introduction

Well, if you're here, you' probably ended up here for a number of reasons.
1. You're one of our friends at tAPir who followed our link or heard about us in the chat rooms
2. You're one of our friends or family who came because we've been sending out the link to get them to see it
3. You're a teen, with anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, etc, or who thinks you have one of the above, and doesn't exactly know what to do. Well, you've come to the right place! (boy, does that sound corny or what. But it's true - you have.)

Here are some common questions about anxiety. They will probably be moved to a FAQ sooner or later, but right now we've yet to have any questions, period, so here they are, here.

What is anxiety? What is depression?
Well, frankly, you'd be better off going to a more medical site because I'm not too good at defining stuff, but GAD is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which basically means that you worry 24/7 about nothing of any particular importance. This type of anxiety tends to rule your life, because no matter how trivial the thing, you really, really worry about it. Depression is a state of mind which you can't get out of. You feel sad, hopeless, worthless - all the time. Other Anxieties may be more specific, like Social Anxiety (SAD). SAD is when you are nervous in most social settings, and may be afraid of stranger or meeting people in authority. Lots of times anxiety disorders and depression occur together. For more specifics check out the links. If you want to know whether you have depression or anxiety, I suggest that you go to one of the tests we have available through the Links page, or ask your school guidance counselor, a parent or friend to help you.

INTRODUTION TO ANXIETY

What is a panic attack? How do I tell if I'm having one?
First of all - if you're having a panic attack, you'll know. Symptoms may include a sudden feeling of dizziness, racing pulse and nausea. You feel like you're having a heart attack, like the world is closing in on you. Literally, you feel as if you're about to die and you may feel like dying at that moment. It is not a good feeling, trust me. You are unable to breathe, and your mind is going haywire. You may start to shake and be unable to stop; your mouth may go dry, you may sweat excessively and feel numb all over. Very occasionally you'll throw up.

Does having an anxiety disorder make me 'crazy'? Am I insane?
I cannot emphasize this enough, because I've had to deal with people thinking that I'm insane before. YOU ARE NOT CRAZY. YOU ARE A NORMAL PERSON WHO HAS A PROBLEM. Having an anxiety disorder simply means that you have too much or too little seratonin in your bloodstream. To give an extremely simple answer to an otherwise extremely complicated explanation, seratonin is a chemical which acts like oil on a roadway. Have too little, and your brain slows down - that's depression. Have too much, and the messages get sent to your brain way too fast and way too often - that's anxiety. Sometimes anxiety can be caused by other things though. Social Anxiety in particular is very often genetic, but it can also be caused by traumas you experienced earlier in your life.

What about medicines? Are they good or bad? What are you on? What do you recommend?

It is a VERY controversial subject whether meds are good or bad. Some people will try to tell you that your disorder doesn't merit any kind of medication, or that you can't recover at all if you don't take something. It's okay to go by recommendations at first, but you MUST see a doctor and discuss which med - if any - would be right for YOU. If you want information on medicine I really do suggest you talk to a doctor or go to a more professional site. We wouldn't want to mislead anyone here. I have heard that some "nerve" meds, like xanax and others in it's family, are addicting. They are the meds you usually use when you have a panic attack. But everything works differently for everyone, so don't just go by what we say here.

Any other questions that need answering? Send them in!