Myths about anxiety disorders
- Myth: Worry Benefits
Reality:
It is useful to analyze problems, solve them and act, or come to terms with unsolvable problems and adapt to them. Sometimes anxiety may be inevitable, but it won’t solve the problem!
- Myth: A panic attack can cause you to lose consciousness or die.
Reality:
Losing consciousness during a panic attack is unlikely because blood pressure drops during unconsciousness and rises during a panic attack.
A person cannot die due to a panic attack, although its symptoms are frightening. Feeling terrible is caused by chemical processes occurring in the body (eg, the release of adrenaline), but they are not life-threatening.
- Myth: Anxiety disorders can’t be cured, you just need to get used to them.
Reality:
Effective treatments for anxiety disorders have been developed that actually help. Usually, a combination of psychotherapy and medication is most effective, but for some disorders, psychotherapy is sufficient. The most studied and scientifically proven type of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy.
- Myth: Helps avoid anxiety-producing situations
Reality:
It may seem that avoiding anxiety-producing situations helps to cope with anxiety, but the reality is that avoiding certain situations, on the contrary, increases anxiety associated with them. If you stubbornly avoid a situation, the belief that this situation is actually dangerous or unpleasant will increase.
- Myth: Anxiety disorders are extremely rare
Reality:
Anxiety disorders occur in about 10-28% of people. It is estimated that there may be 130,000-360,000 people living in Estonia who at some point or in some situation meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder.
It is believed that 2-13% of people suffer from social phobia, but its milder form, social anxiety, can be experienced by many, regardless of gender, age or profession.
- Myth: Anxiety is a personality trait that cannot be changed.
Reality:
In fact, if desired, anyone can reduce anxiety. No matter to what extent he is susceptible to anxiety or how long he suffers from it.
Source peaasi.ee
