[CosmicRose]

I've been hearing a lot of people refer to anxiety as a mental illness. This is kind of upsetting for me to read because I never considered myself to be mentally ill - that comes with a huge stigma that I don't want to place on myself.
I have had trouble with worry or anxiety my entire life - mostly related to school or work. I never considered myself "mentally ill". But other people are saying those who suffer from anxiety have a mental illness. What?? That would mean that not only do I have to deal with anxiety, I have to deal with the fact that there is something ill about my mind? Like I'm going to go crazy or that I don't think right or that there's something fundamentally wrong with my personality or brain?
Since when did anxiety become classified as mental illness? I thought anxiety was actually just a sad normal part of life and the body's natural response, that is hard for some people to deal with.

Side Note: I also feel really embarrassed when someone knows I have anxiety, or I admit it to people. This doesn't relate directly to the question, but I feel like people look down on me for not being strong enough to stop feeling anxious about certain things. The embarrassment from people just knowing I have anxiety almost makes it worse because I feel like they would be scrutinizing me or trying to see how my anxiety affects the things I say or do, like for example, being on a date with a man who knows I have anxiety - makes me feel less than confident in myself.

[mannasat81]

I believe anxiety/depression is a mental disorder. I actually have felt this way for years, but I googled the question earlier tonight because someone got offended that I said mental disorder...
Unfortunately people back away when they hear that...but they also back away when they hear things they don't understand, such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks...
Don't let the label worry you. You are you. Nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. It's not like we ask for this to happen to us. I look forward to getting to know you and we can fight the stigma together!

[music junkie]

I don't think of it or label it as a mental illness myself, even though I am aware that it is categorized as such.

I do feel though that there IS something ill with my mind, that there IS something wrong with my thinking sometimes. Otherwise, I like to think that I would be able to control my feelings a lot better, & not get so overwhelmed or panicky in everyday situations. To me, my panic attacks are definitely not a normal part of life. I don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong with me; I feel that implies something that can't be fixed, & I don't think that's the case at all.

Anxiety can certainly be a normal part of life in certain situations, but the disorder is definitely an illness, & not something that everyone experiences. To me, it's the same as depression. Lots of people experience some form of mild depression at some point in their lives. But it is nothing like what people who have major depressive disorder experience.

[Pink3032]

Its only a disorder if its interferes with everday life .if your anxiey is so bad that you miss school or work.I have Generalized Anxiety but in my case its not bad enough to be diagnosed as a disorder ,because i still. do the things that i like to do.Its nothing to be ashamed about everynody has anxiety to some degree but people with anxiety struggle with it at times.

[tradika]

Anxiety disorders are mental illnesses. Mine (I have several) are genetic. Like mood disorders, they can be quite debilitating if left untreated. I was left unable to leave the house for several years. I can promise you that an anxiety disorder can negatively impact your life as much as a mood disorder can!

[summerblueskies]

Originally Posted by CosmicRose

I've been hearing a lot of people refer to anxiety as a mental illness. This is kind of upsetting for me to read because I never considered myself to be mentally ill - that comes with a huge stigma that I don't want to place on myself.
I have had trouble with worry or anxiety my entire life - mostly related to school or work. I never considered myself "mentally ill". But other people are saying those who suffer from anxiety have a mental illness. What?? That would mean that not only do I have to deal with anxiety, I have to deal with the fact that there is something ill about my mind? Like I'm going to go crazy or that I don't think right or that there's something fundamentally wrong with my personality or brain?
Since when did anxiety become classified as mental illness? I thought anxiety was actually just a sad normal part of life and the body's natural response, that is hard for some people to deal with.

Side Note: I also feel really embarrassed when someone knows I have anxiety, or I admit it to people. This doesn't relate directly to the question, but I feel like people look down on me for not being strong enough to stop feeling anxious about certain things. The embarrassment from people just knowing I have anxiety almost makes it worse because I feel like they would be scrutinizing me or trying to see how my anxiety affects the things I say or do, like for example, being on a date with a man who knows I have anxiety - makes me feel less than confident in myself.

Hi CosmicRose. Anxiety is absolutely a normal part of life and happens to everyone. It should not be confused with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). If anxiety is getting in the way of daily experiences (like driving or being in a crowd) and causing you to avoid them, that is probably a disorder. If you have panic attacks you should definitely seek out help. I would not worry so much about the label "mental illness" since that encompasses such a wide range of different things. At first, I assumed that no one would understand my heightened level of stress. But I opened up to my friends about it and they were very sympathetic. Try not to be embarrassed about it either. Just have faith that you can and you will overcome these feelings.

[Hellion]

To me it is, or at least a disorder due to how it interferes with my life...I also have PTSD on top of just regular anxiety disorder, with already existing sensory issues due to being on the autism spectrum(basically means things like light, noise ect. is more intense for me).

[IrisBloom]

Apparently the terms "illness" and "disorder" are interchangeable. Here is a list of currently recognized MI's. Do you know anyone who doesn't have at least one?

