Societal Views of Anxiety

Based on personal experience, I have seen that society has a very mixed-bag approach when it comes to viewing anxiety. Some view anxiety with extreme caution, while in other situations anxiety is viewed as a very sweet and charming characteristic to have. The reasons for these conflicting views are hard to find, but this article will do its best to present societal views of anxiety and what a person might do to use those views to benefit him or herself and educate others about anxiety.

As a general rule, anxiety-sufferers seem to think that anxiety only leads to negative consequences and views by others, so this article will start off with an example that demonstrates the exact opposite case. One way in which anxiety can be beneficial to an individual is that most often, parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, or any other peers tend to view socially anxious people as being "good" or "well-behaved." This is definitely not always the case, but very often people who are socially anxious do have a good heart that aims to help other people and lead a moral life.

However, when the anxiety is raring its ugly head and is really showing itself to others through an individual, it most often brings negative consequences. When a socially anxious person attempts to talk in a group of people, they tend to overlook this person, as he or she seems "weak," and most people in society are ready to take advantage of anyone who comes across as weak.

Another societal view that is a drawback about anxiety is that people who are very anxious in social situations are perceived as being less competent. This means that when it comes to promotions at work or becoming the leader of the group, the anxious person is often overlooked or put to the side in favor of someone else who might seem more qualified for taking charge, but in actuality may not.

Another negative view of those with anxiety is that they are helpless and need others to do certain things for them which they cannot do for themselves. Most people tend to become frustrated by this behavior and start to do things for the anxious person, however, anxious people really do not want the help because it is either highly embarrassing or because they want to learn how to do things on their own time when others are not around. Some, unfortunately, do not want the help because they feel worthless and like they will never be able to do anything right; of all the negative effects of anxiety, this is the biggest tragedy.

Finally, and it is always important to close on a positive note, those who are significantly impacted by anxiety, at least in the case of men, are viewed as being very sweet and charming by women. Women tend to flock around and tease men who are socially anxious because socially anxious men are very non-threatening and women know they can go to these men in time of need without worrying about sexual advances being made upon them.

Despite all these different conflicting views of the anxious, the bottom line is that anxiety-sufferers just want to be people like everyone else. They do not want any special help or attention; they just want the job, the relationship, the family, and the friends that everyone else seems to have. They want to have these things and do the things that others do without any special attention. This seems to be what all people want, and it is what everyone can have, including the anxious, if they just continue to work away at what is holding them back in life.

References

Janeaz. (2009). Are people mad at you for your anxiety? About.com: Panic Disorder Forum. Retreived April 30, 2009 from http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-panicdisrdr&tid=20421