Alegría believes that she has everything under control. She lives with Sadness, Fury, Fear and Disgust. She is already used to it: she knows that some days, or some moments, she has to be predominant, and some days, or some moments, she has to star in one of the other emotions. But suddenly, unexpectedly and with no subtlety, she makes her entrance Anxietywho has a little messy hair, brings several suitcases and immediately asks where they can go and moves his hands while asking for forgiveness for breaking their calm. He swears he wanted to make a good first impression. She smiles nervously. Anxiety, one more emotion, she has already disembarked.
This is seen in the trailer of Inside Out 2the tank that disney has just been released and it promises: the first installment, released in 2015, was liked by adults, children and the neuroscientific community. And not only did he like it, but he left a message: We are made of all those emotions, they are all inside us for a reason, they are neither good nor bad.. Although some have bad press.
The landing of Anxiety in the plot of Inside Out 2 It is not lonely: there are also Envy, Boredom and Shame. And the landing of Anxiety is not isolated from the climate of the time: We talk more and more about anxiety. Especially when it is so intense, so frequent or so disabling that, instead of adequately adapting to the stimulus we are receiving, it makes us feel overwhelmed.
“Anxiety can have normal levels. I can feel it before an exam, a job interview, an important conversation. But also may have pathological levels. That is where anxiety disorders appear, which can be, for example, phobias, generalized anxiety disorderand trigger panic attacks. All of this is already a clinical picture that is worked on through medicine and psychotherapy,” he explains. Daniel Lopez Rosettihead of the Stress Medicine service at the San Isidro Central Hospital.
According to statistics from the World Health Organizationit is estimated that currently 4% of the world’s population suffers from an anxiety disorder. It is about the most prevalent mental disorders among all the existing ones, and specialists do not rule out that the numbers could be higher, since there are many people who experience this symptomatology, but do not reach the stage of diagnosis.
“When the anxiety level is disruptive, that is, disrupts normal lifeyou begin to notice that it does not allow you to concentrate, it makes it difficult for you to sleep, it does not allow viable interhuman relationships, it does not allow you to plan or be executive in your actions, and it also generates physical symptoms that can be palpitations, dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, then we are faced with a scenario that requires a consultation,” adds López Rosetti.
“Anxiety, by definition, is an emotion, and not a disorder. But when its emergence occurs with great intensity, with great frequency or for a long duration, we must pay attention because we may already be facing pathological anxiety. When we begin to avoid those situations that we think may cause us too much anxiety, we also have to be attentive and seek help,” he explains. Delfina Ailánpsychologist member of the Department of Cognitive Psychotherapy of INECO.
As defined by the specialist, “anxiety is an emotion like others, which helps us adapt to a stimulus, helps us prepare to respond to that stimulus; What can happen is that we become deregulated and that emotion makes us feel overwhelmed.”
In 2023, the Applied Social Psychology Observatory of the Faculty of Psychology of the UBA published its “Survey of the psychological state of the Argentine population.” The youngest were those who most frequently identified with anxious symptomsespecially the lower income population.
The stimuli that surround us (or that bombard us?), experts point out, can build an anxious environment. “Urban life, greater extension of work hoursincreased exposure to artificial light, for example through screens“, the alteration of sleep by moving us away from the natural moment of waking up and sleeping, all of this contributes to the creation of stimuli that can activate our anxiety,” he says. Martin EtcheversResearch Secretary of the Faculty of Psychology of the UBA.
“The digital stimulation is the protagonist of these greatest stimuli. Not only because of the screens, but also because all the time It shows us lives that we are not living, places that we are not knowingthings that we are missing, and that can generate anxiety, in addition to becoming a door to insomnia,” adds the specialist, researcher at the university observatory.
Laura Rivera For fifteen years he has been a member of the interdisciplinary mental health ward at the Argerich Hospital, in the south of the City. “From psychoanalysis, anxiety comes to name something else of the order of anguish, which is also linked to time. In the guard, by definition, there is no time: you are there because you feel an urgency,” she describes.
