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by Paul Dooley

Why Having An Anxiety Disorder Does Not Mean You’re Crazy

17 Comments

One of the most common symptoms of anxiety disorder is the belief that you are going crazy. You have the sense that you are losing your grip on reality and that you are literally on the verge of a mental breakdown. Anxiety disorder can cause a deep seeded fear that sooner or later you’re simply going to go mad. However despite this overwhelming fear of possible insanity, the fact that you fear it and are aware of insanity as a state of being is precisely why you are not crazy.

Crazy means a lot things to a lot of people, however for the sake of clarity let’s say that for our purposes crazy means a mixture of insanity and psychosis . Let’s look at insanity first and how it is normally defined. In the United States insanity is no longer a medical term and in fact is mainly used in legal definitions. You have heard people say that someone is "legally insane" generally meaning that they cannot comprehend the meaning of "right" and "wrong". They simply don’t understand what it means to do something horrible, like killing another human being for example.

Under this definition of crazy or insane would you qualify as such a person? If you have an anxiety disorder the answer is no. You have your mental faculties in order and know exactly what right and wrong mean. You know the social norms of society and you follow them. In other words, you don’t walk around with your underwear on your head because you know that society views this as unacceptable behavior. The second and highest level of so called crazy is a mental state of delusion and abstraction known as psychosis.

In the past "insanity" was associated with conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. These conditions fall under the psychotic types of mental illness. These conditions are debilitating brain disorders that can seriously hinder ones life. When someone is psychotic they may hear voices or have hallucinations. In addition they might have a serious paranoia and a feeling that everyone is out to get them.

When someone is deemed psychotic they exhibit disorganized thinking and strange behaviors of various kind. Their very perception of reality is not what you would call normal. It is seriously distorted and disconnected from normal definitions of reality. Moreover one of the most critical aspects of psychosis that does not affect anxiety sufferers is a lack of insight.

Having a lack of insight is just another way of saying that you don’t know that you are behaving or acting strangely. As an anxiety sufferer you spend a lot of time thinking you’re crazy or on the verge of crazy but if this were true than you wouldn’t know it. You simply would not be aware of the fact that your thoughts and behavior were strange or "crazy".

When you have anxiety you are certainly filled with dread and worry. You experience psychosomatic sensations that make you feel terrible and frequent physical symptoms of all kinds. But the bottom line is that your level of mental fitness is not the same as someone that is psychotic or crazy – it’s much better. You have the ability to make sound decisions, you don’t hear or see things that aren’t there, and you know the difference between real and unreal. Even if you experience feelings of unreality or dream like states you are still aware of them as such.

Unfortunately if you were to ask someone tagged as crazy if they were actually crazy, they would probably say something like "crazy, who me?". They just wouldn’t know that they were in mental distress the same way that you would be able to know. As you can see you just don’t fit the profile of an insane or psychotic person. So the conclusion must be that you are not crazy. When you have anxiety disorder will you have tricks of vision? Yes. Will you have strange sensations and worry all the time? Yes. But despite this your condition is a completely different tier of mental ailment. You have an anxiety disorder and you will not graduate to a greater and more terrible mental state. You’re an excessive worrier racked with tremendous amounts of stress, but you are not crazy by any stretch of the imagination.

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17 Responses to “Why Having An Anxiety Disorder Does Not Mean You’re Crazy”

Why Anxiety Disorder Does Not Mean You’re Crazy | Anxiety Reaction

August 30th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

[...] Original post: Why Anxiety Disorder Does Not Mean You’re Crazy [...]

Joi

August 31st, 2008 at 12:38 pm

I came across your site while researching ANXIETY for an article on my mental fitness website/blog. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how impressed I am with what you’re doing here. I know you’re helping many people, and for that I commend you.

As you so wonderfully point out, anxiety is not an indication of having mental problems. In fact, it’s been my experience that it’s often those who are completely on the ball, so to speak, who feel the MOST anxiety. They realize how much needs to be done in the world and they often see that those around them aren’t doing as much as they are!

When you think about it, it’s a real wonder more of us don’t suffer from anxiety disorders – these are pretty anxious times!

Joi
http://www.thementalfitnesscenter.com/blog

Paul

August 31st, 2008 at 11:24 pm

Joi,I agree 100%. The fear of losing ones mind is probably one of the most common complaints when it come to anxiety, but its no where near the truth for those that worry about it.

