Did you know that anxiety affects 18.1% of the American population every year? Although anxiety is highly treatable, only 36.8% of those affected will receive treatment. The given percentages are for the various forms of anxiety and not simply for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). These overwhelming statistics leave the questions of, what is preventing people from asking for help and receiving the treatment they need and deserve? Although the question is a tough one to answer, I will talk about a couple of the many reasons people do not seek treatment for their anxiety along with some of the tools available to those suffering from anxiety.
Often times anxiety stems from a combination of risk factors such as genetics, brain chemistry, and life events. When one or more of these risk factors are combined, anxiety may surface and cause a number of psychological and physiological symptoms, all of which may vary from person to person. For the best understanding of your own symptoms it is best to seek professional help from a medical doctor in combination with behavioral health therapy.
Stigma is one the most common reasons people are not seeking treatment for their anxiety with over 50% of people stating they did not want to be judged by their family or friends for seeking treatment. Another astounding 80% of people state they would rather handle their problem on their own. As a behavioral health therapist, I want to challenge you to look beyond and ask yourself the question: What would I tell someone else if they were suffering from anxiety? Would I judge them for seeking treatment, or consider them brave because they had the courage to stand up and fight for a healthier life? As I pose these questions, I too want to take in to account some cultural considerations. Some cultures do view treatment for behavioral health in such a way that may prevent some from seeking the necessary treatment they need. If this is the case, educating those close loved ones may be all it takes to help them better understand the illness. If you need help educating your loved ones, I'd be happy to have a family session to address any questions or concerns related to anxiety or any other mental health topic.
In addition to stigma, another top reason people are not seeking treatment is due to the fact that people do not know where to go to seek treatment. If this is the case, please call me today and lets talk about the best treatment option for you. Often times therapy alone can help reduce the symptoms of anxiety. In other instances a combination of medication and therapy may be the right answer for you. Still, in other instances, a more wholistic approach to treatment may be the best fit for you. In which case guided meditations, yoga techniques, thought logs, and exercise my be some of the options available to you. None the less, through therapy, we can come up with the best treatment plan for you and be on the way to a happier, healthier you.
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