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Report Card - October 2005 - Anxiety and Stress |
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The Problem
Stress is an unavoidable
reality and consequence of our life experience. It crosses all ethnic and
cultural boundaries and permeates everything and everybody. All people at
one time or another will experience some nervousness or anxiety as a result
of some type of stress. Many seem to successfully cope with stress becoming
stronger with each trial and tribulation. For them anxiety is simply a
normal, although painful emotion, which is overpowered by increased personal
effort, faith and prayers. For others, anxiety is such that it debilitates
and interferes with normal every day functioning. In this case, anxiety
becomes much more than just a normal painful emotion, but rather an illness,
a mental illness. |
NAMI, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill states that Approximately 19.1 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 13.3 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder. One of the challenges is determining when anxiety is simply a normal painful emotion and when it is a mental illness. Education, is the key to discerning the difference! LDS Resources The Foundation’s website, provides resources on anxiety and stress. Some of the most popular Ensign articles on stress and anxiety that can help identify, manage, and eliminate stressors are as follows: “When Life Is Getting You Down” by , Ph.D., “Move More, Stress Less” by Larry A. Tucker, and “Dealing with Stress and Discouragement” In “Press On”, a talk on enduring to the end by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, he states: “The question “Why me?” can be a difficult one to answer and often leads to frustration and despair. There is a better question to ask ourselves. That question is “What could I learn from this experience?” These types of resources can be helpful to those where anxiety is a normal painful emotion. On the BYU Personal Counseling site, resources which may help those who suffer from anxiety as a mental illness are identified and reviewed. This site answers the question, “What determines when anxiety changes into an anxiety disorder?” Specific books and LDS Scriptures are listed as resources |
for those dealing with anxiety. This BYU Counseling and Career Center also has information about stress, “Coping Strategies in Dealing with Stress” where 22 suggestions are listed. Other Resources There is an entire chapter of the “Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General” devoted to Anxiety. This chapter covers the various types of anxiety disorders, discusses the etiology of anxiety disorders, and reviews the various treatments. It is an excellent review of the research and current understanding of anxiety. There are two national organizations that focus primarily on anxiety. They are: Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) and National Anxiety Foundation. The ADAA is a nonprofit organization that has been fighting to improve research, education, and treatment for anxiety disorders. This website provides publications, a message board, stories of hope, treatment guides, self tests, and other resources for dealing with anxiety. The National Anxiety Foundation is also a private nonprofit entity which educates the public and professionals about anxiety through printed and electronic media. This site provides a list of dozens of books available on many of the specific anxiety disorders. All these resources and more are located at MentalHealthLibrary.Info under the topic heading of Anxiety and Stress. |
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