The anxiety epidemic.
Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease. I know for me, anxious feelings have been the emotional state that I struggle with the most. Not only for the racing and intrusive thoughts, but mostly for the extreme discomfort I find my body is in. Butterflies in the the tummy, hot sweats, racing heart, a state of restlessness, and inability to sleep to name a few of the somatic or bodily symptoms that show up when anxiety is present.
Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders
The 2020-21 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing reported that 1 in 6, 16.8% or 3.3million Australians have been affected by an Anxiety disorder in the last 12 months. The 16.8% of Anxiety disorders included:
Social Phobia (7.0%)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (5.7%)
Agoraphobia (4.6%)
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (3.8%)
Panic Disorder (3.7%)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (3.1%)
The data also showed that you were more likely to have an Anxiety Disorder if you were a woman, a young person (aged between 16 & 24), identify as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual, or were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. First Nations People are also nearly twice as likely to die by suicide. There is a need for more conclusive prevalence date from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Communities, particularly samples from recent migrant and refugee communities (Beyond Blue).
Whilst disturbing that so many of us are struggling, it is unsurprising to me when we look around what is happening in the world with wars and conflict, and the global experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 24-hour news cycle and social media whilst having their benefits, can also come at a huge cost to our nervous systems and sense of self. Our young people are particularly affected by technology and the internet, which has reduced face to face conversations and increased 24 hour bullying and issues with friendships, that in previous generations would may have seen time at home as a break from the issues of school.
The struggles that minority groups still experience through increased levels of violence, stigma and discrimination, also inform why we see increased rates of mental health concerns in diverse groups of people.
“When a flower does not bloom, you fix the environment in which the flower grows. Not the flower.”
Maybe Anxiety is not a disorder?
As seen above, Anxiety is commonly referred to as a disorder or mental health diagnosis. But… Anxiety is a normal and necessary feeling, based from the primary emotion of FEAR. Anxiety is not only an internal state, but often a symptom of the external world.
Anxious feelings show up to communicate to us that there are threats present which may impact our safety and survival, whether this be physically or emotionally. The incredible bodily discomfort that we feel in the body when anxiety is present is there as a MOTIVATOR to send us into a survival mode response. Without our body activated instantly, we would find it very difficult to run from the tiger in the jungle (FLIGHT), put out the fire (FIGHT), or to immobilise when doing something may actually bring us greater harm (FREEZE).
When we have experienced significant and ongoing threats, our nervous system will become more sensitive to our survival, and hypervigilance can result and we may experience “overthinking”, ongoing worry, constant scanning, difficulty sleeping and eating.
Whilst this is difficult, it is actually a normal and expected response to trauma, and not always in my view, a disorder. Experiences in childhood in particular can have long lasting impacts on our nervous system and emotions. Traumas such as abuse, loss of a parent, dysfunctional family environment, natural disasters, wars, and intergenerational trauma can affect the body and mind for years to come.
Anxious feelings are one of the most physically uncomfortable and distressing to sit with. It is understandable why so many want support to soothe the intensity, and the impacts of living in a body that has learned to be on guard. Whilst hypervigilance and anxious feelings are to be expected as a survival mechanism, sometimes the need for our alert system constantly no longer serves us when a level of safety has been established, or when the intensity of the anxiety compromises the capacity to do the things we need to do day to day - attend school, work, parent, complete household chores.
Help is out there…
Whilst the bigger problems of the world and society will require social change, activism and movements which start to prioritise our health and wellbeing, there are things you can do at a family or individual level which can assist.
Working with a trained therapist can help you to increase your awareness and understanding of why anxiety may be present in the body for you, whether that is as a result of historic or current trauma, or stress or worry that is showing up in some way.
It is very common for children and adolescents in particular to report feeling anxious around school, their body and the relationships with their peers. It would be wonderful if we could work with young people in particularl to help them attune to the wisdom of the body, instead of seeking solutions which suppress the vital information that their bodies may be telling them about their safety, boundaries, values and what is important to them.
A therapist can work with you and or your child to embrace the emotional responses in your body, and learn strategies to help re-coach the nervous system to a lower baseline when perhaps anxiety has been showing up in ways that are no longer useful.
Some people may find that seeing a GP or psychiatrist for pharmaceutical support can also be helpful is the discomfort is too great. Research continually shows that medication is more effective when also combined with therapy.
The Dawn specialises in therapeutic interventions to increase the quality of life of those who are struggling anxiety. We invite you to reach out for support.
Written by Nicole Staats.
Principal Counsellor, The Dawn.