-time members of the Canadian Forces and the institutionalized population.
A solution to end this? Choosing
your words carefully before you speak. This can drastically help people with
this from feeling misunderstood and stigmatized. Anxiety disorders are real
illnesses that affect a person’s well-being so, think of others before posting
that meme about having anxiety, mental breakdowns, and panic attacks because we
see them.
URL
Comments
Post a Comment