According to the National Institute of Mental Health 1 in 8 Americans (over 19 million people) suffer from an anxiety
disorder. This makes anxiety disorders the most common mental illness in the
United States. Women are twice as
likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder then men. Anxiety disorders include:
panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social
phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia). Most sufferers see an average of 5
doctors before being successfully diagnosed.
Anxiety is a
normal part of life. Everyone knows the feeling of first date jitters or the
nervous feeling before an exam. It would be abnormal not to experience anxiety.
At a base level anxiety is an essential part of our survival mechanism, alerting us to danger.
Anxiety can also be a natural signal pointing us towards accomplishing something or growing in a new direction. Mild anxiety is healthy.
When a person
has been through trauma such as Childhood Sexual Abuse it is normal to experience anxiety that is more severe then mild. In this case anxiety can become an illness.
If you are a Survivor suffering from anxiety or an anxiety related illness help is available to you. There is hope.
