Anonymous wrote:First let me say this thread comes from a place of genuine curiosity and concern, not from a mean desire to gossip.

I'm defining "crippling anxiety" as anxiety that negatively impacts relationships, sleep, quality of life, often for which they're seeking medication or therapy. Obviously that's not a medical definition. I'm just distinguishing it from the nervousness I feel when giving a speech, for instance.

Of my friends: One or both members of the 5 couples in my circle have it (7 of 10).
Of my family: My mom, both cousins, ex-husband, ex-MIL, ex-SIL. I have no siblings, and ex's father is deceased, so basically that's everyone except my dad.
Of my coworkers: My boss and boss's boss and 4 of my 5 peers.

This is serious anxiety -- can't sleep for days because they're mulling over the end of the world and our purpose in it; avoiding going out in public and having panic attacks when they do; unable to drive (much less fly) because they fear crashing; alienating spouses due to their compulsive cleaning and fear of germs; etc.

Have people always been this way and we just didn't have the knowledge and tools to diagnose it as anxiety? Or is it from a change in our environment -- i.e. plastic in everything, something like that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.

Welp, you seem pretty darn triggered by someone stating their opinion on an…open Internet forum, so there’s that.

Nope, not triggered. Just really tired of anxious people acting like they are normal and everyone else is uninformed or unfeeling because we don’t fall apart with every news cycle. If you can’t sleep for weeks, that is not an opinion. It’s an issue you should deal with.

What are your medical qualifications?

Periods of sleeplessness are, indeed, a fairly common thing that comes on for different people for different reasons. Would you tell someone for a few weeks following the death of a loved one that their period of grief was abnormal? Or would you say that grief is normal, but difficult, and encourage them to talk to someone about treating the normal symptoms related to grief?

Many of us have had a few hard weeks, here or there, during this pandemic. Some of us needed outside help for that, and some of us just needed to walk through the grief. It’s OK to grieve in the face of tragedy. You can mourn. You can be anxious. All of those things are a normal part of the human condition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.

Welp, you seem pretty darn triggered by someone stating their opinion on an…open Internet forum, so there’s that.

Nope, not triggered. Just really tired of anxious people acting like they are normal and everyone else is uninformed or unfeeling because we don’t fall apart with every news cycle. If you can’t sleep for weeks, that is not an opinion. It’s an issue you should deal with.

What are your medical qualifications?

Periods of sleeplessness are, indeed, a fairly common thing that comes on for different people for different reasons. Would you tell someone for a few weeks following the death of a loved one that their period of grief was abnormal? Or would you say that grief is normal, but difficult, and encourage them to talk to someone about treating the normal symptoms related to grief?

Many of us have had a few hard weeks, here or there, during this pandemic. Some of us needed outside help for that, and some of us just needed to walk through the grief. It’s OK to grieve in the face of tragedy. You can mourn. You can be anxious. All of those things are a normal part of the human condition.

Anonymous wrote:I couldn’t read past the mention of your “circle.” You sound ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.

Welp, you seem pretty darn triggered by someone stating their opinion on an…open Internet forum, so there’s that.

Nope, not triggered. Just really tired of anxious people acting like they are normal and everyone else is uninformed or unfeeling because we don’t fall apart with every news cycle. If you can’t sleep for weeks, that is not an opinion. It’s an issue you should deal with.

Anonymous wrote:I had anxiety before moving to the DC area.
I now have crippling anxiety since living here.

When I leave and go to an area with fewer people, my anxiety reverts to "average." When I come back to the traffic and the jerks and the competitive mindset, the "crippling" part returns.

For me, the pandemic improved my anxiety because I didn't feel pressured to socialize here and felt like I could finally relax. For others, being "busy" relieves anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s definitely the zeitgeist
I’d be interested to know if Dr’s have noticed a significant uptick.
The pandemic was really stressful, but not just because of fear of illness. We all witnessed the curtain drawn back and nobody running the show.
It felt like being on a runway train heading off a cliff with no conductor. It felt like that for a year.
It might feel like that from now on.

Doctors definitely have. My psychiatrist said she has never been this busy in 30 years of practice. I’m also a lifelong anxiety sufferer who has had the worst year of my life as far as it goes. Worse than when my parents died. And just so awful and I feel like I can’t get away from it.

I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope things get better for you soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.

Welp, you seem pretty darn triggered by someone stating their opinion on an…open Internet forum, so there’s that.

Nope, not triggered. Just really tired of anxious people acting like they are normal and everyone else is uninformed or unfeeling because we don’t fall apart with every news cycle. If you can’t sleep for weeks, that is not an opinion. It’s an issue you should deal with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.

Welp, you seem pretty darn triggered by someone stating their opinion on an…open Internet forum, so there’s that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of shades of gray between being nervous about giving a speech and crippling anxiety, btw.

Lots of people have interrupted sleep, interrupted work, interrupted relationships and various dosing of anxiety meds and none of these people have "crippling anxiety"

Right? I could barely sleep for several weeks, right before Thanksgiving until after the inauguration. If you COULD sleep well with literally a 9/11 death count happening in America every day from a pandemic, AND an attack on the Capitol, AND the final cruel shots from the last administration, I wonder at your sanity.

I’m sorry you felt that way. Most people were aware and concerned and also able to sleep and function normally. Your comment is the type of “anxiety is normal” culture OP is asking about. Reacting that strongly, for weeks of months is not normal. Implying that people who can cope and function inspite of stressful news must be less informed or less “sane” than you is your defense mechanism to justify that you are struggling. It’s ok to struggle and to need help, but it is not ok to lash out at people who are coping and functioning without help.