Just Listen

          "I have anxiety" has become a common phrase recently. Whether it's being said because someone is explaining why they are acting funny or explaining why they never leave their room, so many people use it as a reason for their worries. This, to my attention, has led to anxiety being pushed under the table as a "common cold". Letting someone know you have anxiety is like letting them know you have a pimple on your forehead. It goes through one ear and out of the other, and it should not be like this. Having true "Generalized Anxiety Disorder" is so much more different than having "anxiety" and throwing it around so much creates a wall around the ones who struggle with generalized anxiety disorder every day, fearing to say anything to anyone because "everyone has it, you aren't special".
          A very important thing to remember is that people with true "Generalized Anxiety Disorder", have just that, a disorder. They cannot help themselves, how they think is wired into their brain. They believe that their worries stop bad things from happening to them. This can create a lot of tension in their family, social and personal life. It can make you as their friend, partner, or family member feel as if you cannot deal with them on a day to day basis. When this happens, or when this starts to take effect, always remember that in the time that people seem to not deserve love at all, is normally when they need it most.
          This post is probably coming off as me saying ignore the people that say they have anxiety because so many people say it nowadays, but I am actually saying the complete opposite. Listen to them, believe them, even if they seem needy or wanting attention, odds are, listening to them can probably be the one thing that helps them. And I am not saying that people who use this terminology about their worries that haven't been diagnosed with GAD are incorrect, they are actually exactly correct. You can have anxiety about a test, you can have anxiety about an interview, you can have anxiety about any one thing in your life and yes that is called anxiety and it is perfectly okay and normal to experience that at some point in your life. Anxiety is the fear or apprehension over an anticipated event or problem, it has not happened yet, but it is the thought of it happening. I bet most of you read that sentence and immediately thought "oh, that's definitely me", and you are probably right. It is a proven fact that everyone will or has gone through some type of anxiety disorder, or any type of psychological disorder, at some point in their life. So next time someone says they have anxiety, do not put it off as they want attention. Talking about it and letting them know that most of the things they worry about are out of their control, has been proven more effective than benzodiazepines, the type of drugs used to treat GAD.
          If you have a problem with differentiating if someone you know has anxiety or GAD, then here are a few pointers to keep in mind. There are a few differences between plain anxiety that we all experience at least once in our life and GAD. The first difference that stood out to me was the duration of the persistent worrying. People that are experiencing anxiety about an issue in their life, normally,
only experience that anxiety up until the event occurs, then once it is over it normally diminishes, their worries are also normally about upcoming events, occasions, or bumps in the road of life and are about one single event. People with GAD normally have persistent worrying at least 50% of the days for at least 6 months about multiple events or activities. People with GAD also experience 3 or more of the following symptoms for more days than not for at least 6 months, even after the event has occurred; restlessness or feeling keyed up, being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance. I can also see you probably saying "oh that's definitely me again", but remember that this is 3 or more of these symptoms for just about EVERY day for at least 6 months. This type of anxiety (GAD) causes everyday chaos and creates tension in everything that someone has to do on a day to day basis. This means that their anxiety could be so bad that they wouldn't even want to get out of bed to shower because they are stuck they're worrying themselves to death.
          Those are the differences that stood out to me most about this disorder, this is not me saying one is least worse than the other, its just to show the world that anxiety, whether it be anxiety about a test or GAD, are all something real and that can really hinder someone's life, especially when its a disorder that seems so common. Just because it is common does not mean it is not important.  Knowing someone is there for them and understands their disorder could possibly be the one thing that helps them. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is a common treatment for anxiety and it is where a psychologist goes after the intrusive thoughts in someone's mind and shows them proof or gets them to believe that those things are nothing to be worried about, they also teach them how to control the thoughts when they arise. It is a way to get people off the everyday drugs used for anxiety and be able to feel independent with themselves again.
          Stop putting anxiety on the back burner, stop being selfish and saying people with anxiety just want attention just because you do not have the disorder yourself. Take a step back in your day to day life and just listen to someone's problems for once, even if it is someone you have no idea if they have anxiety or not, because 9 times out of 10, you do not know how they feel and you do not know what is actually going on and someone listening can be key to someone their happiness.