Hello, lovely humans! The pressure to "adjust" and follow social norms is a common trait in many cultures, and it frequently conceals a hidden battle with anxiety disorders. While a small amount of anxiety is a normal, even helpful, reaction to stress, anxiety disorders involve excessive fear and concern that interfere with day-to-day functioning. This group of disorders is the most prevalent mental health concern that affects the majority of adults at some point, yet they are also very treatable. Sadly, the need to keep up appearances frequently results in the suppression or “masking” of these difficulties, forcing people to deal with their problems in silence. This blog seeks to provide avenues to understanding and help while illuminating the complexities of anxiety disorders in the context of cultural and social expectations.

Understanding Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are significantly distinct from typical feelings of hesitation or concern; they involve excessive dread or anxiety that can negatively affect day-to-day functioning. These conditions are diverse and can take many different forms, each with unique symptoms and difficulties.

The different types of anxiety disorders are:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Often accompanied by physical symptoms like weariness, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, tense muscles, and disturbed sleep, GAD is characterized by excessive and perpetual worry over many different kinds of everyday problems. 

Panic Attacks: Strong bursts of terror that cause extreme physical reactions, are a symptom of panic disorder. Palpitations, perspiration, shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain, disorientation, and a fear of losing control or passing away are all signs of a panic attack. These attacks can come out of the blue, leaving a persistent worry of more occurrences.

Social Anxiety Disorder: Because they are afraid of being criticized, ashamed, or humiliated in social situations, people with social anxiety disorder experience intense anxiety and discomfort. Public speaking, meeting new people, and eating in public are common scenarios that set off this fear.

Specific Phobias: These are extreme, irrational fears of certain things or circumstances, including spiders, flying, or heights. The fear might cause avoidance behaviours that interfere with day-to-day activities and are out of proportion to the real threat.

Agoraphobia: The fear of being in circumstances where it may be difficult to flee or where assistance may not be available. This dread can make people avoid crowded venues, public transit, and open spaces.

There are only a handful of the different types of anxiety disorders and it must be kept in mind that many more do exist!

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Adjustment - The Norm 

According to the American Psychological Association, adjustment can be defined as “a change in attitude, behaviour, or both by an individual based on some recognized need or desire to change, particularly to account for the current environment or changing, atypical, or unexpected conditions. A well-adjusted person satisfies needs in a healthy, beneficial manner and demonstrates appropriate social and psychological responses to situations and demands.” or someone who modifies different aspects of themselves, like their behaviour, feelings, and thought processes to meet or match a standard. 

In most cultures, and especially in collectivist societies like India, adjusting is crucial to be part of a social circle. Sometimes, this is harmless and even necessary, but other times it results in suppression and repression of feelings and thoughts that eventually build up inside of us waiting to be let out in some or the other way.

The Silent Struggle 

The symptoms of anxiety disorders are frequently subtle even when they are not suppressed, and integrated into day-to-day activities, making them easy to overlook. Repressing anxiety without getting help can make these problems worse. In the short term, people may feel less anxious when they avoid events that make them anxious, but over time, this avoidance strengthens the worry, making life more constrained and isolating. Panic attacks, which are strong and abrupt episodes of dread accompanied by severe physical symptoms, can also result from untreated anxiety. These attacks have the potential to be crippling and could lead to an ongoing fear of getting attacked again. Although the symptoms of anxiety attacks and panic attacks are similar, anxiety attacks frequently have a definite, recognized cause. Silencing these can also result in chronic physical and psychological problems, severe chest pain, and breathing difficulties.

Photo by  Max van den Oetelaar Team  on  Unsplash

Seeking Help 

The first step in ending the cycle is recognizing the symptoms of anxiety. Heart It Out offers mental health specialists who can assist in lowering these feelings. Finding relief via counselling, medicine, or a mix of therapies might help recover balance. People can successfully control their anxiety with the right help, which will result in a happier, healthier life.