SECONDARY CONDITIONS OF ANXIETY DISORDERS: DIAGNOSIS AND THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
The what ifs
Getting a diagnosis with an inadequate, or no explanation, brings feelings of unease and disquiet. From these, the ‘what ifs’ are born. ‘What if the doctor has made a mistake?’ ‘What if there is really something wrong which has been overlooked?’. Our fear pushes the anxiety level higher and we do have another panic attack. The cycle of panic and anxiety has begun. We can’t imagine why, if we are only suffering from stress or anxiety, we can’t ‘pull ourselves together’. In fact, the harder we try, the worse we become.
The lack of understanding
The various treatments we try are either partially effective or completely ineffective. The responsibility is thrown onto us. We are not trying to ‘pull ourselves together’, we are ‘obviously getting something out of being this way’, we are ‘weak and have no will power’ or ‘no strength of character’.
Ineffective treatment does not mean we are ineffective people. The lack of understanding and inadequate treatment does make it appear to everyone, including family, friends and doctors that we can’t ‘pull ourselves together’. But what everyone doesn’t realise is that if it were so easy, we would have ‘pulled ourselves together’ long before now. Many of us are living with anxiety and panic attacks as constant companions, and the fear of what is happening to us can’t be brushed aside or dismissed so easily.
Without adequate understanding and treatment we do not know how to effectively control what is happening to us, so we use other forms of control in an effort to ease our situation. Ironically and tragically, many of the controls we use actually become the secondary conditions and help to compound and perpetuate the disorder. This in turn perpetuates and compounds the myth that we are not doing anything to help ourselves.
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Tags: Anti Depressants