Anxiety: A Silent Epidemic
There are so many manifestations of anxiety, and they are so frequently the cause of medical consults, that many experts have already categorized it as a true epidemic. It is felt in a variety of ways: difficulty sleeping, panic attacks, a wide range of phobias, etc. What they all have in common is that insidious fear which strikes on an everyday basis.
Faced with this phenomenon, the healthcare world is already working on several responses. There is an important supply of medication. On one hand, there is the traditional kind: a whole army of anxiolytics developed in pharmaceutical labs, which promise to reduce your levels of anxiety. However, this medication, besides having atrocious side effects, usually only provide temporary solutions. That is to say, their effect only lasts while you keep consuming them.
There is also a huge supply of alternative medication: “naturists”, homeopathic, and bioenergetic solutions. That, of course, without taking into account all of the home remedies against anxiety: Valerian or Melissa water, baths in warm water and all sorts of traditional tricks. However, none of them seem to quite work.
The anxiety epidemic emerged within the collective mind
All of the phenomenons that take place within the mind are reflected upon the body. Most of the time, it takes place in this order: first in the mind, then in the body. Only a certain low percentage of cases take place the other way around: first the body and then in the mind. It happens when, for example, you have a very high fever or have consumed a substance which alters your perception, among other cases.
Thus, the success of intervention with psychopharmaceuticals is limited. They reduce the symptom, that’s true. But they don’t solve whatever is causing it to begin with. Medication, of any kind, should only be seen as a limited and temporary aid, not as a definite solution.
The true solution only appears if the real cause of the anxiety is attacked. The problem is that, as many experts say, the current times in their entirety are causing anxiety for many. Everything takes place in vertigo-inducing speeds, and the psychological tools we have cannot process reality at the same pace. That’s why now anxiety is not an individual problem, but an authentic epidemic.
Why is it called a “silent” epidemic?
One of the most complex aspects of this anxiety epidemic lies in the fact that it’s very hard to verbalize it. Each individual feels a daily uneasiness within, one which doesn’t let them sleep. It keeps them in a bad mood or leads them to immerse themselves into tyrannical routines. But, in turn, this individual finds it very difficult to put what they are feeling into words.
Each person feels as if something is left over, extra, surplus. A weight that they would like to rid themselves of, but which they can’t seem to quite identify. “Where does that sensation of weight, of excess, come from? Where does that burden reside? Do I currently have the wrong job? Maybe the relationships I maintain are negative? Where should I orient my life in order to feel better?”… These are the questions that arise without invitation.
It’s as if their existence was completely overwhelmed by something the person doesn’t even need. The sensation is similar to the one you feel when you enter a crowed room, cluttered with unnecessary objects. You know that you should put things in proper order, but there is so much to organize that you can’t even make out where the exit is.
From the epidemic to the individual
Science has put a lot of effort into designing generic or standardized solutions. At the end of the day, that’s its goal: extracting universal solutions for particular problems. However, in regards to human subjectivity, this type of approach tends to be very unfortunate. Ultimately, they don’t resolve anything.
That’s why there’s an epidemic of anxiety, and that’s why it goes hand in hand with the complicity of the silence which emerges from the drama of each person’s personal life. The answer to this uneasiness can only be found by each person, for and by themselves. There is no solution that can be applied to every single case. There is no magic formula or universal equation that can be applied just as efficiently for everyone. Everyone has to find their own path to resolve their difficulty sleeping, their feeling of oppression or suffocation, their recurrent annoyance…
Also, each one of us should understand that in order to resolve their anxiety, the first thing they have to do is confront novelty, face the void. It’s absolutely necessary for you to break your ties with the usual. It’s the only way to start clearing some space in that cluttered mental space. A therapy which liberates your means of expression is also a good alternative. As well as relaxation techniques which contribute to opening that window within your overwhelmed mind.
