To say “anxiety” is just low self esteem and confidence.

I think your title and OP and 2 different things.

I think some people do feel anxious and suffer from anxiety. I think this has always been the case.

However - yes - I think many people use the word 'anxiety' rather than 'I'm a bit worried about that.' I think the word itself anxiety actually even causes more anxiety. What I mean is, if I say 'I feel worried'; that is open enough to invite a conversation about why I feel worried and how I could overcome that worry. If I say I feel 'anxious', I don't know, it somehow sounds more serious, more like a diagnosis or something we can't discuss.

I don't know if this makes sense to me only!

What kind of things are you talking about though? It seems like you have a really set idea of what people get anxious about?

And where do you draw a line between anxiety and an anxiety disorder? If you don't believe anxiety exists without a disorder?

If someone has anxiety about flying - what does that have to do with low confidence and self esteem? Same with driving on the motorway or being around dogs

I don't generally have low self-esteem or low confidence but there are things that I am less good at and some of those things gives me a level of anxiety. Public speaking in front of a large group is one of them, driving in busy city centres that I am unfamiliar with is another. I don't think that means I am always low in confidence or have low self-esteem though. I genuinely don't think that's the case.

But a level of anxiety is normal when doing those things.

Its a normal human reaction.

You don’t have a clue what’s going on in other people’s heads. Sure, some people who say they ‘have anxiety’ don’t actually have an anxiety disorder and are experiencing normal human feelings and not a mental illness. That doesn’t mean everyone, or even most, are like that. It’s silly to think you can make a universal judgement.

Yes, I'd assume so too. I just don't understand if those are the sort of things OP is referring to.

That’s extremely simplistic, there are so many causes of anxiety.

Anxiety disorder causes low self esteem and confidence, if that’s what you mean. They’re related but not the same thing.

I was skeptical now have chronic anxiety. I don’t avoid doing anything because of it and I am confident just the physical panic, stress and pain is very real. It’s nothing to do with my self esteem.

You'd be weird if you didn't feel anxious/nervous in these situations; they are ones that need you to use your full attention to a/get your message across and b/not to get lost. That's the emotion working correctly and for your benefit.

We all have anxiety don't we. Nerves, worry, stress, anxiety. It is all part of being human.

As you say genuine disorders that require treatment are different but everyone saying 'I have anxiety' when they mean they worry a lot of the time and need to use everyday strategies to cope are not the same things.

I don't think you can really make that judgement @Alondrada . Firstly, I'm not entirely sure what "having anxiety" means here. Do you mean that whoever you are referring to has a diagnosed anxiety disorder?

Everyone will be anxious about all sorts of things from time to time, probably so much so that at times that it might make dealing with something very difficult. Afterall, who hasn't put off a tricky conversation with a client, boss, partner etc! Lots of people put off going to the doctor because they are so worried that whatever their health issue is, it might be cancer etc.

You can also have low self-esteem and lack confidence and be a 'yes' person. Agreeing to pretty much anything and everything, even things you don't want to do, because you want to be agreeable and keep the peace.

You are trying to make simplistic judgements and categorise people a certain way to fit your own narrative by the sounds of things!

Have a look at the Ted X 'how not to be anxious about anxiety'. It might help you.

Yeah exactly. It's laughable. Risible even. If it wasn't so stupid.

The OP is getting a really hard time but I think I understand what she meant. The term anxiety is overused and, because of that, it diminishes the understanding of the actual condition.
I have found that people often use the term "anxiety" to cover a vast spectrum of uncomfortable feelings. It's hard to describe how you are feeling and so "anxiety" is a convenient term that people understand. And, yes, they do cite it as a reason not to do things that make them feel uncomfortable. That doesn't mean that they are making it up just maybe that "nervous about" or "frightened of" or even "feel uncomfortable doing" may be more accurate when discussing things.
I was never really anxious or suffered from anxiety until DH died. I never even thought about what it meant.
Now I understand and I wouldn't wish anxiety on anyone. The way I feel is so all encompassing, paralysing (and often illogical) that words can't describe it. It's certainly not the nervous uncomfortable feeling that people I know describe as anxiety.

Absolutely this. I work with someone like this.

I think sometimes they are related. Sometimes they aren't.

I had a job interview recently. I felt very very anxious about it because I didn't think I was good enough. More self esteem led to the feelings of anxiety.

I also have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. This can show up randomly for no reason which have nothing to do with self-esteem or confidence. For example I often have panic attacks on bridges. Especially if I'm stuck in traffic on a bridge because my anxiety tells me the bridge will collapse.

But I also can differentiate between feeling anxious and anxiety.

YABU very much, OP.

Nope. Sometimes I can't step foot on the train. It's not because I lack self esteem and confidence. Sometimes I panic when stuck in nose to tail traffic jams. It's not because I lack self esteem of confidence. And I'm not scared of trains, or cars.

Those are a good examples of situations where a level of anxiety is completely normal and a not a mental health disorder.

It is normal to feel anxious about certain things. They won’t necessarily all be the same things for everyone. (For example, I don’t feel anxious about public speaking but am very anxious about having to make small talk with people I don’t know well.) But some degree of anxiety in one’s life is normal and fine.

It’s when it becomes extreme, obsessive or very distressing, or exceptionally irrational, or when it causes full on panic attacks or prevents people from leading their life normally, that it becomes a disorder.

I’ve experienced both and the symptoms of my anxiety disorder were/are absolutely nothing like the feeling of being anxious about a difficult meeting or having to navigate something new.

You have no idea what drives individual people and their actions. I can't imagine why you thought it would be a good idea to share your judgemental lack of knowledge by starting a thread.

Phobias about bridges are more common that you think; fear feels a lot like anxiety (it's the same fight or flight response so it feels exactly the same) but a phobia causes fear in the moment rather than the mind anticipating something in the future. Phobias can be resolved relatively easily for most people.

Well said, then we could all expect people with mental health problems to "just get on with it". I've suffered from anxiety for all of my life and I would love to be able to do things without having to worry myself sick about them.

It's lots of things, as you say, sometimes clinically diagnosed now. Also, some people who say they won't do X due to anxiety actually just just want to do it. It isn't necessarily about confidence.