What is Anxiety and Depression?

ATLANTA — Joseph Blackwell often recalls the good times, the sound of military jets, a reminder of life before darkness.

“I was very happy, cheerful and the center of attention. I liked being around all types of people and wanted to interact with people,” he explained.

Blackwell spent 24 years in the United States Navy before medical complications seriously halted his career.

Shortly after, Blackwell and his family began noticing a “change in personality”.

“I started social distancing.

Blackwell has since been diagnosed with PTSD, intermittent explosive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depression.

For many people, anxiety is a crippling and debilitating mental health illness. With nearly 40 million adults fighting in America, According to the American Anxiety and Depression Association.

“Everyone feels anxiety. We are animals. We are wired to experience anxiety. It motivates us to survive.

Jewel Gooding is an Atlanta-based mental health advocate and executive director. shame of silenceThroughout her life, she has shared some of the same struggles with anxiety. It has been found that it can lead to positivity, such as normalizing conversations with people.

“For me, it was welcome. I don’t want anyone to label me, but I wouldn’t label myself generalized anxiety disorder. It’s just a diagnosis I have.” For me, it’s about recognizing that there’s a medical condition and it’s something, and there are things you can do to better support yourself so you can live a fuller, healthier life,” she said. said.

Gooding was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in her early twenties. Like most of her children, her childhood is filled with memories of choirs and spelling her bee. But for her, those memories carry a heavy burden.

“My mother, trying to support me in every way, pushed me into that position, which forced me to become more social. In my mind, it’s like you’re causing and causing panic in me,” Gooding recalls.

“I didn’t have any understanding of it. To me, it was my personality. It’s exactly who I was as a character and as a person. I am aware that other people’s reactions are a little different in a given situation or simply in a given general life.

Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

“Anxiety has a lot to do with worrying about the future, worrying about what’s going to happen next,” said Jesse Gold, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University’s St. Louis School of Medicine.

Recently, the Federal Health Task Force draft guidance People under the age of 65 are recommended to be screened for anxiety. The final guidance is currently undergoing review by a panel of medical experts before being published.

For many people, a diagnosis could be life-changing early in life.

“As a child, I was told that I was shy or would be put another way, but my anxiety was never taken into account. I really did, says business consultant and yoga teacher Rachel Abraham.

Overall, there are five main types of anxiety disorders.

• generalized anxiety disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• panic disorder
• PTSD
• social phobia

Mental health professionals are encouraged by the new guidance, but also express skepticism, citing lack of resources.

“If you screen it, you need to know what to do with people later. I think we’re having a lot of trouble knowing if we should do it. So I’m a little worried that we won’t be able to help people sooner with more screening,” Gold added.

For Abraham, it’s been a journey that she feels is still evolving.

“I tried to deal with it behind closed doors. Acknowledge and accept that you are part of the department.

Nearly 10 million adults report severe symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders. Kaiser Family FoundationHowever, 33% of them do not receive treatment.

“A lot of people will say I’m strong, I can handle it. It’s hard,” Rosbaum said.

For people like Blackwell, the support of his family means he can continue on his path to mental and physical health.

“When I was diagnosed with PTSD, intermittent explosive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depression. I felt like a second-class person,” he said.

His mental health diagnosis came on the heels of a series of health complications that he believed likely stemmed from his more than two decades of responsibility as a US Navy diver. They left him with a feeding tube, a pacemaker and a medical port in his chest.

“It took me a few days and with the support of my wife and kids to say, ‘OK, this is where we are.’ You have to .. take a deep breath and take the first step,” Blackwell said.