Anticipatory Anxiety

Anxiety disorders can present serious diagnostic challenges. Everyone experiences degrees of anxiety that can be attributed to an infinite variety of causes, clinical and otherwise. Even in the case of individuals with significantly elevated levels of stress and anxiety in their lives an anxiety related diagnosis may still not be appropriate. This is not to say that all anxiety is created equal. Panic attacks are a dramatically unsettling experience. The fear and anticipatory anxiety of various phobic thought processes can be overwhelming to the point of being crippling. Given the complexity of accurately assessing and identifying anxiety symptoms and disorders it should be expected that many affected individuals will struggle to seek and receive adequate treatment. There are also social and cultural barriers to account for.
In As Good as It Gets the character of Carol, at times, seems to exemplify an individual suffering with high levels of general anxiety and worry that might well meet many of the criteria for …show more content…
Individuals may be told that their anxiety is normal and that they simply need to toughen up. It can be perceived as a weakness or moral failing, discouraging seeking help. It may be attributed to stress, or simply a nervous disposition. Our culture values and rewards sociability, confidence and stress tolerance, attributes that anxiety can undermine, resulting in isolation and reduced sense of self-worth. An individual’s anxiety itself may well discourage them from receiving treatment. Many are resistant to or stressed by medical environments, and financial concerns can further compound the problem. Combine these factors with an anxiety disorder and the likelihood of an individual successfully seeking and completing a course of treatment becomes woefully