I was shocked about this.

[Charmbracelet81]

My therapist (hopefully she is up to date with her info :| ) told me that only 6% of the population has generalized anxiety disorder. It just seems more common to me than that.....*shrugs*

[flare_2004]

Wow that is interesting. Really seems like more to me too! Is that the entire world population? Within the group of people I know personally it seems like 1 in 5 have some sort of anxiety problem! I'd think it would be more common in places like usa, england, japan etc... with all our stressful over exposed lifestyles :tongue:

[morf]

Problem I see with anxiety, is that many people never like to admit to having it, such as myself... only close friends and roommates know.

Never in the past have I known anyone with this condition.

[forwells]

Hmmm

I guess it all comes down to what anxiety is .

Every one gets anxiety . 20% of people will have a problem with it . I am guessing that 20% includes when it rules your life .

There are many forms of anxiety and i would guess the 6% is about right for people that have true GAD , I think many of us are put in that class but it is the anxiety that is changing the thinking .

cheers kev :)

[Charmbracelet81]

That's what I was thinking that there has to be lots of people undiagnosed/no resources, ect. That was a stat just for the USA.

[alex1993]

I don't know anyone with an anxiety disorder, except for family and my moms friends. :|

[darkheart]

I don't know anyone with an anxiety disorder, except for family and my moms friends. :|
I actually have several friends that do, and think my dad had the same thing.

[Robbed]

When dealing with statistics, it is important to carefully look at exactly how things are worded. I myself have seen the 20% figure. But this 20% is the percentage of the population who will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. NOT the percentage of the populaton currently suffering from anxiety disorder. So, while I don't know whether this 6% figure is correct, it very well could be accurate if we are looking at the percentage of the population suffering with ongoing anxiety disorder. But that 20% of the population includes those people who are currently suffering, along with those who WILL suffer from anxiety disorder and those who have recovered.

Of course, the other guy had a point about unreported/undiagnosed cases of anxiety disorder. This is quite common, ESPECIALLY when you consider that many sufferers are reluctant to seek treatment due to the stigma of mental health disorders, the general incompetence of mental health professionals, and the considerable expense of 'treatment' (which, even if you have health insurance, is often not covered). All of this is particularly true if you consider anxiety disorders of relatively short duration (which is probably MUCH more common than widely believed).

Another interesing thing I should mention about anxiety disorder is that the rate of recovery is also certainly ALOT better than statistics might suggest. There are certainly more than a few people out there who give up on 'treatment' due to lack of competence on the part of mental health professionals. These people are probably 'written off' as people who will NEVER recover. But many certainly do eventually recover on their own after a time. In fact, the fact that SO many anxiety sufferers WILL completely recover without intervention is one of the health care industry's 'dirty little secrets'.

[Charmbracelet81]

That's a good one...I need to ask about recovery stats for people actually in treatment. ;)

[Robbed]

That's a good one...I need to ask about recovery stats for people actually in treatment. ;)

I don't know where you live. But here in the US, anxiety disorder is considered to be an incurable, lifelong disease which can only be managed by a lifelong combination of medication and therapy. So I would guess that the official stats for recovery are zero. But that's the healthcare industry for you. They only make money if you are unwell.

[Charmbracelet81]

Yes I am in the USA...I guess by recovery I meant learning to live with it rather than suffering and it taking over your whole life...never fully "over it." It's true, though about the Doc's. While I like my therapist a lot and have been doing soooo much better, she looked shocked when I told her I wanted to start seeing her every other week rather than every week...which is a difference on my end of $100 a month :roll:

[Robbed]

Yes I am in the USA...I guess by recovery I meant learning to live with it rather than suffering and it taking over your whole life...never fully "over it."

I still have a problem with this. While it is true that a certain subsegment of anxiety sufferers will probably always suffer from anxiety disorder, most can completely recover. This is much like addiction to drugs or alcohol in the sense that the medical community considers it to be a lifelong disease in 100% of cases. But it's not. While there are SOME addicts out there who will always have to deal with the disease of addiction, many won't. In fact, many former alcoholics can even return to social drinking after recovery. The bottom line? 'One size fits all' does not jibe with reality.


It's true, though about the Doc's. While I like my therapist a lot and have been doing soooo much better, she looked shocked when I told her I wanted to start seeing her every other week rather than every week...which is a difference on my end of $100 a month :roll:

It's also less money each month on her end. So I wouldn't think she WOULD like it. ESPECIALLY in these economic times, where people tend to forgo such things as therapy.

[forwells]

It's also less money each month on her end. So I wouldn't think she WOULD like it. ESPECIALLY in these economic times, where people tend to forgo such things as therapy.

I think this is a very negitive way of looking at it . If your therapist is good i am sure they would have a back log of people to see them . Here in Australia it takes a month to see a bad one and a good one you cant see at all . Maybe they are just thinking that you still need to be working on things a bit more but thats also not to say that you cant do that yourself at home for free . :D

cheers kev :)

[Robbed]

I think this is a very negitive way of looking at it . If your therapist is good i am sure they would have a back log of people to see them . Here in Australia it takes a month to see a bad one and a good one you cant see at all . Maybe they are just thinking that you still need to be working on things a bit more but thats also not to say that you cant do that yourself at home for free . :D

cheers kev :)

Then again, don't you have national healthcare in Australia? Here in the US, even if you have good health insurance, it is quite likely that it will not cover a therapist. Or that it will cover only some meager number of visits in a year (like maybe 10). So generally speaking, you are probably going to have to pay out of pocket to see a therapist. This is a financial hardship in ANY economy. But when the economy is bad like it is now, the choice is often between putting food on the table or paying the mortgage/rent vs paying for therapy. Guess which one is going to lose. This may be negative. But it is reality. We may not have to wait to see a therapist here. But you better be prepared to pay.

[forwells]

Howdy Robbed

The negative bit i ment was that they were only keeping you for the money . I understand the rest .

I saw a lady twice before i decided that a 3 hour trip and cost was a waste . I knew more about anxiety than she did.

Yes we have national healthcare in Australia. Its still cost $140 a hour to vist for first 12 hours and then it goes to $240 a hour .

I am happy to say i cost me about $50 to learn more about anxiety than any therapist could have told me in a year . I found that most knew jack and were reading it from a book . You have to have lived with anxiety to know about it , No amount of reading is going to do that

cheers kev :D

[Robbed]

Bad therapists abound here in the US as well. It would seem that there are LOTS of people out there who think it is 'easy money' to just sit there and talk to someone for an hour and get paid $100. I myself saw three therapists who really couldn't help me before giving up on therapists. One of them even seemed like she saw me as just a pathetic piece of crap of a human being. I do agree that it takes someone REALLY special to actually help you. And having suffered with anxiety disorder themselves would certainly help improve the odds. However, such people are rare. And such a person would probably actually not have much of a backlog, at least here in the US. First of all, they would be hard to find. And second of all, since going to therapy is generally considered shameful here in the US, it's not like they would get alot of recommendation from clients. Of course, you also have to remember that medication is considered the preferred method of treatment here in the US. Medication is also covered by health plans (unlike therapy). So when you put it all together, there is a VERY strong disincentive to see a therapist here in the US.

On the other hand, I was quite surprised to see that therapy is actually MUCH more expensive in Australia. I never would have guessed that this is the case.

[ThePhoenix]

I actually thought it was about 10% of the population that had it and something like 40% who suffer it on occassion. There is something of a stigma with it though and I tell very few people about it, the only people who know is one of my mates, my gf, mum and my gfs mum.