Understand
To help someone with anxiety, you must first learn what it actually is.
Most people associate anxiety with everyday worry. But the truth is that anxiety is to normal worry as a puddle is to the ocean.
Anxiety can manifest as panic disorders, which cause episodes of sweating, chest pain, and irregular heartbeats. It can arise as phobias—intense fears of specific objects or situations—or it can look like social anxiety disorder, which makes being around unfamiliar people and places nearly unbearable. And then there’s generalized anxiety, which is excessive, extreme tension without any apparent cause.
These symptoms are crippling, cause physical health problems, and can make everyday life extremely difficult to manage.
Doesn’t sound like your everyday uneasiness, does it?
Anxiety is not a weakness. It is not a character flaw or the result of poor upbringing or life choices. It is a disease caused by changes in the brain.
Now, let’s look at a few ways you can translate this understanding into action.
