Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. It is common for someone with an anxiety disorder to suffer from depression or vice versa. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, but chronic or extreme anxiety can interfere with your quality of life and can have major effects on the body including but not limited to: a sense of doom, panic attacks, headaches, irritability, breathing problems, upset stomach, loss of libido, extreme fatigue, and increase in blood pressure. Traumatic life events are the biggest cause of anxiety; after experiencing a traumatic situation, you may feel like you are continuously in danger, so your body is reacting and telling itself to get out of danger, and this can happen when there is no real danger around. If you feel intense nervousness, worry, or stress on a day to day basis, it may be time to get help.
Treatment at CARE Counseling for anxiety may include working on thought patterns and exploring underlying causes for triggers. It may also include developing new and healthy coping skills as well as learning ways to communicate so that the people around you can better understand your experiences.
Children 5 and under: Trouble with eating, sleeping, or toileting (including having accidents when already toilet-trained), difficulty with transitions (e.g. from home to school), frequent tantrums or meltdowns, restlessness/hyperactivity/
Children 5 and up: Trouble with eating, sleeping, or toileting, worry about upcoming events or activities (may be expressed by asking questions over and over about the same thing or seeking frequent reassurance), restlessness/hyperactivity/
Teens: Irritability, trouble sleeping, avoidance of activities or social situations, perfectionism, excessive worries about school or sports performances
Common across ages for children and teens: Complaints of frequent stomachaches or headaches
This type of anxiety is characterized by worrying about a lot of different things and experiencing common symptoms of anxiety for months
People with social anxiety experience worry about most social situations and how other people perceive them in social situations
People with separation anxiety experience distress and worry about being detached from loved ones
