To think "I have anxiety" is becoming the new 'go to' armchair diagnosis?

[ClothEaredBint]

I'm saying this as someone who actually has an Anxiety Disorder, diagnosed, medicated, lived with it for 20 years and which has a serious impact on my ability to function day to day..

I seem to be spotting it being thrown out like a disclaimer for peoples neurotic behaviour on here just lately, and its really actually starting to get on my fucking nerves.

Yes, you might be anxious, it does NOT mean you HAVE Anxiety.

Anxiety is a recognised mental health disorder that seriously affects peoples ability to function, it filters into every aspect of their lives.

Claiming you 'have anxiety' when something is worrying you is as offensive to those of us who actually DO have it as saying 'a little bit OCD' when you like something done a specific way, or 'a little bit depressed' when you're a bit sad about something.

Stop it.

You're minimising a very real and very upsetting disorder that people actually suffer with.

I tried to explain on one thread recently how a terror threat wouldn't impact my decision to do something "due to my anxiety" as whatever I'm doing and where ever I am I find something massively unlikely to worry about. I don't worry more about something that is in the realms of possibility any more than I worry less about ridiculous scenarios.

I don't know if it helped or not tbh though

I was thinking this just this morning but didn't want to say anything because I knew I'd get flamed.

But every other thread, the OP claims to have some form of anxiety, and I found myself thinking: How can there be so MANY people with this disorder? Everyone seems to have it!

That and a narc ex or relative, of course.

Thank God someone has said it. It's been winding me up people saying they have anxiety every five minutes expecting it to excuse their behaviour. Yes you may have anxiety but that doesn't excuse u being a cunt.

I'm autistic with related anxiety, it doesn't really bother me so much when people say they're anxious.
It really fucking bothers me though when people say twatty things like "well I'm anxious and manage to do xyz" when there's something that I really struggle with, and imply that I'm not trying hard enough.
It also bothers me when people assume anxiety is the diagnosis du jour and as such feel justified in dismissing how debilitating it can be.
I've prefaced posts with "I have anxiety" or "I am autistic", mainly because I think it gives relevant information, if the post subject requires it, so I usually assume others are doing the same.

I think people seem to be confused.
Anxiety in certain situations is completely normal, its the bodies stress response.

Yes you're anxious, that's fine, we all get it.

But that's not "Anxiety"

I agree that it seems to have become a 'thing' and I'm sure it must be quite insulting to those that have a proper diagnosis.

I get anxious and it seems to be getting worse since having PTS , however , I can , just about ,get a handle on it if I have a strong word with myself .

Having a chat with a friend about some worries I have and she said 'oh that'll be your anxiety' . It's not anxiety and I don't want to be diagnosed by a non professional as having it.

Im a therapist in the NHS and treating anxiety is pretty much our bread and butter. Although I would say most people who suffer with anxiety wouldn't meet criteria for an 'anxiety disorder' as such (i.e. GAD, panic disorder, social anxiety, ptsd, OCD). That's not to say it isn't a debilitating problem for them, just that those criteria can be quite narrow and specific.

For me anxiety is a normal part of the human experience, we can all relate to getting anxious. Ideally it shouldn't be used as an excuse not to do things though, that only feeds it and makes it worse.

Unless you have a medical degree OP YABU.

I have anxiety diagnosis, however that does not mean that I get to decide if a person isn't!

I guess there's the same difference between "reactive anxiety"/anxiety as a feeling vs anxiety disorder and "reactive depression"/depression as a feeling vs depressive disorder (see also "a bit OCD" I guess)

One isn't automatically more serious, but it's a common problem when a disorder has the same name as the behaviour it is an extreme example of.

If that makes sense?
Be gentle with me, I have anxiety

I'm confused also- I have a MH condition with anxiety and agitation as one of the symptoms / signs, rather than a condition in itself. Although anxiety disorders do exist as well, of course.

Didn't explain that very well - it's not an anxiety disorder - it's just feeling anxious about certain things.

Also, anxiety isn't a medical condition, it's a psychological one and it's aetiology is different.

I think MH issues and things like autism are over represented on sites like MN, because socialising online is far easier than in RL.

There will be a far higher population of those of us who do have anxiety here than in the population in general.

It is confusing to be fair. You could feel anxious without having anxiety. You could feel depressed without having depression. Or not a formal diagnosis anyway.

I know what you mean, when my anxiety disorder affects my job I feel very embarrassed saying 'I have an anxiety disorder' as so many people say this I'm often viewed as being 'a special snowflake' and am 'a bit worried'.

I'm not being pathetic or 'a bit worried' - I have a medically diagnosed disorder that makes my thinking go strange when it flairs up!

To add to the confusion, you could also have a medically diagnosed disorder and be "coping" at present. So someone with GAD could currently be less anxious about (ie) terrorism than someone who is an example of perfect mental health.

I sympathise with those who have a genuine mental health issue. I've been lucky so far in not having to experience them. When I was pregnant I had episodes of keeping myself awake at night as I thought my baby wasn't moving which made me tearful and if I may "anxious" however I'll be more mindful with words in future and use nerves or worried as I'm sure how I was did not constitute real anxiety. It was just a scary time. to all the MH sufferers.

That's a good point CloudPerson

Plus its not an excuse for me not to do things, it just means I may need extra support doing them.

For disclaimers sake, I'm autistic too. And agree with cloud.

Yabu OP. Are you qualified in this field? Is your anxiety more worthy, more real than mine, or that of the person who really thinks is going to die during their first panic attack?

It took me years to get diagnosed and the diagnosis itself didn't particularly help. Yes it affected my life enormously, and on top of that my anxiety comes with serious physical symptoms that need treatment in themselves. My anxiety is way less severe now but it still affects and limits my life.

Now I need to add "judgey ignorant people who think I say I have anxiety because I'm needy and crave attention" to my long list of things to worry about.

Agreed, although it is much more common on MN than it is in real life.

The one I've only even seen on MN and never heard in real life is 'I have health anxiety' (translation: I'm a hypochondriac. QED!!)

Also you would only really understand the difference if you were actually diagnosed with the disorder. I didn't know until this thread there were different types of anxiety disorder as defined by the therapist above.