2 Specific Anxieties
In this chapter we will be exploring the different types of anxieties that people suffer from. The aim is to increase your awareness of any anxiety that may be affecting you. By becoming more aware, you can be more specific about what you are feeling and hence begin to work on managing or eliminating your anxiety forever.
The anxiety disorders featured are the most prevalent in society today. However, I strongly suggest that you do not give yourself the luxury of a label. Although the anxieties we will be examining are labelled ‘disorders’, suffering from symptoms of one of them does not automatically mean you actually have a disorder. It simply means that you suffer from a certain level of anxiety in that particular area. Remember, an anxiety becomes a disorder when the anxiety is chronic and completely disrupts the sufferer’s life. This is very different from having a mild anxiety about a specific area of life.
Before we look at the various types of anxiety, let’s examine the methods you will be using to measure your anxiety levels.
Measuring Your Level of Anxiety
I have included two methods of measuring anxiety. The first indicates your level of anxiety and is called the SUD (subjective units of distress) scale. This scale is very well known to the therapeutic community and is used to measure levels of anxiety in the moment, as well as to monitor feedback over time. The method measures levels of distress on a scale of 0 to 10: 0–1 indicates no anxiety, 2–3 indicates slight anxiety, 4–6 indicates moderate anxiety, 7–8 indicates marked anxiety and 9–10 indicates extreme anxiety. The scale is used to indicate the intensity of specific symptoms and overall anxiety levels.
As well as measuring your level of anxiety, you will also be recording how often you experience anxiety. This is done simply by noting if you experience the anxiety not at all, a little, some of the time, a lot of the time or all of the time.
These two straightforward measures provide a clear indication of where there is a problem and the depth of the anxiety.
Rather than discard any particular anxieties out of hand, I suggest that you read about each one. You may have a good idea which type of anxiety you are prone to – and, of course, you may feel no anxiety in many of the areas discussed – but reading about them all initially will help clarify what is appropriate to you and may pinpoint a few other areas that you need to pay attention to. I suggest you invest in a note pad or a journal, and, as you work through the sections in this book that are appropriate to you, write down your findings as you go along.
Anxiety/Depression
It is quite common for an anxiety disorder to combine with another disorder, and top of the list and most prevalent in the UK and US is the combination of anxiety and depression. A survey by the charity Mind found that 11.2 per cent of women and 7.2 per cent of men in Britain suffer from this condition. Those who suffer from it generally experience a cocktail of emotions, such as hopelessness, sadness, low energy, an inability to concentrate, anxiety, worry, agitation, irritability and restlessness.
Although this book is mainly about anxiety, depression is such a prevalent condition, and one that is so often combined with anxiety, that it cannot be ignored. It is estimated that one in five people will suffer from depression at some point in their lives, and the World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2020 depression will be the biggest health burden next to heart disease.
Naturally, all of us have the occasional day when we feel fed up and pessimistic, but, rather like having mild bouts of anxiety, such moods pass. With depression, however, these moods don’t pass and there is a tendency to look at the down side of life most of the time – the cup is always seen as being half empty as opposed to half full. The medical profession defines depression as an illness of both mind and body in which the symptoms are mental and physical. There are obviously different levels of depression and, like anxiety, the seriousness of the condition is determined by how much it affects the sufferer and their ability to cope with life.
The Symptoms of Depression
When someone is suffering from mild to moderate depression, they will feel low physically, mentally and emotionally. They experience feelings of hopelessness and persistent sadness and will often feel they are trapped in a vicious circle that they’re unable to escape from. Low energy, tearfulness, a lack of enthusiasm and low motivation are also common symptoms. On the whole, someone who is depressed will view the world negatively and only focus on the bad things in life, and this negative state of mind will be reflected in their body language.
The symptoms of mild to moderate depression are:
If you were to experience the feelings outlined above for more than two weeks then a doctor would almost certainly diagnose mild to moderate depression. With this type of depression, people are often not aware that they are suffering until it is pointed out to them. Do be aware, however, that sometimes such depression can come and go.
If you find it extremely difficult to function properly and your thoughts seem so completely dark that you are almost suicidal then you are suffering from a severe depression. In both cases – and particularly the latter – you should see a doctor.
Self-Assessment
– How often do you experience depression?
– Not at all/a little/some of the time/a lot of the time/all of the time.
– Go through the list of symptoms above and, on a level of one to 10, how much do you experience those symptoms today?
(0–1
