Anxiety is not a personality trait

We talk to people every day who are confused by the feedback they get from those around them when they communicate their anxiety. People are dismissed, or told “it’s all in your mind”. For some people, it may well be “all in the mind”…but that doesn’t mean that you can always easily “think” your way out of anxiety.

For others, the anxiety they experience seems justified because of the circumstances they are in, and it seems inconceivable that there can be ways to respond to the things that occur around us (or happen to us) that don’t involve a heightened anxious response.

Sometimes anxiousness is a learned, conditioned response. Sometimes some people are naturally more anxious than others, and it doesn’t really bother them. But if you don’t feel right, and if it is affecting your well-being, then that is a signal to reach out for some help. And help is available, in many places.

This opinion piece on the SBS website is worth a read:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/25/comment-i-can-cope-or-just-snap-out-it-not-key-mental-wellbeing

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