Blog post #3-What Is Anxiety?

Topic question: How does anxiety affect our mental health?

I noticed my peers and I are very anxious, especially in the final year of high school. I wanted to know why we feel anxious and if it is beneficial to our mental health. For example, I noticed anxiety sometimes motivates me to study harder for a difficult test. I try my best to take walks and breaks to not get too anxious, but it does not always help. I wanted to research the most effective ways to get an adequate amount of anxiety. This also affects everyone because we are all stressed and anxious throughout our lives. For example, some common events that can trigger anxiety are marriage planning, grades, family, or retirement. I hope to help the global population to be mentally stronger to easily accomplish their goals. 

Sub question: What is anxiety? 

My peers and I are very anxious, especially in the final year of high school. I wanted to know why we feel anxious and if it is beneficial to our mental health. For example, I noticed anxiety sometimes motivates me to study harder for a difficult test. I try my best to take walks and breaks to not get too anxious, but it does not always help. I was also curious to find out how anxiety is related to OCD, depression or disorganization. I was curious if anxiety was genetic. For example, my grandpa is often anxious, so does that mean his deceased father might have also been anxious? 

Anxiety is a feeling of fear because it is a reaction to stress (1). An anxiety disorder is when the process of our thoughts, behaviours and feelings disrupts our ability to function in our daily lives (1). For example, in relationships, productivity, performance in school and work, intelligence of retaining information, participation, etc (1). Anxiety disorders is when anxiety does not stop and worsens over time(2). Some symptoms of anxiety include sweating, feeling restless and tense, and having a rapid heartbeat (2).There are three types of anxiety disorders (2). For example, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and phobias (3). People who have GAD tend to worry about everyday issues (health, friends, work, money, and family) (3). However, they are prone to worrying every day for at least 6 months(4). People who have panic disorders experience panic attacks (4).

Panic disorders include repeated and sudden times of intense panic even when there is no danger (5). The intense panic may be frequent and last many minutes (5). People with phobias encounter intense worry to a situation or object that realistically has little or no danger (6). For example, spiders, flying, small holes, or crowded places (6). Only 27.6% of the global population who have anxiety disorders receive treatment (6).

                  The cause of anxiety is still unknown today, but people who lived through abuse are more vulnerable to experience anxiety (7). However, other factors like brain chemistry and biology, genetics, stress, and the environment may trigger anxiety disorders (7). GAD and phobias are more common in women while social anxiety are equally present in both men and women (7). Anxiety is a future-oriented response to a threat in the environment (7). Anxiety disorders is the most common mental disorder because it affected 301 million people in 2019 (7).

I plan on researching how can we avoid too much anxiety. This will answer my topic question because I wanted to research the most effective ways to get an adequate amount of anxiety. This also affects everyone because we are all stressed and anxious throughout our lives. For example, some common events that can trigger anxiety are marriage planning, grades, family, or retirement. I hope to help the global population to be mentally stronger to easily accomplish their goals. I also wanted to research how we can determine the “satisfactory” level of anxiety that will benefit us. For example, my mom seems to handle anxiety better than I do even though she has more adversities to think about like her job, kids, and house management.  

ALL SOURCES ARE PEER-REVIEWED:
1)Services, D. of H. & H. (n.d.). Managing and treating anxiety. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/anxiety-treatment-options

2)Anxiety. (n.d.). [Text]. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://medlineplus.gov/anxiety.html

3)Anxiety disorders—Symptoms and causes. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961

4)Anxiety disorders: Causes, types, symptoms, & treatments. (2018, September 19). Healthline. http://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety

5)Anxiety disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/anxiety-disorders

6)Symptoms of anxiety and how to know when you need help. (n.d.). Cultivating-Health. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/symptoms-of-anxiety-and-how-to-know-when-you-need-help/2024/08

7)CDCTobaccoFree. (2023, March 14). Depression and anxiety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/Depression is more than just feeling down or having a bad day. When a sad mood lasts for a long time and interferes with normal, everyday functioning, you may be depressed.

Thank you,

Sarah Kim