Mental health explanations

Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry or fear. It is common reaction to life events like taking an important exam or giving a speech to a crowd. But some people find it hard to control. When the feeling of anxiety is more constant and affects your daily life. This is when it starts to be more of a problem. Some of the symptoms you can get with anxiety can be compared to how you would feel if you were being chased by a pack of wolves. Your heart races, your thoughts would be in a panic, and you keep running. Anxiety can be a part of many different conditions.

 

Generalised anxiety disorder

Generalised anxiety disorder is when you worry about lots of different things instead of just one thing. This can feel like walking down a dark and scary alleyway without knowing what is waiting for you.

 

Social phobia

Social phobia is when people have a fear of being in public and meeting new people. It is more than shyness. It does not go away and can be very distressing.

 

Specific phobias

Some people have anxiety about specific things. These are called phobias. When people avoid these things, their anxiety usually stays away. But when people can’t avoid them, it can be a problem.

 

Post-traumatic stress disorder

It’s normal to experience upsetting and confusing thoughts after a traumatic event, but most people improve naturally over a few weeks. Post-traumatic stress disorder is usually when someone relives a traumatic event through nightmares or flashbacks. Memories in PTSD are a bit like items stuffed in a messy cupboard. Whenever you brush pass the cupboard the door flies open and items fall out: in other words, whenever you come across a reminder of the trauma you have flashbacks or intrusive memories and feel intense fear.

 

Obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mixture of experiencing thoughts that won’t go away and feeling compelled to do certain acts. These thoughts are unpleasant, unwanted and can make you feel very uneasy. These thoughts can drive you to do something to temporarily relieve this feeling of uneasiness. It is like when you get bitten by a mosquito. It itches, so to make it feel better you scratch, and while you’re scratching it feels great, but as soon as you stop scratching, the itching gets worse.