Anxiety Facts and Statistics

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Even so, when you have it you can feel alone or as if no one understands what you’re going through.

Knowing important anxiety facts and statistics can help you understand that you aren’t alone, and that treatment is available for anxiety disorders.

What Is Anxiety?

Understanding what anxiety is can be helpful if you struggle with it, or if you have a loved one who does.

Anxiety is more than being worried about certain situations. It’s a pervasive sense of worry that occurs even when there isn’t an identifiable reason for it. Anxiety disorder is a broad term that actually refers to several different specific disorders. These include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder/panic attacks
• Social anxiety disorder
• Specific phobias

All of the types of anxiety disorders have possible symptoms that are similar to one another. Anxiety symptoms can include:

• Fear and feelings of distress or impending doom
• Problems with sleep
• The inability to control worries or fears and stay calm
• Tingling hands or feet
• Feeling cold or sweaty
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Dry mouth
• Nausea
• Muscle tension
• Dizziness

Facts About Anxiety

The following are some important facts about anxiety disorders and what you should know.

• Anxiety disorders are different from normal feelings of anxiousness
• Anxiety disorders are defined as excessive fear or anxiety
• They are the most common type of mental disorders
• Anxiety is treatable
• To be diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder, the sense of fear someone feels must be out of proportion to the situation and must hinder daily functionality
• Women are more likely than men to have anxiety disorders
• Anxiety disorders affect 40 million U.S. adults every year which is more than 18 percent of the population
• Only 36.9 percent of people who suffer from anxiety disorder symptoms receive treatment
• Someone with an anxiety disorder is anywhere from three to five times more likely to visit the doctor
• Someone with an anxiety disorder is six times more likely to be hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder than someone without anxiety
• Almost half of all people diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder
• More than half of college students sought help for an anxiety issue
• If one or both of your parents have an anxiety disorder, you’re more likely to as well
• People who have gone through trauma such as abuse may be more likely to develop anxiety symptoms
• An estimated eight percent of children and teens experience an anxiety disorder
• Most people develop anxiety symptoms before age 21
• 1 in 13 people suffer from anxiety around the world

Specific Anxiety Disorder Facts and Statistics

When it comes to specifying and differentiating between the different types of anxiety disorders, the following are important statistics:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) may affect more than three percent of the U.S. population which is around 6.8 million adults. Only around 43 percent of people with GAD seek treatment
• Panic disorder affects around six million adults in the U.S. and women are twice as likely to be affected by this anxiety disorder as men
• Social anxiety disorder may affect 15 million U.S. adults and it’s equally prevalent among men and women
• 7 percent of the U.S. population may be impacted by specific phobias and the symptoms usually start to first occur in childhood
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects 2.2 million adults, and the average age of onset for this anxiety disorder is 19
• Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD may affect 7.7 million adults in the U.S. and rape is the most common trigger

Are you surprised by these anxiety facts and statistics? If so, let us know why in the comments below.