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Anxiety Disorders: Mental Illness or Normal Reaction to Life?
Introduction
ANXIETY is part of being human; we all have it. And to get anxious in certain situations is normal, everyone does. Most of us experience higher
levels of anxiety occasionally since things such as tests, interviews, public speaking, first dates and competitive sports can make anyone pretty anxious.
A survival instinct evolved over millions of years in order to protect us, anxiety involves a series of reactions and reflexes in our mind and body that help
prepare us to avoid or deal with dangerous situations (the fight-or-flight response). And for most of the time it sits quietly in the background waiting to
spring into action at the first sign of any threat.
This keeps us safe. To be anxious means: "Be wary, potential pain ahead". In the examples above (tests, interviews, first dates etc.) the threat
involves possible embarrassment, shame, ridicule and rejection if we fail – all of which really hurt us.
And so, we all walk around with this inner survival instinct watching over us, sensing danger and letting us know about it by making us feel anxious
(without it we wouldn't be careful when we crossed a busy road). Usually this is barely noticeable, sometimes it's a little bit stronger, occasionally it
overwhelms us – it all depends on how safe we feel. This is natural anxiety; this is normal.
But for some of us things change... our anxiety grows stronger. It comes out more and more, for no apparent reason, and we begin to get too anxious, too
easily, too often. Upsetting physical things start to happen. We become more nervous in general (particularly in public situations) and begin to experience problems
such as shakiness, heart palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea and worrying – any symptom related to anxiety can appear – and
worrying about these symptoms only makes them worse for it increases the anxiety.
Many people live like this, in a heightened state of anxiety. They feel nervous often and it can be a daily struggle against negative thoughts and
horrible physical symptoms. At this stage (and many stay at this stage) the problem is the high anxiety itself and the awful way it makes us think and feel.
For some, however, it doesn't stop there. Anxiety continues to increase and it can get so bad that it leads to additional, more complicated problems such as uncontrollable worrying, panic attacks that
come out of the blue, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours, irrational fears and phobias (particularly social phobia) and, in some cases, even severe depression. Now it's the
extreme thoughts and behaviours themselves (the 'disorder') – driven by the anxiety – that become the main focus of the problem.
Why does this happen?
Today, cognitive (thinking) and behavioural problems involving high anxiety and fear are classed as anxiety disorders. This is based on the medical model, which views these problems
as mental illnesses, 'disorders' where something goes wrong in the brain and the answer lies in 'fixing' the thing that has gone wrong – often with medication.
However...
Take the middle-aged woman (emotionally fragile from early life stress and conflict) who suffers emotional abuse at the hands of her partner – abuse that not only
scares her but also makes her feel that she cannot do anything right and that everything she tries will fail miserably or is totally worthless. Is her generalized anxiety
disorder (or severe depression for that matter) simply the result of something going wrong in her brain that can be fixed by medication?
What about the man in his early twenties, riddled with anxiety, whose father constantly put him down and criticized him with such venom as a child that he's now petrified
that others will do the same. Is his social phobic behaviour truly dis-ordered and irrational?
Or the teenage girl brought up by overly strict religious parents that have so drummed the fear of God into her that all she can do to obtain relief (from
punishment by the Lord) is turn to rituals. Are her obsessive, fearful thoughts and compulsive behaviours really all down to mental illness?
Generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, social phobia, PTSD, panic disorder, severe depression – are any of these problems truly irrational, dis-ordered and mental illness? Or is there
a better explanation... one that offers a real cure?
How many 'normal' people...
 Say "Touch Wood" so as not to tempt fate?
Repeatedly check doors, windows, switches?
Take a drink before social functions?
Avoid public speaking at all costs?
Almost everyone displays behaviours associated with anxiety disorders (such as troublesome thoughts, over-checking, the need for perfection, increased anxiousness, moments of panic and
periods of despair) to some degree at some time in his or her life – more so in times of stress – for these actions reflect the subconscious ways we try to protect ourselves.
When we look at the backgrounds of large numbers of people with anxiety disorders they are often strikingly similar in many ways. Over-exposure to numerous or severe stressful life
experiences and subsequent feelings of deep insecurity occurs across the board, with such regularity, that this must play a major role in the development of these problems.
Research shows that over 50% of anxiety problems start before the age of fourteen and many people with long-term anxiety disorders, when asked what they
remember most about the start of their problem, reply "Being really nervous for a long time". The way we feel about our self in childhood and adolescence
can stay with us a lifetime and those who are frequently made to feel insecure and vulnerable when growing up (or later in life for some) are surely more
susceptible to develop anxiety-related problems down the line.
If we go through a period in life where we are constantly 'put down', 'picked on' or made to feel threatened in any way it's not surprising that anxiety
(our inner self-protection instinct) will ramp up and we'll become more nervous – constantly wary and alert, always on the look out for danger in order to protect our self.
However, threatening situations not only scare us, they also make us feel bad (upset, hurt, insecure, weak, afraid, small, inadequate, sad, angry, confused... a whole myriad of
negative feelings). And if we feel bad often enough, for long enough, we can start to believe that we feel this way because there is something inherently 'bad' or 'wrong' or 'not good enough' about
us. Over time, self confidence crumbles.
This highlights a critical component in the development of these problems that hasn't really been considered until now: the way we feel about our self deep down and how this becomes inextricably
linked to being scared.
It is this, not mental illness, that lies at the heart of most anxiety problems and disorders today. It also lies at the heart of their cure.
And so, all that you read here is based on the premise:
"Not diseases, disorders or mental illness, anxiety and depression problems involve natural survival instincts common to us all – normal self-protective thoughts, feelings and
behaviours that become over-sensitive and intensified, grossly exaggerated and out of control.
They are a logical, instinctive reaction to experiencing too many (or too severe) stressful, negative life issues and events... ones that leave us feeling constantly weak and vulnerable.
In essence, anxiety problems stem from our subconscious trying to protect us when life has made us afraid. And 'disorders' develop, strengthen and grow
from our mind's attempts to explain and resolve the intangible fear we feel inside."
Once we see these problems for what they really are, everything changes. Now it's possible to cure them completely. Understanding and acceptance allows hurt to heal, removes self-doubt
and starves fear of its fuel. Understanding and accepting that your problem is totally justified, given your life experiences, offers the one, true way to fully extinguish the smouldering ball
of bad feelings inside (the thing that keeps the fear alive) and move beyond anxiety to become the strong, confident, unique, worthy individual that it's your birthright to be.
In part 1 of this book we'll look at anxiety through the lens of human evolution and survival – what is it, why do we have it and how does it work?
Part 2 describes anxiety disorders in relation to the dominant worldview (the medical model) and shows how they are defined and diagnosed. Importantly, we'll also explore
the medications that are used to treat these problems based on this belief and explain what they do to our mind and body.
In part 3 we'll consider whether the medical model is indeed the best way to understand and deal with anxiety disorders... or is there a better solution?
(End of Introduction)
Anxiety Disorders: Mental Illness or Normal?
This book is available in digital format and can be read on any device
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