If you have an anxiety disorder, know that you’re not alone: the Anxiety Disorders Association Of America reports that anxiety disorder is the most common mental health condition in America, affecting around 18 percent of the entire population. And it’s important to remember that there’s a wide variety of anxiety disorders that people struggle with, from post-traumatic stress disorder to general anxiety disorder to specific phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Unfortunately, when it comes to explaining the concept of anxiety disordersto the uninitiated, that variety — and some common misunderstandings about what “anxiety” really means in its disordered state – can confuse some well-meaning but ill-informed people. If you need some guidance regarding how to let friends or family into the realities of your anxiety condition, the tips below may help.
You may not be able to communicate the details of your disorder if you don’t fully understand them yourself, so the first step to educating others is to get educated. Is your particular experience common to the disorder? What treatment is available? Do you have specific anxiety triggers, and if so, do you know what they are?
Of course, you may not feel like being the information bureau about this particular issue for your friends and family, which is a wholly legitimate and understandable way to feel. If that’s the case, you may want to direct them to some sources of information that can explain it further. The mental health organization Mind and the National Institute of Mental Health both have good resources that get into the nitty-gritty in intelligible ways.
But if you do want to try to help the people in your life who do not have anxiety disorders to try to better understand your experience, here are a few tips for explaining anxiety to people without much experience of it as a serious problem. Good luck, my friend.