by: Matthew Cambridge
You may be wondering: "How come anxiety is such an issue, I don't see it in my neighborhood much." Well this post is gonna tell you the info that you need.
What is Anxiety, and how does it happen?
Anxiety comes from the feeling of stress. Stress is when you feel threatened about
something either coming up, or something happening right now. This threat can be anything, from a dog, to an upcoming test. Stress is a normal thing everyday people go through, but for when people get stressed out daily, that's when the problem arises. This stress starts to transform into Anxiety. Anxiety can interfere with your everyday life in many ways. Anxiety can make you go into panic attacks(1), it can give you sleep problems(3), and it can interfere with daily activities such as school. If you can't treat Anxiety in time, it can cause other medical issues to arise, such as "depression, substance abuse, and self-harm."(3)
Why is Anxiety such an issue?
The reason Anxiety is such an issue is because of the large amount of teens that have this issue. This chart seen to the right shows that a large amount of teens suffer from anxiety compared to children. One of the reasons why so many Teens have Anxiety is because of one massive issue: Social Media. While Social Media has its pros, one can get addicted to it by spending too much time on it. This habit can develop into something called "Social Media anxiety disorder".(3) This disorder makes them unable to get away from social media in any situation. This condition can leave you with barely any time to interact with the outside world, because you don't want to miss out on anything your following. If one is unable to access social media, they will be even more nervous and anxious than before.(3)
What can I do to help?
If you know or see someone that is having anxiety, help them out by recommending them a few tips to help reconstruct their life. Ask them to try exercising more and going on diets, and also ask them to try more calming methods such as meditation and mindfulness. (1) If that doesn't help, you can also recommend them therapy, or medicine such as antidepressants.(1) If your nervous on how to tell them what's happening, simply show them acts of kindness, such as giving them a gift, or a hug. Simple acts of kindness can go a long way.
Conclusion
If you have anxiety, that okay. You aren't alone, and people will be there to help you, because they care for you. It doesn't matter if you have a social media addiction,, or if your stressed about failing a test, its just how you act. Even if you seem annoyed by someone asking about how you feel, just remember that all they're doing is just trying to help you. So next time, if you see someone having a rough time, try helping them out okay?
References used:
3: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02565 4: https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Helping-Teenagers-With-Stress-066.aspx
Images used: