Understanding Anxiety Disorder

By Katherine Spitz

Maybe you know a woman who checks her stove three times before leaving the house. Or, perhaps you have a friend who refuses to fly on a plane, or who seems to worry excessively about her children’s health. These women may brush off their quirks, but they are likely suffering – just like the millions of other women - with an anxiety disorder. While depression gets more media attention, anxiety disorders are actually the most common type of mental health problem in the United States. While the disorders affect about 13 percent of the general population in any given year, women are much more likely than men to be affected by certain anxiety problems, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. All too often, people suffer in silence, embarrassed. It’s a good bet that the suffering person won’t talk about having a problem at the sisterhood fund-raiser or by the office water cooler. All too often, people suffer in silence“The average person would be surprised at who has an anxiety disorder,” says Dr. Jeffrey Moore, a psychiatrist at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio. “There are many people you run into on a daily basis who have a diagnosable or diagnosed-and-treated anxiety disorder. While you don’t think they are especially calm people,” Moore continues, “You wouldn’t think they would have to seek therapy or be on medication.”