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 think that having GAD, panic disorder, SAD and the like are major and debilitating experiences- hence the diagnosis. It's crap for people who suffer these and they are deserving of the best treatment. However I do think there's a real spectrum of anxiety which is reflected in the various scales that are used to measure what the person is experiencing. Therefore I think yabu.

I also think the uncertain times we are living in, when a lot of things we used to take for granted such as being safe at a concert or walking about London are raising the anxiety levels for lots of people. Yes anxiety is a human response but lots of people have it more than others.

I do get where you're coming from, although I am one of the people who claim to have anxiety without actually being diagnosed with it.
I am pretty sure that's what is wrong with me, although I am well ATM - I have got a lid on spiralling thoughts, I know what is real and what is me overthinking things, I am not the person I have been in the past.
I don't think an official diagnosis means all that much when there are a massive amount when there are so many people out there who are undiagnosed, not just with anxiety but other MH issues.

I find it interesting. When I read about anxiety here, or on Google, I seem to find that I have every symptom sufferers have. But I've never been diagnosed, and just go about my stressful job, enter scary social situations, call tradespeople etc because I feel there is no choice. Also I feel I am being weak if I indulge this, and just need to get on with life and stop being silly.

Is it then a question of degree? Is my stress and anxiety less than others, which is why mine isn't a disorder? Or could I get a diagnosis and then have a reason not to get on with my life, and thereby maybe become worse?

I don't know the answer. I find life very very difficult, but maybe I am just anxious and don't suffer from anxiety as such. I wonder what the threshold is.

when I say "I have anxiety" I mean I have a diagnosis and meds.

I must admit, when posters say that they have anxiety, I tend to think they mean the same. But then there's the people who won't go to doc, so it gets more confusing!

Ah yeah, health anxiety I forgot that one! And phobias.

You can have anxiety without being diagnosed (I am diagnosed by the way, alongside severe depression and suicidal thoughts) as in you can find a certain situation makes you anxious therefore you have anxiety it's just not diagnosed because it doesn't affect a large proportion of your life.

For instance, I can be anxious and say I have anxiety about going to the dentist however I still go and can talk myself through t. Whereas I have an actual diagnosis because there will be times where I cannot leave my house as the anxiety about leaving is overwhelming and I can't cope which can lead me into a panic attack then I am in a deep depression for the foreseeable future.

It's not easy or fair to just say to someone they are taking the muck out of those like myself because they say they have anxiety over one thing because it's still anxiety even if it doesn't come with a diagnosis.

Erm, I have very severe diagnosed health anxiety.

Official anxiety disordered mentalist here and I think YAB a bit U. Yes, some people are probably talking out of their arses. Some other people will genuinely be living with clinical levels of anxiety but not have sought treatment to get that diagnosis. I had years of horrible problems and panic attacks before it registered with me that not everyone felt that way and I could seek help. Even then I only went to the doctor when things became dangerous, and it still took two goes before they took me at all seriously.

You can't tell which people are which based on "I have anxiety". That's something I would say, and think I actually have said on here in the last couple of days. Your experience, and the terminology you use around your illness, aren't the only valid ones.

I have diagnosed & medicated anxiety also.

My main gripe about people using "I have anxiety" to mean "I'm a bit nervous" is that people assume all anxiety is the same. I cannot make or receive phone calls. Well, actually, I can phone my DCs - but absolutely no-one else. I have been trying to get this message across to Barclaycard lately - their response? "Our customer service team are trained to be kind & helpful, so just give us a call."

How about you just fuck right off?

It is lie depression People say they are depressed when they just mean are going through a bad patch.
I guess it is the pop psychology thing.

sorry typo

I have diagnosed anxiety. It doesn't feel any different to the undiagnosed anxiety I had for years prior to seeing my doctor. I get your point though.

Santa I was exactly the same. My partner called for all my appointments etc as I just couldn't face it. Pleased to say I'm over it now but only because I had to get used to ringing the hospital to see how my baby was doing if my partner wasn't available. Now I'm pretty confident calling anywhere.

Hopefully one day you will be able to talk in the phone too. It's crazy how bad it gets, to the point if I tried I would end up nervously giggling and then hanging up only to make the anxiety worse because I felt stupid. It's a shit illness.

I think it's because it's been talked about lots recently. 10 years ago it was the same with depression, every slightly sad person claimed they were depressed.

I have anxiety and I'm treated for it...an anxiety attack can come without any reason...it starts from the pit of my stomach then I try to understand what triggered it, the more I try to find and telling myself I'm a twat for being anxious the more anxious I get...do I fit in your category ?

I can't remember a time when I haven't been anxious, but I never went to the doctor because I assumed they would have the same opinions and comments to make as other people, ie, get a grip, stop being a snowflake.

It was only when I learnt more about autism that I approached my GP about it all.
Until then I tailored my life to do very little outside my comfort zone.
Since being able to acknowledge my anxiety (which for me is the most disabling part of autism) I am doing so much more, because I can ask for help and work out strategies to get me through certain events, or, if it's too much, I will avoid certain things. For being able to work through it though, I'm able to do far more than I was before, when I knew I felt awful most of the time, but the only reasoning behind this was that I was crap.

Whilst armchair diagnosing isn't a good idea, self diagnosis that may (or may not) lead to official confirmation can be extremely liberating for someone, so for that reason I think YABU.

Totally agree, but please don't think that the way to legitimise a mental health disorder is whether someone is medicated or not. Many of us aren't.

For people living in the UK it's pretty straightforward to get a referral into an iapt service or similar for some
CBT sessions for anxiety. There really is no need to suffer in silence.

It's very treatable for the most part. Particularly the 'axis one' types already mentioned

Given the state of MH services in this country, it's a bit of a joke to say only people who've been clinically disagnosed can claim to have anxiety.

It took me nearly dying from attempted suicide to get help. I have no issue believing there are people out there who do suffer but not quite badly enough to have received any help.

I teach in an SEMH school. The vast majority of our students have an anxiety disorder on their file. Seeing the effect it had on their lives (and , I'll admit it ; I'm only human,

I have post natal anxiety, diagnosed but not on medication as I don't want that. I've often been an anxious person, but never said I have anxiety before.
Greater awareness of conditions, especially related to mental health, does lead to more armchair diagnosis.

I agree and disagree. I think there is a great deal of armchair diagnosis on the internet and also a great deal of people who don't know the actual meaning of having anxiety or OCD etc
That said, I do agree that we as fellow internet users can't undiagnose anyone just because we feel they don't fit a certain criteria. I have depression and PTS and due to an autonomic dysfunction I have very high levels of anxiety with strong physical symptoms. I do not however have GAD or any other anxiety diagnosis.

YABU.

There has been a lot of great awareness about maternal mental health recently so this thread is pretty depressing when you think of how many people might read it and think maybe they aren't anxious 'enough' to warrant asking for help.