40 Facts About Anxiety

26-30 Anxiety Facts

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26. Wil Wheaton suffers from generalized anxiety disorder and chronic depression. He supports mental health nonprofit organizations in raising awareness for these conditions. – Source

27. Using multiple forms of media at the same time is linked to anxiety. – Source

28. Studies showed that economic insecurity causes people to experience a lack of control, which activates psychological processes associated with anxiety and fear. This causes people to be more vulnerable to feeling physical pain and makes them more likely to rely on painkillers. – Source

29. Research supports the use of MDMA to treat social anxiety in autistic adults, and adverse events caused by the use of MDMA in a controlled setting are considered to be rare and non-life threatening. – Source

30. Lack of free play for children and little to no freedom to choose who they play with leads to mental health problems, such as anxiety, later in life. – Source

31-35 Anxiety Facts

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31. Up to half of the world, the population is infected with Toxoplasmosis, a parasitical infection possibly linked to anxiety. – Source

32. Cockroaches experience performance anxiety. A study found that cockroaches running through a hard maze will have more difficulties if other roaches are watching them. – Source

33. The patient S.M., a female who had a rare genetic condition which caused the destruction of her amygdala, had no capacity to experience anxiety, even when held at gunpoint. – Source

34. A shipyard worker set a fire aboard a nuclear submarine, causing $450M worth of damage because he was suffering from an anxiety attack and had no vacation or sick leave remaining. He was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $400 million in restitution. – Source

35. SSRI antidepressants (Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac, etc.) actually make certain areas of your brain bigger that are associated with positive self-thought. These areas are small in a lot of people with anxiety. – Source

36-40 Anxiety Facts

36. Dreams about losing teeth are one of the most commonly interpreted dreams, usually indicating anxiety or a profound change in your life. – Source

37. Tylenol has been shown to reduce the emotional pain associated with anxiety. – Source

38. Mitch Hedberg suffered from severe stage fright, and that this performance anxiety leads to his signature sunglasses and long hair look, and his unique style of delivery. – Source

39. When Social Anxiety Disorder was added to the DSM-III in 1980, it was barely diagnosed, considered a rare disorder, until the late 90s when the drug ‘Paxil’ was approved for treatment. Now, 5.3 million Americans are diagnosed with it and are the 3rd most prevalent psychiatric disorder. – Source

40. The feelings of anxiety created by not having your phone are called Nomophobia. – Source