One of the most common struggles about dealing with anxiety is that people generally think some wrong things about this disorder. Joseph Bienvenu, who is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University, has pointed out that there are many misleading notions pertaining to anxiety disorder that can make the task of dealing with this problem more difficult. These erroneous beliefs are a common reality for people, who know someone who is battling with the condition or they themselves have it or those who think that they may be on the edge of diagnosis. Now, let us get into the details about some common myths prevailing about teen anxiety:
Teens with anxiety are feeble:
It is a common myth that people with this disorder will be always weak and fearful, but this is not the case. Bienvenu has explained that even though, many panic and anxiety disorders can be caused due to fear, the characteristics of the condition is not the only component. So, it should never be used to define a person. As a means of explaining what it is like to deal with anxiety, based on fear, clinical psychologist Bill Knaus has detailed how anxiety can show-off something that we are all familiar with (i.e.) Regret. He has added that fears and anxieties occurring again and again can be like walls on each side of a trail that are painted with images of regrets.
Having anxiety is not a big deal:
Allison Baker, who is an adolescent and child psychiatrist and the director of the Adolescent Program at the Columbia University Medical Center has pointed out that this disorder is not something that should be left as it is. Some parents, who feel that their child would have anxiety disorder, do not take the child to a psychiatrist, with the hope that the problem will go away as and when the teen grows. But, Baker has stated that anxiety disorders can accompany or even it can lead to other illnesses like substance abuse and depression. He has also added that kids do not talk about their problem as they do not notice it to be a big deal. They generally internalize an anxious experience, but parents should be cautious.
The condition is not that common:
A record shows that nearly 40 million American adults are affected by anxiety disorder per year, which is about 18 percent of the population of the country. When some parents consider it to be something usual, some parents consider it as a big problem. Both these attitudes should be avoided, but they can talk about the teen anxiety to a psychiatrist to get clarifications in this respect. Even, it is a common pediatric condition too these days.
Anxiety can act as the base for poor childhood:
Even though, it is true that teen anxiety arises mainly because of the bad experience the child faced during his/her childhood, Bienvenu has added that this is just a misunderstanding. Even there are chances that some people with enjoyable childhood days can face anxiety in the later stages of life.
To conclude, parents can take their own past experiences and can help their children to deal with teen anxiety without any trouble.