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“I started with eating
disorders, depression, anxiety,

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depression, anxiety, PTSD,
depression, anxiety. It's this

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rollercoaster.” Anxiety
disorders are the most common

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mental health concern in the
United States, affecting nearly

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1 in 5 adults. The most common
types of anxiety disorders

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include: generalized anxiety
disorder, social anxiety

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disorder, panic disorder, and
phobias. It's not uncommon for

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people like Sarah, who have an
anxiety disorder, to also suffer

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from other mental health
conditions including depression

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and PTSD, post-traumatic stress
disorder,,, “You know it's not
you

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have one, and that's it. It's
your good days, bad days, good

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months, bad months. Some for me
have been easier to cope with

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than others.” “Stress does tend
to be a bit of a fueling source

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for anxiety disorders. But then
there are other things that kind

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of predispose people and many
people, many thought leaders in

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the anxiety world believe that
there's probably some sort of

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biological predisposition that
make people more vulnerable to

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anxiety disorders.” While the
risk factors vary from person to

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person, you may be at risk for
an anxiety disorder if: You were

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very shy as a child. You have a
history of anxiety or other

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mental health issues in your
family. You've been exposed to

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stress or trauma as a child. You
have certain health conditions

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such as thyroid problems or an
irregular heartbeat. “It's

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really a lot of different
factors that are kind of

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interacting with one another,
kind of co-occurring at the same

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time to create a perfect storm
that contributes to a person

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developing generalized anxiety
disorder. Some of those factors

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are completely outside of an
individual's control.” With

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generalized anxiety disorder, a
person's life is filled with

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worry, sometimes for hours each
day, making it hard to

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concentrate on school or work or
everyday living. Sarah, who

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happens to be a mental health
counselor, says she's lucky to

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have an understanding boss...
“So when I first started doing

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trainings or going to
conferences, talking in front of

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large groups, particularly about
things on a personal level,

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sometimes I would make excuses.
Lie, tell white lies even. Maybe

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exaggerate the extent to which I
wasn't feeling all that well.

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Fortunately, I'm in a job here
where they're very

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accommodating. They recognize
people have mental health

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challenges and so they work
around them.” Each anxiety

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disorder has its own unique
symptoms, but all include

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excessive, persistent worry or
fear in situations that are not

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threatening. Other emotional
symptoms may include: feeling

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tense or jumpy; restlessness;
irritability; or anticipating

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the worst result that can
happen; avoidance. There are

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physical symptoms, too: a racing
heart or shortness of breath;

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sweating, tremors and twitches;
headaches, fatigue or trouble

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sleeping; and an upset stomach,
frequent urination or diarrhea.

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Claudine Jackson lives with
anxiety disorder, complicated by

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depression and obsessive
compulsive disorder, or
OCD...

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"I have a thing with dirt and
dust and I only sleep on white

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towels, white sheets. I mean
white sheets and pillowcases.”

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With Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, Claudine has

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uncontrollable thoughts and
behaviors that she repeats over

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and over. OCD can make her
anxiety even worse. “I have it

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more under control now, but I
had gotten to the point which,

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if I didn't have everything
perfectly neat and in order, my

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anxiety would just, I would get
real nervous and start having

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problems breathing.” In most
cases, anxiety disorder and

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related illnesses, will improve
with talk therapy or

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medications. “There's also all
sorts of different ways to treat

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anxiety disorders. Thankfully
there are medications that are

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helpful. And for some people
they get significant relief.”

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“And sometimes it takes maybe
one or two different types of

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meds for them to get your
combination right. But when they

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get it right, it's going to be
an amazing life for you.”

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Adopting a healthy lifestyle,
learning coping skills and using

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relaxation techniques can also
help. The bottom line is to seek

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professional help if you think
you are feeling overly anxious.