Anxiety is a mental health disorder that is common but often misunderstood, and consequently undertreated. It is also a condition that disproportionately affects women.
Anxiety is currently the most common mental health condition in Australian women. One in three Australian women experience anxiety and just under one in five Australian women live with an anxiety disorder. The number of women suffering from anxiety in Australia remains steady at around 20% for all age groups from 16 to 55, and drops off only slightly in women over 60.
Normal levels of anxiety occur in everyone, in response to high stress or high pressure situations. Living with anxiety, however, describes an experience where anxiety is present constantly, with no rational relationship to pressures or events.
Although anxiety is very prevalent, particularly among women, and can be very severe, persistent stigmas around mental health issues can sometimes lead anxiety to be undertreated or under diagnosed, but help and treatment are available.
We all experience anxiety at some points in our lives, but there is a point at which anxiety moves from being a regular part of a busy life to being a persistent, disabling condition requiring attention and treatment. These tips will help you identify which is which, and seek help if you need it.
How do I know if I have an anxiety disorder?
According to Dr Stephen Carbone, Policy, Research & Evaluation Leader at BeyondBlue and former general practitioner, the best way to identify if you have a problem with anxiety is to test your anxiety’s relationship with events or pressure in your life.
“The distinction we encourage people to try and make is between normal levels of anxiety that are directly related to specific events, such as a job interview or an exam, and unpredictable anxiety, which is more intense and occurs out of context,” Carbone said.
“If you are experiencing anxiety even when you cannot link it to a particular event, or if your anxiety about an event goes on for longer than you expect it to, or if your anxiety begins to interfere with your everyday life, we would encourage you to seek treatment.”
Carbone said anxiety can be identified by both physical and psychological symptoms.
“Anxiety can present itself physiologically – you may start feeling shakey and restless, your muscles may feel tense and switched on, and your heart rate may rise, your breathing may shallow and you may become unusally sweaty,” he said.
“There are also psychological symptoms to look out for – if you are feeling worried all the time and feel unable to rid your mind of worried thoughts, if you are feeling fearful or cannot stop reiterating negative thoughts, these could all be signs of excessive anxiety.”
What do I do if I think I have an anxiety disorder?
Dr Carbone says the best thing to do is seek medical attention from your GP.
“The first thing to do is see your doctor and seek psychological therapy,” he said.
“Anxiety is actually very easily treated by psychological counseling, we find that the treatment is very effective in most cases. This will involve seeing a psychologist, who will help you understand your condition and what is causing it, and then understand how to change your thought patterns in order to change how you feel. We call this cognitive behaviour therapy.”
Carbone said that while cognitive therapy is effective in treating anxiety in the majority of cases, some patients will require medicinal intervention.
“Some people do require prescription medicines to soothe anxiety, but for most people, behaviour therapy and lifestyle changes will be enough,” he said.
“There are, however, a wide variety of very effective anti-anxiety medications that some people find to be very helpful. Different medications work differently for different people, so it is important if you choose this path with your doctor that you find the right one.”
Carbone said there are also very simple things we can do to reduce levels of anxiety.
“Easy lifestyle changes can have huge impacts on anxiety – getting regular physical exercise, eating well and often and sleeping properly and regularly are all proven to reduce levels of anxiety,” he said.
Carbone said the most important thing to remember is that anxiety is treatable, and in fact is among the easiest medical conditions to treat effectively, and so there is no reason to resist seeking help.
“You do not have to live with anxiety; it is so easy for us to help, so call your doctor and get the process of treatment under way and you will be surprised at just how much better you feel in the long run.”