A mental health literacy series, in collaboration with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Anxiety
When does it become a concern?
Anxiety vs Anxiety disorders: Anxiety is an expected part of our lives. We all feel anxiety when we are in danger or stressful situations like a job interview or taking a test. However, there is a difference between feeling anxious and having an anxiety disorder. For a person with an anxiety disorder, they experience excessive fears and anxieties which interferes with aspects of their daily lives such as schoolwork and relationships.
Prevalence in Singapore: While anxiety can be disabling, it is important to know that you are not alone, and it is highly treatable. Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental illnesses in Singapore. The Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS) 2016 found that around 60,000 Singaporeans had experienced GAD within that year (Subramaniam et al., 2019). However, a vast majority (62.1%) did not seek help for their recent anxiety issues, with almost half of them experiencing moderate to severe symptoms (Chang et al., 2019). These statistics suggest that there is a stigma surrounding mental illness and there is a need to encourage people who are suffering to seek help.
Importance of therapy
Why should you seek help?
Consequences:
When left untreated, individuals with GAD can suffer from severe consequences, such as a reduced level of functioning and increased occurrences of illnesses. This results in more frequent doctor visits leading them to be absent from work or study (Institute of Mental Health, 2012). Additionally, people often try to cope with their anxiety by avoiding situations that cause such negative reactions. For example, students that often suffer from panic attacks in school might avoid going to school. However, avoidance can backfire, and cause problems related to their school performance, family or their daily lives, which increases their anxiety. Furthermore, people who have untreated anxiety disorder are at risk of suffering from other mental disorders such as depression, and they also tend to abuse drugs or alcohol (American Psychological Association, 2008). Adolescents with untreated anxiety have a higher risk of developing other co-occurring anxiety disorders and behaviour disorders. These adolescents also tend to experience academic underachievement and impairments in social and emotional functioning (Simpson, Suarez, & Connolly, 2012).
Benefits of Therapy:
A widely used treatment for GAD is psychotherapy, which helps to eliminate symptoms to improve the functioning of someone with mental illness and their well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2020). A form of psychotherapy that is highly effective in treating GAD is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Through CBT, patients learn how to recognise and change their unhelpful ways of thinking that contribute to their anxiety. CBT targeting GAD in children and adolescents showed reduction in GAD symptoms and improvements were largely maintained after treatment. It has also led to significant reductions in the rate of co-occurring disorders and had significant effects on child and parent-reported worry, anxiety, depression, peer problems, overall impairment, and quality of life (Perrin, Bavan, Payne, & Bolton, 2019).
Help-seeking
What are some barriers that stop people from seeking help?
- Low mental health literacy
Individuals with anxiety disorders are more unlikely to seek treatment if they fail to recognise that they have an illness, their symptoms and effects of these symptoms (Coles & Coleman, 2010).
- Stigma
Public and self-stigmatising beliefs about anxiety serve as a prominent barrier to help-seeking. A Singaporean study on public attitudes towards mental illness found that 48.7% of respondents reported that they ‘would not want anyone to know that they are suffering from a mental illness’ (Chong et al, 2007). This fear of judgement from others is likely to result in a reluctance to seek help.
- Need for parental consent
Parents are key gatekeepers for adolescent mental health care, as their consent is required for minors to seek professional help. However, minors are often reluctant to ask for their consent due to their need for privacy and fears that their parents do not understand mental health issues (Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2020). As a result, they are less likely to seek professional help.
- Skepticism of help
People tend to believe that medication and therapy are only somewhat helpful or not helpful at all. Thus, skeptical of the effectiveness of treatment and are less likely to seek help (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Gollust, 2007).
How can you seek help?
- Seek resources to understand more about anxiety disorders
Seeking resources can help to improve our mental health literacy to learn more about symptoms, when is it necessary to seek help, and the available services (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson, & Ciarrochi, 2005). Reading this web article is already an example of help-seeking behaviour. Some community help-seeking resources listed below also provide information on mental illnesses.
- Talking to a friend
- Tell a trusted adult
Individuals often engage in informal help-seeking where they turn to social relationships like friends and family. Adolescents tend to turn to informal help first, with friends ranked first followed by their family compared to seeking formal help like seeing healthcare professionals. However, since friends and family are untrained, informal help may not help adolescents to deal with their problems effectively. In contrast, professional help-seeking will be more useful in reducing mental health risks (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson, & Ciarrochi, 2005).
Hence, consider the following formal help-seeking behaviour:
- Talk to a school counsellor
- Community help-seeking resources listed below:
(Click on the links for more information!)
| Institute of Mental HealthTrained counsellors will be able to help those who are facing a mental health crisis. Mental Health Helpline Tel: 6389 2222 (24 hours)Outpatient Clinics | Samaritans of SingaporeTrained volunteers that provide emotional support for those in distressTel: 1800-221 4444 (24-Hour Hotline)Email Befriending: pat@sos.org.sg | Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH)Improve the lives of persons with mental health issues including youths and provide support for their families.Helpline Tel: 1800-283 7019 (Mon – Fri; 9am to 6pm)Rehabilitation Services (SAMH YouthReach) |
| TOUCH Community ServicesEmpower youths by providing them with emotional support.TOUCHline (Counselling) Tel: 1800-377 2252 (Mon – Fri; 9am to 6pm)TOUCH Youth Intervention: Do You M.I.N.D, Upper Room | Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT)Supports young people with mental health concernsEmail: chat@mentalhealth.sgTel: 6493 6500/01 (Tuesdays to Saturdays, 12pm to 9pm) Make a CHAT Referral | Silver RibbonProvide support for people with mental health issues and their familiesTel: 6386 1928 (Mon – Fri; 9am to 5pm)Complimentary Counselling Services: H.O.L.A, The Linkage, Raintree Sanctuary |
Shared with permission. This content was provided by Year Two Ngee Ann Polytechnic students created in consultation with The Psychology Practice.
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