Generalized Anxiety Disorder Awareness
If you're new here, check out our popular post about conquering anxiety and panic attacks. Thanks for visiting!
“Mental Hearth and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Matters - Now More Than Ever” is the theme for this month’s multi pronged approach to community education and awareness, sponsored by the National Mental Health Association, the country’s oldest and largest non-profit organization with more than 340 affiliates across the country addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness.
Because anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in America, affecting some 19 million Americans, and can dramatically reduce productivity, diminish quality of life and even lead to suicide, mental health experts say raising awareness is an important aspect of this month’s observance.
Anxiety and fear are a normal part of life. But when these feelings become overwhelming, it may mean a person is experiencing an anxiety disorder. The good news is that once identified, these disorders are treatable.
Those observations are on target, according to a leading suburban psychiatrist directing outpatient mental health services at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Center.
Anxiety Attack Symptoms are Wide Ranging - and Expensive
Symptoms may vary widely and include excessive worry or fear, panic attacks, heart palpitations, obsessive or ritualistic behaviors, phobias, steep difficulties and poor concentration. But unlike the mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event like a business presentation or upcoming test, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
Anxiety disorders have their own distinct features, but are bound together by the common theme of excessive, irrational fear and dread. The economic cost of anxiety disorders is as staggering as the human toll. National Institute of Mental Health statisticians place the economic toll of anxiety disorders at $46.6 billion in 1990, nearly one-third of the nation’s total mental hearth bill of $148 billion.
According to mental hearth experts, anxiety disorders fall into five main categories: panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
With that sort of money involved, it’s not too hard to see why the government have a vested interested in helping people cope with and conquer their symptoms.
Dealing with social anxiety disorders and the varied symptoms can be extremely difficult and at times seem like it's impossible. And the ever increasing range of anxiety medications isn't really helping us to solve the problem - they're simply masking the symptoms. I hope to offer help and support on my blog, by sharing my experiences in suffering from and dealing with panic and anxiety attack symptoms.
