Anxiety as in "my anxiety", "I have anxiety" etc

[ChicChicChicChiclana]

It is my perception that anxiety is becoming more and more a thing. Is it just more and more a thing that people talk about, or is it increased anxiety in the general population?

Inspired by another thread (but really not a TAAT) I did a very crude Mumsnet poll.

I advanced searched the word anxiety from a start date of 1st January in the years 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

In 2008 it took until 2nd March before the word anxiety had been written on threads 500 times.

In 2012 it took until 11th/12th January.

in 2016 it took until 6th January.

in 2020 it took until 3rd January.

Like I say - crude. But interesting?

I confess I don't remember ever hearing someone use the term anxiety (as in 'I have anxiety', rather than in the sense of having anxiety about a job interview or the like) until 2010, when I had my first child and someone wrote online that she couldn't go to a sling meet because she had anxiety.

Since then a friend of mine has suffered badly with depression and anxiety, other people I know have talked about having anxiety, and I seem to be constantly reading about it online, on social media, in the news, and hearing parents talk about it at school. It might be partly because the use of social media has grown rapidly in the past 10 years, but probably it is also being diagnosed a lot more, and people are using the term a lot more than they used to. With regard to the crude poll, are there likely to be a lot more Mumsnet users now than there were in 2008?

People are more able to seek mental health support now whereas previously there has been a culture of soldiering on, keeping your chin up, and not acknowledging it. The importance of mental wellbeing is better recognised. People also feel more able to discuss their mental health issues as the stigma about being labelled "a nutter" or "a psycho" is slowly receding.

Well, previously Chat disappeared after 90 days so your search fields aren't equal.

But yes, I do think there is a rising awareness.

Mum sent has grown hugely over that period. Your figures would only mean anything if they were % of entire active membership. We can’t possible tell from your figures whether people are more anxious, or there are more people.

Sorry, that should say “Mumsnet.”

Anxiety as a condition rather than situational anxiety has always existed. Think back to your childhood, how many people did you know of who were "ill/sick with nerves"? How many people were thought of as "highly strung" or "sensitive" or "over-emotional"?

I suffer from anxiety. It pretty much rules my life, I'm on medication and it's still constant. I am anxious ALL TIME TIME. It isnt a lifestyle choice! Everyone is anxious from time to time without anxiety we would put ourselves in danger or make poor decisions. I have an anxiety disorder that means I over think everything, over react and have panic attacks. I don't have a problem with folk who don't have anxiety disorders talking about their anxiety- life is stressfull, it's healthy to acknowledge this.

I joined in 2007, it was rare for a thread to hit 100 posts. Now look. It’s a totally different place.

I just think in the past people talked about their 'nerves' and self-medicated.

Mn was much smaller back then so it’s hard to know what it means overall.

I don’t know if in that time period more people say they suffer from anxiety in rl. Which could be different to the people who post on mn and again whether it’s becoming more acceptable to say it in a post.

Yeah I saw a comment about it in the coronavirus thread.

Obviously there's a difference between feeling anxious from time to time and having an anxiety disorder.
I think it's good that more people are able to talk about feeling anxious, no matter if they have anxiety for a situation or an anxiety disorder.

It took me a long time to be okay with the fact my anxiety is not at a normal level, and then I had therapy and medication for about two years. My anxiety disorder will always be there but I am much better equipped to deal with it after therapy.

So, I would say I have anxiety, or perhaps irrational fears? I panic when DH and DS go out in the car together as I become obsessed with the notion that they both may die in a horrible accident. I usually try and distract myself but I have been in tears before convinced I was about to hear the worst news.
I'm now on medication for this and I'm much better, but still have that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

If you looked into domestic abuse or neglect, or autism figures to name a few over the last few decades you would see a steep rise too. Mental health is less taboo than it previously has been (speaking as someone who took 10 years to confide in anyone).

Saying that I think life is increasingly stressful in new ways with new technology and pressures. I actually wonder if anxiety levels would be comparatively less if our generation had to face a tangible crisis such as a war or similar (obviously I dont want this to happen) rather than every day pressures.

In addition as pp said the population of mumsnet has risen and people are more likely to post about feeling anxious than if they feel fine iyswim.

I first signed up in 2008 and threads regularly hit 1000 posts!

Of course the membership has increased hugely over those years but I don't actually think that many more people post now as compared to 12 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of MN accounts are completely dormant. I don't imagine Mumsnet is more popular now than then.

I was diagnosed with GAD about 12 years ago. But it's only recently that I've been brave enough to be open about it. I definitely think public perception about mental health is changing.

Public perception is changing, which is good, but there are people who still roll their eyes if you are open about living with anxiety or depression. Those who don't have them, or know someone close with them can still be closed minded

People are much more open than they used to be.

But you still experience so much hate if you admit to struggling with your mental health. I went off sick at my last job with bad anxiety and depression and the attitudes from my other colleagues and boss were absolutely shocking.

I quit soon after.

Is it the phrasing? “Have anxiety” reads very awkwardly.

It is more socially acceptable to say you have anxiety now.

I wonder when it changes from things making you anxious to having anxiety?
Things that wouldn't normally bother people too much go round and round in my head and I literally feel like I have horses galloping through my body.
It's a horrible horrible feeling and something I just can't get a grip on despite the sensible part of my head telling it will be fine and it's not such a big deal.
I had a particularly bad episode last night and I've woken up feeling almost hungover this morning.
I've never openly discussed it with people but have empathised when others have discussed how they feel with me.

I have panic disorder which in turn means I have almost daily anxiety. I think it's on the rise due to the way we interact with people now, and the way the news and social media report the bad news.

When we get our socialisation online people are more likely to come across as aggressive. So when you do go out I think it's an expected response from other people.

@troppibambini I would certainly think what you’ve described is “having” or “suffering from” anxiety as opposed to just a particular event or concern making you anxious. I’d suggest making an appointment with your GP as a first step because anxiety isn’t just something you have to put up with or think “that’s just the way I am”, it can be treated .

I was repeatedly diagnosed with depression and medicated/treated for such right up until I had my daughter six years ago when the Dr changed my diagnosis to Generalised Anxiety Disorder. I've changed my medication and had different talking therapies and things are infinitely better, though I'm still a wreck some of the time. I think part of the rise is people getting a correct diagnosis rather than being a bit down or sad or nervy or stressed.

I think it has probably both become more common (because of various aspects of modern life) and easier to talk about. I had pretty bad anxiety postpartum after 2nd dc In 2008. It turns out my dm had the same after having me.

It's pretty unhelpful that the word 'anxiety' can be both a general term for the normal feelings of anxiousness all people have in stressful situations and the word for a potentially very serious mental health condition. I suspect there are people who think that 'anxiety' in the latter sense 'isn't a real thing'. I guess I might once have thought that, until I actually experienced it.

OP, reading between the lines of your post, are you subtly trying to say you dont believe that everyone who says they 'have anxiety', actually has it?