But while the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that anxiety disorders are highly treatable, only 36.9 percent of people with a disorder actually receive treatment. In fact, the signs indicating an anxiety disorder can seem so commonplace that it’s possible for someone not to realize they have a formal condition at all. RELATED: The United States of Stress How so? Simply put, anxiety symptoms can range from life-altering phobias, such as the fear of driving, to seemingly normal occurrences, like headaches or fatigue. While the latter two may not prompt you to believe you have a chronic condition, and may even confuse you into thinking you have two of the most common flu symptoms, they are also physical manifestations of high anxiety that — when combined with more specific physical or mental symptoms — can suggest you have a disorder. Though anxiety affects everyone, it differs from person to person in the way it manifests, why it manifests, and to what magnitude it occurs. For this reason, anxiety diagnoses can take many forms. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) classifies generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) as actual anxiety disorders, while anxiety-related disorders include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because the symptoms can seem like everyday occurrences, anxiety disorders are often difficult to understand. So as we head into a new decade, we’ve gathered a wide selection of blogs that both support those who live with an anxiety-related condition and promote awareness around the condition. Ranging from humorous to scientific to spiritual, some of these blogs are specific to a certain anxiety disorder while others cater to overall mental health, but all strive to foster a community among individuals who experience anxiety. For those days when you need to know how to calm a panic attack, laugh a little about your hyperactive imagination, or just read a supportive poem, these blogs are here to help you in 2020.
Time to Change
For those living with anxiety, tales of dating and dealing with family and work are just a few that aim to empower people with the condition and help them realize they’re not alone. And for everyone else, Time to Change hopes that the shared stories of daily life with anxiety can help increase understanding and improve attitudes surrounding this and other mental health conditions in general.
The Mighty
Anxiety United
The Anxiety Sisters
As it turns out, sharing was actually one of the things that had helped them the most. Though they each went to dozens of specialists and tried a variety of medicines over the years to try to get a hold on their anxiety, they realized that the connection they’d built in supporting each other through their experiences helped just as much — if not more — than their treatments. Dubbing themselves “anxiety sisters,” Anne, who is now a professor and writer, and Maggie, who is a social worker, created their site and blogs with topics like “Does Self-Care Make You Anxious?” and “Strategies for Managing Holiday Anxiety” to help others not only live with anxiety, but to live well despite anxiety.
Anxious Lass
Anxiety Schmanxiety by Healthy Place
The Worry Games
Free From Social Anxiety
Relief From Anxiety
Tiny Buddha
Additional reporting by Maura Corrigan.
