MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SERIES

Anxiety Disorders — Worry, Fear, and Panic — Meet Henry

23rd day of May — OVER 40 MILLION ADULTS IN THE U.S. HAVE AN ANXIETY DISORDER

Today, for National Mental Health Awareness Month, I’d like to talk about ANXIETY, something we all experience, some more than others. To start, this excellent resource has just a few facts to consider: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

But please don’t think that this whole article is boring and dry just because we’re starting with a few facts. If you read beyond the facts, you’ll be surprised and I think pleased with the rest of what I have to say about ANXIETY.

Here we go!

OVER 40 MILLION ADULTS IN THE U.S. HAVE AN ANXIETY DISORDER

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern in the United States. Over 40 million adults in the U.S. (19.1%) have an anxiety disorder. Meanwhile, approximately 7% of children aged 3–17 experience issues with anxiety each year. Most people develop symptoms before age 21.

THREE COMMON TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS

There are many types of anxiety disorders, each with different symptoms. The most common types of anxiety disorders include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD produces chronic, exaggerated worrying about everyday life. This worrying can consume hours each day, making it hard to concentrate or finish daily tasks. A person with GAD may become exhausted by worry and experience headaches, tension or nausea.

Social Anxiety Disorder

More than shyness, this disorder causes intense fear about social interaction, often driven by irrational worries about humiliation (e.g. saying something stupid or not knowing what to say). Someone with social anxiety disorder may not take part in conversations, contribute to class discussions or offer their ideas, and may become isolated. Panic attacks are a common reaction to anticipated or forced social interaction.

Panic Disorder

This disorder is characterized by panic attacks and sudden feelings of terror sometimes striking repeatedly and without warning. Often mistaken for a heart attack, a panic attack causes powerful physical symptoms including chest pain, heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and stomach upset. Many people will go to desperate measures to avoid an attack, including social isolation.

INTRODUCING HENRY H. HOBBLESTONE

There are nine more days in May, nine more chances to increase mental health awareness, nine more subjects to talk about….

So…..I’d like to finally introduce you to my new friend, Henry. I’ve been meaning to introduce him for a while now, but have been procrastinating shamelessly. The reason is, that he’s going to be tough to explain. You see, Henry is a hypochondriac.

Henry lives in a small place, too small for his large frame, a tiny house. He has to duck every time he goes in the door and sometimes when he’s inside his little house. He doesn’t mind, usually. There are times, though, that he minds terribly.

Do you see what I mean now? Oh, maybe I need to explain a little bit more, after all, I did say that he was going to be a bit hard to understand.

So here’s the thing. Henry is so big, tall, round, and big-boned that sometimes when he goes in the door, he scrapes against the top of the door frame. Ouch. And this triggers PANIC that he’s going to get a cut on his head and get a brain tumor. Hypochondriac in addition to Panic Disorder. He’s got the double whammy fear of a physical ailment PLUS panic at the slightest provocation.

Wow.

See how hard this is to explain? Because there’s more.

Hypochondriacs fear physical ailments of every kind. Henry has so much FEAR that he WORRIES all the time about getting a physical ailment. Can you see now what he deals with every day?

Mentally — WORRY, FEAR, PANIC — he probably has all three of the most common anxiety disorders mentioned in the boring part of this article. Physically — nothing really but he imagines that he can catch every disease in the universe in his body.

That’s enough about Henry for now, I’m tired just from writing about him. You can imagine how tired he must be all the time.

If you are like Henry, which I hope you’re not, please see a doctor RIGHT AWAY!!!! It might save your life.

Thanks for reading today’s Mental Health Awareness article. Stay tuned for another one tomorrow. I’ll be talking about Henry, so prepare yourself for more physical and mental challenges. In the meantime, happy reading, and writing, and please strive to be all-around healthy!

Are You Out There family of publications: | Are You Out There | GOLD Writing | BMG Productions | Drop a Line| |🦋Imaginative Fiction Out There🦋 |Read All About It |

Find me: 🦋Kathy K’s Medium profile page 🦋 🦋Subscribe to my stories by email 🦋Join Medium with my referral link

| Gmail | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Substack | Simily |Vocal| |Elegant Literature | Ko-Fi |