Acute stress disorder Adjustment disorder Amnesia Anxiety disorder Anorexia nervosa Antisocial personality disorder Asperger syndrome Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder Autism Autism spectrum disorder Autophagia Avoidant personality disorder Bereavement Bestiality Bibliomania Binge eating disorder Bipolar disorder Body dysmorphic disorder Borderline personality disorder Brief psychotic disorder Bulimia nervosa Childhood disintegrative disorder Circadian rhythm sleep disorder Conduct disorder Conversion disorder Cyclothymia Delirium Delusional disorder Dementia Dependent personality disorder Depersonalization disorder Depression Developmental coordination disorder Disorder of written expression Dissociative fugue Dissociative identity disorder Down syndrome Dyslexia Dyspareunia Dysthymic disorder Erotomania Encopresis Enuresis Exhibitionism Expressive language disorder Factitious disorder Folie à deux Ganser syndrome Gender identity disorder Generalized anxiety disorder General adaptation syndrome Histrionic personality disorder Hyperactivity disorder Primary hypersomnia Hypochondriasis Hyperkinetic syndrome Hysteria Intermittent explosive disorder Joubert syndrome Kleptomania Mania Munchausen syndrome Mathematics disorder Narcissistic personality disorder Narcolepsy Nightmares Obsessive-compulsive disorder Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder Oneirophrenia Oppositional defiant disorder Pain disorder Panic attacks Panic disorder Paranoid personality disorder Parasomnia Pathological gambling Perfectionism Pervasive developmental disorder Pica Postpartum Depression Post-traumatic stress disorder Primary insomnia Psychotic disorder Pyromania Reading disorder Reactive attachment disorder Retts disorder Rumination syndrome Schizoaffective disorder Schizoid Schizophrenia Schizophreniform disorder Schizotypal personality disorder Seasonal affective disorder Self Injury Separation anxiety disorder Sadism and masochism Shared psychotic disorder Sleep disorder Sleep terror disorder Sleepwalking disorder Social anxiety disorder Somatization disorder Stereotypic movement disorder Stuttering Suicide Tourette syndrome Transient tic disorder Trichotillomania

[tradika]

We are definitely going to be the majority fairly soon! <3 IrisBloom

[CosmicRose]

That reminded me of a well-known psychiatrist who said eventually people stopped being people with personalities and just started becoming mental diagnosis to him...paraphrasing of course

[Raghib Ahmed]

This is a really interesting post and I know what you mean.

It sucks that the word mental has 2 meanings. 1 for being mad or insane, and the other referring to the mind (which is what anxiety falls under). The former definition definitely doesn't help with the stigma though does it. And well illness isn't exactly a nice word to be labelled with either. No one wants to be seen as weak or like there's something wrong with them.

But look at it this way, the flu could be considered a sort of mental (mind) illness, or body illness. Someone who injured their leg could be seen as to have a body illness. These people are 'ill' but you wouldn't look down upon them or think that they're less of a person right? That's the same with anxiety. You're not less of a person. Everyone has anxiety to some extent. But even if you're anxiety is prevalent in your life, that doesn't mean it's something to be embarassed about.

If people look down on you then they're either ignorant of anxiety or just not nice people. If they're ignorant then you can try teaching them about it so they can understand it a bit better. But if they're not willing to understand it and aren't nice people, then that's a good indicator for you that you shouldn't bother with these types of people. If people can't look past the simple, narrow labels and look down on you, then you know they're not good people to have in your life.

Labels are simply labels, nothing more or less. They're a way to compartmentalise things to make it easier to understand them. With the increase in mental health research and understanding of the brain, there have been an influx of disorders and 'illnesses' that have also been compartmentalised under the mental illness label. There seems to be so many things that are considered 'mental illnesses' (as IrisBloom has greatly shown) that I'm sure EVERYONE is 'mentally ill' in some way...

[Disorder7]

I think it depends on how much it impacts your life. Most people get nervous or anxious before job interviews or blind dates. That kind of anxiety is just a part of life.

But if you are driving down the road and get hit with a panic attack, pull the car over and blindly stumble around in traffic, then obviously there's something more going on than everyday living.

I like to think of myself as mentally interesting, not mentally ill.

Some days I get so discouraged and wish I could just be "normal" whatever that is. But other days I'm thankful that I don't have some awful physical disease, not yet, anyway.

I'm glad my doctor's appointment tomorrow is with a psychiatrist and not an oncologist. I know there are many, many people who would gladly trade their problems for mine. I try to remember that.

[lucami]

here most of ppl think that anxiety is a mental illness, but law doesn't, so it's very hard to get any support, free therapist, anything, because by the law anxiety is not an any kind of illness :s but anyway, i personally don't care anymore if people think that i'm mental or not, whatever, i would like to be just myself, my old self without fear of everything

Originally Posted by CosmicRose

I've been hearing a lot of people refer to anxiety as a mental illness. This is kind of upsetting for me to read because I never considered myself to be mentally ill - that comes with a huge stigma that I don't want to place on myself.
I have had trouble with worry or anxiety my entire life - mostly related to school or work. I never considered myself "mentally ill". But other people are saying those who suffer from anxiety have a mental illness. What?? That would mean that not only do I have to deal with anxiety, I have to deal with the fact that there is something ill about my mind? Like I'm going to go crazy or that I don't think right or that there's something fundamentally wrong with my personality or brain?
Since when did anxiety become classified as mental illness? I thought anxiety was actually just a sad normal part of life and the body's natural response, that is hard for some people to deal with.

