Anxiety is not an excuse

<h2><strong>The prevalence of anxiety is on the rise. In the past two years, the prevalence has increased by 25% – mostly in women and youth.</strong></h2> <p>Anxiety is not an excuse for staying stuck, procrastinating, or making bad choices, whether in life or business. </p> <h3><strong>Let’s look at what anxiety is and is not.</strong></h3> <h4><strong>What is anxiety?</strong></h4> <p><strong>Anxiety</strong> is an abnormal sense of apprehension and fear that is often marked by physical signs and symptoms. When one is anxious, they have self-doubt that they will have the ability to cope with the situation or person making them anxious.</p> <p>Being <strong>nervous</strong> is different than anxiety. When you are nervous, you may feel like being anxious, but the difference is that once the situation is past, you have done the thing, and you feel better. With anxiety, doubtful what-if thoughts continue to come into your brain and you don’t have a sense of peace.</p> <p><strong>Worry</strong> is more of a dwelling on negative thoughts, and I believe it’s a choice. It’s possible for worry to lead to anxiety, but the worry is not genetic and despite environmental triggers, worry is something you can choose to stop whereas anxiety may not be without help from a therapist or medication.</p> <p>It is important to differentiate between the three – anxiety, nervousness, and worry. A pet peeve of mine is hearing people say they are behaving a certain way or making certain choices because they have anxiety. Anxiety is a clinical diagnosis but that doesn’t make it an excuse.</p> <h3><strong>Who has anxiety?</strong></h3> <p>Approximately <a href= "https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/anxiety/anxiety-disorder-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">31% of adults</a> in the US have anxiety. Women are twice as likely as men, 23% versus 14%.</p> <p>Only 37 percent of people with anxiety seek treatment.</p> <p>As I mentioned before, the prevalence of anxiety has <a href= "https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022