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An essay about anxiety
An essay about anxiety
An essay about anxiety
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Anxiety is a concept that most people experience daily, but severe anxiety is associated with panic attacks and other disorders can debilitate a person’s life. In the 1997 documentary, Secret Fear directed by Sarah Barton, real-life people express their stories and experiences with anxiety. The film uses the stories of people who have recovered and / or continue to cope with their disorder. Furthermore, different types of therapy, medications, and coping methods are described for the viewer to understand the ways in which people are able to overcome anxiety. Since anxiety is not limited solely to panic attacks, the film uses people who have experienced Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), hoarding, depression, or social phobias. The film …show more content…
Pathos is the use of anecdote, for the viewer to feel sympathetic towards the stories within the film. Bronwyn Fox, who is a part of the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association describes her experiences with panic attacks. Fox’s symptoms include feeling an electric shock, shaking, heart racing, heart pumping, and trouble breathing. Due to the severity of her condition, Fox became unable to leave her house, even walk from room to room alone. Each daily activity was linked to an anxious feeling; therefore, anxiety overtook control of Fox’s life leaving her house-bound for several years (Barton, 1997, Motion Picture). Without doubt, the viewer of the film understands the struggle and hardship that Fox faced during her period of severe …show more content…
Some people do not understand the effects of anxiety and cannot recognize the harmful effects of the disorder. Most likely, people who feel this way believe those who suffer from anxiety create their situations within their head. In other words, individuals who are not empathetic may consider people with anxiety crazy. With that in mind, these individuals do not see anxiety suffers as normal and will also dislike the documentary for the attempt to be persuaded oppositely. Overall, someone who is empathetic and understand would pity the persons featured within the
The Dangers of Fear Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worst attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point where they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous examples used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were.
From the beginning of the film, pathos is strongly used to support Moore’s position of how corrupt the American medical system is and how the healthcare needs to be reformed. The tragic family stories that are told give the audience an emotional response of anger and hatred towards the health insurance companies, and sympathy toward...
...s: the nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (2. ed.). New York, NY [u.a.: Guilford Press.
Elisa Black has been experiencing chronic anxiety for the majority of her life, starting at age two. Many times it is unclear why exactly why certain individuals develop anxiety while others go through life unaffected. Black talks about the guilt she feels, having not experienced any “grand traumas” in her life, explaining how she had a “wonderful life” and “many advantages and gifts and wonderful parents and friends, and [she] still had this fear that [she] couldn 't explain” (Black 2016). Over the years, many theories about anxiety have been developed, some explaining why exactly anxiety can occur without a large external trauma happening in the person’s life, and how certain people are naturally more susceptible than others.
Alice Park’s article in TIME Magazine, entitled “The Two Faces of Anxiety”, outlines the key positive and negative effects anxiety can have on both the individual and humanity as a whole. Because of the steady increase in diagnoses of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and similar mental illnesses, evaluating the origins of anxiety as well as its effects are crucial steps for developing both medical treatments and alternative methods of coping with the disorder. While many of the 40 million American adults suffering from anxiety believe that eliminating the feeling altogether is ideal, they fail to consider what psychologists have mounds of empirical evidence in support of: anxiety is not inherently adverse, and can, in many cases, be advantageous. Anxiety is generally understood to be a biological process in which specific symptoms, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, manifest as a response to stressful scenarios. In these potentially-fatal situations, the fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary reaction developed to prevent species from engaging in behavior that could result in extreme negative consequences, while also preparing them for possible conflict. Overall, this response is a constructive adaptation, but an issue arises when individuals face stressful, albeit non-fatal, situations. The body still experiences the same symptoms despite the absence of any “real” danger, and the person suffering from the anxiety feels as though he or she has little control over the behaviors brought on by the condition. Triggered by both genetic and environmental factors, there appears to be a wide variation in the severity of anxiety as well as what treatment methods are effective for each individual. However, many psychologists ...
In the general population, less than five percent of people experience panic disorders, and only six percent develop agoraphobia during their lives, (MacNeil 2001). A diagnosis of panic disorder is given when panic attacks turn into a common occurrence, for no apparent reason and the person begins to change their behaviour because of the constant fear of having a panic attack. Someone suffering from agoraphobia has a fear of being somewhere where help will not be provided in case of an emergency; one third to one half of people diagnosed with panic disorders develops agoraphobia, (Hoeksema & Rector, 2011, p. 204). Research has examined two well-known ways a panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) can be treated: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (alone and combined with two other medications) and Experimental Cognitive Therapy (ECT). Examining the research allows for a comparison of each treatment, along with a discussion of implications, resulting in determining which treatment is the most effective for someone who suffers from a panic disorder with agoraphobia.
Bearing in mind that an anxiety response is a result of various factors, there are different types of anxiety disorders. The most common type of anxiety disorders as described as specific phobias, social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) (2016), specific phobias affect about 19 million adults in the U.S, while SAD affects 15 million, PD affects 6 million, GAD affects about 6.8 million, OCD affects about 2.2 million and PTSD affects 7.7 million adults respectively. Considering that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment (ADAA, 2016).