“In my impression, mental health consultations in the guard are increasing, and many times they are cases that came to the clinic due to physical symptoms that can make the patient think that he is having a heart attack or is going crazy, and what there is is an anxiety crisis, that is, a panic attack. So when the mental health team arrives, People are very disoriented about what is happening to them: not only about what is distressing them, but directly that they are distressed.”, describes the hospital psychologist.
“It is impossible to have a totally happy life. But This time pushes us to feel that we all have to be happy and that if you are not happy, you are failing.. And also the time makes us want everything now. There is no time to accommodate certain delays, certain discomforts. There is no way for all of this not to be distressing, especially in a context in which you have to be increasingly productive and ties can be increasingly precarious,” explains Rivera.
This period atmosphere can be guessed at the counter of the pharmacy. According to statistics from the Argentine Pharmaceutical Confederation (COFA) to which he had access InfobaeDuring the first quarter of 2024, the sale of prescription drugs fell by 9.36% -in units- when compared to the first quarter of 2023. Ricardo Pesenti, president of COFA, attributes this decrease to a single reason: “ There is less money and people are cutting corners everywhere. In general, In times of economic crisis, the sale of anxiolytics and antidepressants tends to increase. It is not what we see now, but because we see that the impact of the crisis on the pocketbook is such that it reaches the pharmacy counter.”
One piece of information is enough to confirm the trend that in crises the consumption of psychiatric medication is the protagonist: medications that impact the central nervous system, for example anxiolytics and antidepressants, are the category that had the least decrease (2.34% year-on-year) according to the COFA survey.
The cut in pharmacy expenses begins with other drugs: The need to address mental health disorders and alleviate their symptoms is palpable. Furthermore, when the symptoms of pathological anxiety extend over time, this disorder “comes into contact” with depression, so treatments for both diagnoses are often combined.
“When we talk about anxiety it always helps to think about the metaphor of the guitar. A guitar with strings needs a certain tension on those strings so that they sound when played. If we do not have some anxiety, the tension that it entails, we will not be prepared to deal with some demands.. But at the same time, if that tension is too much, the string breaks and the guitar does not play. That happens when anxiety is too much: pathological anxiety appears,” describes the INECO psychologist.
The intensity, frequency and duration of the episodes in which we feel anxiety are three variables that must be taken into account when evaluating whether we are at normal levels or not. And also the avoidance of scenarios, people or activities that we may engage in to avoid going through that anxious feeling.
But is there a prophylaxis possible to help regulate our anxiety? “The first thing we can do is always keep in mind that emotions are all useful and natural, but that they must work regularly. It’s a way of lose the fear of so-called ‘negative’ emotions. On the other hand, it is advisable to do the exercise every day, At some point during the day ask myself, how do I feel?. That serves to name that emotion, label it, know it,” explains Etchevers, from the UBA observatory.
“Then I can think about where that emotion comes from, what caused it, and by putting that emotion into the circuit of what I can name, I help it stop being deregulated,” he adds.
“Understanding what stimuli trigger each emotion, what thoughts link to that emotion, helps a lot with regulation. That is why it is so important learn to name our emotions, to distinguish them and label them, because that helps us recognize them and live with them. It is true that there are emotions that are classified as negative, but we need all of them and understanding that is a first step to protect ourselves from deregulation,” explains Ailán, the INECO and Favaloro University specialist.
Experts recommend moving, doing physical activity. This greatly favors the regulation of emotions, as well as the healthy nutrition. Also they bonds in which we feel supported, the moments of leisure and self-careas well as taking care of our rest, spend time in nature and dedicate time to what is valuable to us.
Anxiety, like all other emotions, is within us. He gets bad press, yes, he moves his hands quickly, he gets flustered when he talks and, by definition, he worries in advance. But all of this can also defend us, sustain us and make us know ourselves better. It’s just about knowing our anxiety, as well as our sadness, our joy, our fury and our shame, so that they don’t catch us off guard.