Unfortunately our times are filled with anxiety so it’s no surprise that so many of us are struggling with this condition.

DrKC/DOCintheBiz

September 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am

I absolutely love this article! I help so many people who complain about his very symptom of panic disorder. They are not afraid of dying, they WANT to die as the feelings of going crazy are just so incredibley overwhelming and way too much to deal with as the person does not know 100% that the feelings will go away (although they always do).

Thank you for writing this article, as most symptoms people complain about are, “I’m afaid I’m going to die,” as their heart is pounding out of their chest.

Those who have dealt with panic attacks for a long time know (as you have said) that they are not truly going “crazy” as they have all their mental faculties and are rational for the most part, but that feeling of “going crazy” is so very difficult to understand and explain to someone else.

Thank you again for putting this into writing. It is something that is not very often dealt with in the literature I read! I was very happy to find it here!

Doc KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com

Customs

February 13th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

Thank’s for this artical, I really….really…needed to read that right now. thanks!

Dani

February 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

Thank you for this article….it’s nice to know that my anxiety isn’t going to “graduate”….I appreciate the read.

wtally

March 18th, 2009 at 8:36 am

Hi.
i just wanted to say thanks for this article, it has really helped ease my worrys.

Amanda

March 19th, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Thank You. I am sitting here at my computer and crying with relief. I’ve been feeling exactly as you have explained for the past month, and I really do feel as if I am losing my mind almost 90% of the time. I went to a doctor who took blood tests, I have yet to go back and see the results. I thought it was a vitamin B12 deficiency, as this is in my family. But my doctor said she is almost certain it is anxiety. I disagreed completely, thinking I had too many neurological problems presenting for it to be anxiety. After reading this I am truly relieved and feel much, much better.
Thank you again.

Amanda

March 19th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

Oh, and the comment by Doc KC really hit home. He said “but that feeling of “going crazy” is so very difficult to understand and explain to someone else”. This is pinpoint exactly what I’ve been going through. It is so hard to explain. It is extremely scary. Just wanted people out there to know that you’re not alone.

DiWizard

April 13th, 2009 at 2:15 am

Thanks for making it clear enough.

Mal

April 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Thanks for this!!!!! Gosh this is my greatest fear.

Alex

August 6th, 2009 at 6:37 pm

Thank you, i also really needed to read this :]

Leaflent

August 18th, 2009 at 7:11 am

Thank you very much, this is a very great relief.

I still haven’t consulted a doctor but what you say is totally what I feel so atleast, I am much relieved.
I even went to the point that I wanted to write a letter in my room saying to my family that “Kill me when I get mad” since I don’t want to be a lifetime burden to them. But now atleast I know.
The hard thing if you are uninnformed about this is when you feel like you’re cracking up, you will think of it again and again until it scares you so much that you might crack up and it worsens your anxiety. But by knowing this atleast you could clearly think that it was just the anxiety and nothing much to worry and it would help you prevent worrying about cracking up.

Again, thanks a dozen.
This is very helpful.

Simon

September 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm

I love you all. Thankyou.

Michelle

September 26th, 2009 at 4:03 pm

I too appreciate this! I have been so afraid that I’m going crazy that I’ve been starting to question everything. I hear something weird and then I think “did my mind just make that up? does that mean I really AM going crazy?”. I often think “what will other people think if word gets around I’m crazy” which worries me more.

And lastly when I panic, I feel like I’m doomed and that my grip on reality is slowly slipping and going to keep getting worse.

While I’m glad to know I’m not the only person that feels this way, it saddens me to think other people are having to deal with the feelings I have been feeling. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy!

DJ

October 27th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

What if one has a dream and then wakes up and feels that they cannot tell if that was real of not. Or talk to someone and tell them about something and they say what are you talking about, and I say I thought I told you. I swear I did. Is that the stages of bigger problems? I sometimes do not feel I am going crazy, I feel and know that my behaviour is crazy, and I find it hard to come back. It takes me a while.

Paul

October 28th, 2009 at 9:17 pm

Being forgetful is not necessarily a sign of big problems, but I always suggest that if you feel troubled by your symptoms and they are persistent you should speak with a medical doctor as a starting point. After that you can formulate a plan of treatment if needed.

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