'Mentally trapped with despair': Anxiety disorders becoming common among young adults

By Jen Pulham

January 23, 2006 | A racing heart, dizziness, a sudden feeling of fear: Many people who experience these symptoms think that they are having a heart attack. They even go to the emergency room. What they are actually experiencing is an anxiety attack.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, said Dr. Wayne Brown, psychiatrist and neurologist at Utah State Hospital. Twenty-one percent of the world's population has some form of anxiety disorder – 64 percent of those being female. It is most common among young adults and older people. Anxiety was not recognized as a mental illness until 1971. It is triggered by a reaction in the nervous system and is usually caused by one of two things: A traumatic incident or genetics.

A traumatic incident can trigger anxiety that does not surface until later in life. But if someone inherits a sensitive nervous system, he or she is more likely to have anxiety. Anxiety usually stems from genetics, Brown said.

Sara, who asked to remain anonymous, is a senior at Utah State University and has had anxiety for three years. She attributes her anxiety to a traumatic incident.

"I was in a rollover accident and then I had knee surgery. That was supposed to be in and out, but recovery took forever," she said.

The best way Sara can explain her anxiety to someone who doesn't have it is that she is "mentally trapped with despair."

There are different kinds of anxiety disorders, including panic disorders, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia. Someone with anxiety can have one or more of these disorders.

"Everyone has some level of anxiety. What's important is how you deal with it," Sara said.

Brown explained the difference between healthy anxiety and unhealthy anxiety by comparing it with someone washing their hands.

"It's good to wash your hands, right? But to wash them 50 times and still think they're not clean? That's a disorder," he said.

Anxiety also is often accompanied with anxiety attacks or panic attacks. These are usually an overwhelming feeling of fear. Joe, who asked to remain anonymous, is a junior at the University of Utah and has also had anxiety for three years. During the first six months of his anxiety he would have anxiety attacks biweekly.

"It feels like someone's sitting on your chest and as much as you try to concentrate, your mind keeps jumping from thing to thing," he said.

Joe is married and continues to go to school and work, but finds it slightly harder than it used to be.

"It's really hard to focus at work and get much accomplished," he said. Joe finds that one of his best tools to fight anxiety is exercise.

A lot of anxiety attacks can be caused by health problems. Brown listed several including hypoglycemia, heart disease, thyroid problems and alcohol withdrawals. They can even be caused by taking decongestants. For women, menstrual periods can sometimes cause anxiety attacks.

Some symptoms of a panic attack are a racing heart, constricted breathing, numbness (usually in your lips and hands), a choking feeling, chills and hot flashes, Brown said. A person only needs four of these symptoms to be diagnosed with panic attacks.

In the beginning, Sara's attacks came four or five times a day, usually right before bed.

"My heart started beating fast, my throat started to get queasy, I started to sweat, and mentally I couldn't focus on anything positive," she said. "I had to have someone tell me what to do. [The attacks] were terrifying."

When Sara feels anxious she said she just needs a distraction.

"Tell me to get up and get moving. Give me a task: just something else to do," she said.

Dustin Hofheins, a freshman at Utah Valley State College, is a friend of Sara's and has been with her during some of her attacks.

"When it does happen it's a weird thing because you know it's their anxiety talking. To them it's real. You don't want to offend them," Hofheins said.

Brown said that if a person is experiencing anxious feelings, he or she needs to get help.

"The thing you would do, if it's getting to where they can't function, is take them in to see a psychologist or psychiatrist," he said. "If it happens often, yes. If it happens once, don't worry too much."

He also warned that anxiety and clinical depression go hand in hand.

"Almost all depression has anxiety in it. Anxiety leads to depression. They're very closely tied," Brown said.

But he advised to pay attention to the season in which depressing thoughts and feelings come. About 10 percent of depression cases are called seasonal-affective disorder (SAD), where the depressed feelings leave when the season changes. SAD is most common in the winter, but can also happen in the summer.

However, recovery from anxiety is possible.

"They have to learn that it's not going to kill them," Brown said. "They learn how to breathe properly. They learn to think positive thoughts."

There are many different kinds of medication available to those who have anxiety disorders. They can be separated into two groups: benzodiazepines, which act as tranquilizers, and anti-depressants, which increase your serotonin levels, making you generally happier. The most common side effects in these medications are drowsiness and sedation.

It is also important, if possible, to get counseling from a psychotherapist. But it can be hard to find the one that can help you the best. Sara is now seeing her fifth therapist. Joe found his help relatively easily. They both have noticed changes since their anxiety was recognized.

"It just takes time and it slowly goes away," Sara said. "You just have to be patient. Use all of your assets and have faith that it will go away." She hardly ever has anxiety attacks anymore.

Both Sara and Joe find that it's hard to explain anxiety to others.

"They understand being anxious, but not real anxiety; unless, of course, they have it," Joe said.

For more information, visit the American Psychiatric Association Web site, www.psych.org. or the USU Counseling Center located in the Taggart Student Center Room 306. To set up an appointment call 797-1012.

Brown recommends getting help from a counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or a social doctor.

"So many people have these things and they worry that they're bad people. Education is the key," he said.

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