COLUMN: We all probably have at least a little of it

Years ago I was convinced that everyone, yes, everyone, has some level of anxiety in their lives. How that amount impacts the person’s typical, daily routines and others around them is what determines if the person needs help.

I think I was right.

According to a report earlier this month, doctors should regularly screen all adults younger than 65 for anxiety.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended anxiety screening in care for adults without symptoms.

After what we have gone through since early 2020, it makes sense to me. I can’t think of any part of life the COVID-19 pandemic influenced, and not in a good way. I will vouch for that, too. The pandemic made me lose a job and it was months away from my kids’ starting their senior year in high school.

My previous job was eliminated in early June. My previous job before that was also eliminated virtually the same time. I admit, I get a little anxious about job security in June.

Growth in mental health problems connected to the pandemic isolation and stress, the guidance is “very timely,” said Lori Pbert, a task force member and co-author of the report. Pbert is a psychologist-researcher at the University of Massachusetts’ Chan Medical School.

But even before COVID, anxiety was not new to adults.

Anxiety disorders are common mental health complaints, affecting about 40% of U.S. women at some point in their lives and more than 1 in 4 men, Pbert said.

I like to think mental health is starting to lose its stigma that the whoever needs counseling is weak

Causes for anxiety are broad. I know of people who change during health-care appointments or even minor procedures. It’s safe to say they also get second opinions about their second opinions. Since COVID was a health-based threat, the anxiety of those people significantly increased.

There are other people who have anxiety over spending money or how they are perceived in public. Most of the money fears are irrational as spending X amount won’t force a bankruptcy case. That’s more hyperbole.

I’m sure this mental condition we all face has been with us since we have been on Earth. But as we have progressed and developed, those odds of happening increase.

It’s OK to ask for help to better confront the anxiety and know how to control it, rather than it control you.

Melissa Lewis-Duarte, a counselor in Scottsdale, Arizona, suggested rhythmic breathing, meditation and making a daily list of three things for which she is grateful have all helped with her anxiety.

I like the daily list idea. I’ll go in a different direction. I’ve heard other counselors tell their clients to keep notes of good moments or people in their life and go as far back as they can. The more a person lists the more material they have to work with. They don’t have to make the same references when needed.

“Doctors say, ‘Make sure you’re sleeping, control your stress.’ Yeah, I get that,” but not everyone knows how, Lewis-Duarte, 42, and a mother of three. “It’s difficult to prioritize self-care, but that’s what’s necessary.”