Side Note: I also feel really embarrassed when someone knows I have anxiety, or I admit it to people. This doesn't relate directly to the question, but I feel like people look down on me for not being strong enough to stop feeling anxious about certain things. The embarrassment from people just knowing I have anxiety almost makes it worse because I feel like they would be scrutinizing me or trying to see how my anxiety affects the things I say or do, like for example, being on a date with a man who knows I have anxiety - makes me feel less than confident in myself.

Sometimes. I think it depends on the degree. Think comparing sadness to depression. Sadness as an emotion brought on by a saddening situation is a normal human response. Depression is not a normal state.
Anxiety or apprehension is a valid and normal response in some situations. Free floating or generalized anxiety is not a normal valid state.
It's best not to worry about what people think. People will think what they will.

[tradika]

Originally Posted by lucami

here most of ppl think that anxiety is a mental illness, but law doesn't, so it's very hard to get any support, free therapist, anything, because by the law anxiety is not an any kind of illness :s but anyway, i personally don't care anymore if people think that i'm mental or not, whatever, i would like to be just myself, my old self without fear of everything

Actually, this isn't correct. I'm not sure about what country you are in, but in the US you can get treatment at a free clinic. If that wasn't so, there would be a lot of agoraphobics who were lifetime agoraphobics. That isn't to good for the state. No workee, no taxees!

[Partless]

Originally Posted by CosmicRose

Since when did anxiety become classified as mental illness?

Anxiety is not a mental illness. Or else 100% of the population would be mentally ill. It's about distress and suffering, so it's about severity of the anxiety and how often you're anxious and how much it interferes with your life.

[lucami]

tradika I'm not from US, I'm from Poland and things looks different here;/ you can get free help only if you have insurance, but even with this it's like months of waiting for getting psychiatrist, therapist, if you have a luck, i often hear 'sorry too many patients look in other clinic'.. and most of them are like talking with you for 5 min and them 'I don't care take random meds maybe it will help' >.>
actually I have agoraphobia and nobody cares, still living with parents but if I would be on my own I probably wold have to live on streets or go to mental hospital.. till now I have to go to job interviews every month if I don't want to lose my insurance, and it's very stressful, I'm able to do it only thanks to tips from ppl from internet, my last therapist said nothing about it, I asked her what I should do, same with doc, and the only reply was silence.. great, huh? .__.

[CosmicRose]

Originally Posted by lucami

tradika I'm not from US, I'm from Poland and things looks different here;/ you can get free help only if you have insurance, but even with this it's like months of waiting for getting psychiatrist, therapist, if you have a luck, i often hear 'sorry too many patients look in other clinic'.. and most of them are like talking with you for 5 min and them 'I don't care take random meds maybe it will help' >.>
actually I have agoraphobia and nobody cares, still living with parents but if I would be on my own I probably wold have to live on streets or go to mental hospital.. till now I have to go to job interviews every month if I don't want to lose my insurance, and it's very stressful, I'm able to do it only thanks to tips from ppl from internet, my last therapist said nothing about it, I asked her what I should do, same with doc, and the only reply was silence.. great, huh? .__.

That's pretty much the exact same way it is here in the U.S. at least from my own personal experience. The last time I saw a therapist was 5 years ago in my teens. There are usually always waiting lists, or some kind of insurance coverage rules, etc. And the therapists I saw did literally the same thing - they just stare at you and have nothing to say! Like why are some people even in that field if they can't offer any solid advice?
The only thing my therapist ever talked about was CBT, but she never even implemented it. At one point I even had 2 therapists in the same room as me, and I can recall them BOTH staring at me after I spilled my heart out. I stopped going to therapy because I realized it was nothing more than a paycheck to them and all I was doing was rehashing my own issues with no real progress. Safe to say I've lost faith in the mental health profession.

[stephenss]

Anxiety is classified as a mental disorder i'm pretty sure.

[SillyKitty]

OP: It depends on the effects it has on your life. Everybody's anxious, but not everyone is mentally ill. I'm diagnosed as suffering from GAD because my anxiety blooms into panic attacks hit me 1-2 times a week.

There is nothing wrong about being "mentally ill." First: you only have to tell the people you feel like telling. Second: The way it reads is that people are normal or not normal. I read your post and immediately thought of the people I'd rather not tell. That may not be the case, but I certainly read it that way. I basically feel like I've been insulted as being "other."

[pachyderm]

Being anxious is a part of the mechanisms that humans have in responding to possible dangers. But the response can get exaggerated, or become detached from the danger that caused it originally, and become a disorder, or illness. There are a number of disorders that are thought to be anxiety disorders, even when that is not apparent on the surface. OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), for instance, can be a defense mechanism that controls anxiety or converts it into other symptoms, so the anxiety does not completely overwhelm you. Personally, I think most mental illnesses are essentially anxiety disorders, or have large components of anxiety in them.