Having anxiety is common and a part of everyday life however; there is a huge difference between a fear and a social phobia or anxiety disorder. The difference and important distinction psychoanalysts make between a fear and a phobia is “a true phobia must be inconsistent with the conscious learning experience of the individual” (Karon 1). Patients with true phobias “do not respond to cognitive therapy but do respond well to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy” (Karon 2). Social phobia is a serious anxiety disorder that should not be taken lightly or mistaken as a fear you will simply grow out of the older you get. Social phobia has the power to destroy lives and can prevent people from living and enjoying their life to the fullest. Social phobia is a disabling condition that often starts between the ages of early childhood and late adolescence. The origins of social phobia can be linked to “traumatic social experiences and social isolation” (Hudson118-120). Social phobia is treatable however; research and statics show that not many seek help.
Panic disorder is an anxiety-repeated disorder that affects approximately five percent of the population (Roy-Byrne, Craske, & Stein, 2006). A diagnosis of panic disorder requires that the individual experiences recurrent panic attacks with any of the following: worry about the possibility of future attacks, avoiding places or situations in which the individual fears a panic attack may occur, fear of being unable to escape or obtain help, or any other change in behavior due to the attacks (Roy-Byrne, Craske, & Stein, 2006). Panic attacks are often sudden and the sufferer usually experience physical symptoms such as autonomie, otoneurological, gastrointestinal,or cardiorespiratory distress (Roy-Byrne, Craske, & Stein, 2006). Individuals who suffer from panic disorder typically utilize medical services at a higher rate than those who do not have panic disorder, an impaired social life, and a reduced quality of life (Taylor, 2006). Often times those who suffer from panic disorder may also suffer from depression and general anxiety (Taylor, 2006). According to the Stanford University School of medicine, approximately 50 percent of patients diagnosed with panic disorder will develop depression and approximately 50 percent of depressed patients will develop panic disorder (Taylor, 2006). In addition those who suffer from panic disorder have a higher incidence of suicide, especially those with comorbid depression (Taylor, 2006). Not everyone who experiences a panic attack suffers from panic disorder (Roy-Byrne, Craske, & Stein, 2006). The same physical symptoms of panic disorder may occur when an individual is faced with specific fears and potentially dangerous situations (Roy-Byrne, Craske, & Stein, 2006). The difference b...
A panic attack is an unexpected, strong experience of fear joined with an irresistible feeling of threat, escorted by physical symptoms of anxiety. A person with panic disorder may have frequent panic attacks and feel stern anxiety about having another attack (Rosemary Purcell, Paul Maruff, Michael Kyrios, and Christos Pantelis, Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998). The disorder characteristically begins in young adulthood, but older people and children can be involved. Characteristically, a first panic attack appears to come suddenly, occurring as a person is busy in some normal doings like driving a car or walking to work. Unexpectedly, the person is struck by a barrage of scary and painful symptoms. Initial panic attacks may occur when people are under considerable stress, from an excess of work, for instance, or from the loss of a family member or close friend. The attacks may also follow surgery, a severe accident, sickness, or childbirth. Extreme consumption of caffeine or use of cocaine or other refreshment drugs or medicines can also trigger panic attacks (Jeremy D. Coplan, Raymond Goetz, Donald F. Klein, Laszlo A. Papp, Abby J. Fyer, Michael R. Liebowitz, Sharon O. Davies, and Jack M. Gorman, Gen Psychiatry 1998). In panic disorder, panic attacks persist and the person fears having another attack. As noted earlier, this fear called anticipatory anxiety can be there most of the time and critically obstruct with the person's life even when a panic attack is not in development. People who develop these panic-induced phobias will be likely to keep away from situations that they fear will activate a panic attack, and their lives may be increasingly restricted thus. Many people with panic disorder stay powerfully worried about their...
Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United Sates. Anxiety is typically under diagnosed. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, and getting anxious. It’s a feeling that you cannot shake, your heart begins to race, and you feel as if you cannot breath. Some believe anxiety is something that a person can control. They are wrong, anxiety is a debilitating mental illness that is hard to control and manage without the proper help. I chose anxiety because it is something that struggle with every day. The topics I will be discussing in my paper are the types of anxiety disorders, the manifestations of anxiety, treatment and medications, nursing interventions and patient education on anxiety. (Carol D. Tamparo, 2011)
One should see anxiety as an opportunity to grow. One can accomplish so much when they face their fears. Phil Hansen, James Collier and I had to overcome an obstacle and because we overcame our obstacle we were able to do what we wanted to do. One can’t simply use their anxiety and fears as an excuse to back away from situations. Anxiety is just another name for challenge. One can take the challenge and overcome his fears. One can’t simply let anxiety control him, their fears scare them and their obstacles get in their way and still expect positive outcomes. One will never eliminate his anxiety and fears by avoiding what caused
The management / treatment of anxious and phobic patients can depend on the severity of the condition. The medical history of the patient also influences the treatments that are available to them (Robert Ireland 2010)
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress, which in some situations can become excessive and affect their day-to-day activities in a undesirable way. There are a numerous different anxiety disorders ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. Although in the article there is no mention of anxiety but in order to understand the rationale behind irrational fears we have to understand how the brain works in order to relate this to treatment and how development of phobias are created. Th...
I think it was at its peak from about the age of twelve to roughly