every day lives. There‟s

no specific reason for

the cause, but anxiety

in teens could occur

from a divorce, loss in

the family, or too much

work or expectations

to do/reach. Because

Anxiety Disorders

could lead to depres-

sion, especially in

teenagers

(emotional/physical

changes), Anxiety

Disorders should not

be ignored or con-

fused with „”teenage

troubles”. Anxiety

Disorders can affect

a persons physical

state, test-taking

skills, and social

abilities.

The group of people

who have had an esca-

lating amount of af-

fected people over the

years with Anxiety ,are

teenagers. Their symp-

toms are usually

overlooked as just

“teenage troubles”

that every teenager

goes through but

Teenage anxiety is a

problem that needs

to be addressed. Just

like Adults, children

and teenagers suffer

from anxiety and as

teenagers get older

and go through

chemical/emotional

changes while be-

coming an adult

their stress skyrock-

ets and their emo-

tions are easily trig-

gered. Anxiety Disor-

ders can cause symp-

toms from dizziness to

a shortness of breathe.

These physical symp-

toms interfere with their

It’s taking a toll on me: Teenage Anxiety

Music Therapy and Anxiety

Music therapy is a way to

cope with or heal an ill-

ness. It is an established

profession and is scientifi-

cally proven to help with

side affects of anxiety from

surgery to general anxiety.

Music therapy can im-

prove focus, social interac-

tions, manage stress, ex-

press feelings, and more.

One of the reasons that it‟s

scientifically and medically

proven effective is it‟s af-

fect on breathing and heart

rate. People with an Anxi-

ety disorder such as a

Panic Disorder tend to

have high heart rates be-

cause this illness tends to

“”mimic”” the symptoms of

other illnesses/diseases

like breathing disorders,

heart disease, and thyroid

problems. If a person is

experiencing anxiety Music

alters the nervous system

in response to changed

brain waves and can slow

down a heart rate and calm

breathing due to the pace

of the music. Universities

have added programs for

this fairly new medical

career.

~The Central Conservatory

of Music~~

MICDS: Leah Thomas

Anxiety Disorder

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

Inside this

issue:

It’s taking a toll on

me

pg1

Music Therapy and

Anxiety

pg1

Life with Anxiety pg2

Anxiety medica-

tion?

pg2

Anxiety Disorders

in America

pg3

Bibliography pg4

Rescores pg4

11/24/2009 Volume 1, Issue 1

Living with anxiety can

be hard, but after the

problem is addressed

managing it can be

easy.

Peach Smith is a 22

year old female and

sufferer of GAD

(General Anxiety disor-

der). She reports “I did-

n‟t know what to do, I

was so stressed! All the

time”. When asked to

further explain her

symptoms she ex-

plained, “I would have

unusual muscle ten-

sion, trouble sleeping,

fatigue, and worry

about the littlest things

even if I knew in the

back of my head that I

was being irrational or

unrealistic”. Confused

on all of the symptoms

Peach reports that she

saw a doctor. The doc-

tor told her that all of

these symptoms we‟re

tale-tale signs of Anxi-

ety disorder and recom-

mended that she saw a

therapist and to un-

dergo Congestive-

Behavioral-Therapy.

According to the Anxi-

ety Disorder Associa-

tion of America (ADAA)

“ The goal of cognitive

therapy is to change

unwanted and disturb-

ing thought patterns.”

and “The goal of behav-

ior therapy is to modify

and gain control over

unwanted behavior.”

CBT is a common solu-

tion for less serious

Anxiety disorders and

is not long term. This

gave Peach and other

sufferers and outlet to

talk to and rationalize.

“I now know how to live

normally with Anxiety

disorder! But now I‟m

free!” says Peach. She

claims at first she didn't

know she had this dis-

order but now that

she‟s accepted it she

knows how to live her

life to the fullest. One

third of all people with

Anxiety Disorders never

get medical help proba-

bly because like Peach

they didn‟t know their

own illness. This is why

the public should be

informed of Anxiety

Disorder and learn how

to live with it.

Life with Anxiety: Peach Smith the true story. Symptoms and help

sion, double vision, confusion, and

depression. So if a patient is consid-

ering using medicine vs. other treat-

ments they should be aware of the

wide range of side-effects, some of

which are worse than the Anxiety

Disorder itself. Some users experi-

ence Mania, Hallucinations, aggres-

sive or impulsive behavior, and Hos-

tility and rage. If a person with Anxi-

ety disorder is debating whether

medication is the right choice for

them they should weigh the pros and

cons and try other forms of relief

first. Medication should be a last-

resort option.

“Anti-Anxiety” Medication?

Anxiety Disorders are usually treat-

able with relaxation techniques or

with therapist instruction, but when

symptoms of Anxiety become severe,

medication is one of the first options

doctors turn to. But when is it okay

to classify anxiety as “medicine

necessary”, what are the risks

and side-effects, and how to

make sure patients don‟t start

to rely on the medicine and

never get better?

One of the most popular anxi-

ety medicines are benzodi-

azepines which include Xanax,

Klonopin, Valium, and Ativan

all which are very strong medi-

cines. Side-effects include im-

paired thinking, drowsiness and

sleepiness, slurred speech, depres-

Page 2 Anxiety Disorder

It’s something

more than the av-

erage worry, it’s

not the usual

panic, you know

there’s something

wrong: Anxiety

Disorder.

“I didn’t know

what to do, I was

so stressed! All

of the time!”~

~Peach Smith

Life with Anxiety

Anxiety disorders can

be developed in a seri-

ous of different ways.

They can develop from

a chemical imbalance

in a persons body or

because of an unrealis-

tic sense of worry that

starts to interfere with

every day life. But,

whatever the explana-

tion is people with the

illness need help cop-

ing, living normally

with it, and maybe get-

ting rid of it all to- gether.

Anxiety disorders are

the most popular ill-

ness in the United

States. The Anxiety Dis-

order Association of

America has totaled

that this illness affects

18.1% of the US popula-

tion. Women are twice

as likely to be affected

by general anxiety dis-

order, specific phobias,

Post Traumatic stress

disorder and panic dis-

orders than men, but

OCD and social anxiety

disorders are equally

common amongst men

and women. Anxiety

disorders cost America

more than $42 million

dollars a year. $22 mil-

lion dollars (a year) go

towards someone seek-

ing medical attention

from a “mimic” symp-

tom of an anxiety dis-

order.

Anxiety disorder in America and The ADAA

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 1

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

Caption describing

picture or graphic.

A “mimic” symptom

in anxiety

disorder is a

physical symptom

caused by Anxiety

disorder thought

to be something

else. For example,

headaches,

fatigue, and

muscle tension.

Bibliography

Leah Thomas

Works Cited

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