How Has anxiety increased in today’s

society?
Have you ever felt unease in a crowd? Or perhaps tense in a quiet classroom? If so,
we’re on the same boat. Lately, anxiety has been a common mental health matter. [Module 4].
In recent years, the majority of people want to stay in and distance themselves from others,
especially with the covid-19 lockdown. Society has been on a rollercoaster of events dealing
with stress. Which leads to the main question, how has anxiety increased in today’s society?
Which events, from personal to public, caused anxiety to skyrocket.
Anxiety has been something that has plagued my life as long as I could remember. It’s
had such a big impact on my life, ever since I was a child, I’ve had trouble handling stressful
positions, environments, and events. I was always afraid that something might happen, from
family to public settings. Whether it was major or minor, everything would cause me to get
anxious. The feeling of eyes on me all the time, the sweaty hands, rapid heartbeat, and the
deep pit feeling in my stomach when I had to interact with someone or even being in a silent
room. It doesn’t just stop there, relationships, education, social standard, politics, and even the
recent event of covid-19 caused great anxiety for me. This leads me to the importance of my
research question.
To begin with, anxiety is something that has always been around. Anxiety, according to
google, is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It usually causes one to sweat, feel restless
and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. Anxiety could be caused by many things such as trauma,
stress, and even one’s own personality. Anxiety has multiple branches, one being social anxiety.
Just like the name suggests, social anxiety happens when you’re in a social situation. Like typical
anxiety, according to google, social anxiety has symptoms like an upset stomach or nausea. In
the article, Why social anxiety disorder is more and more common in our society, it states that
most people with social anxiety fear that they might be judged by others and worry that they
would be put in a humiliating situation. [Module 7]. That being said, these types of people tend
to avoid situations where they are the center of attention and avoid talking to others. For
example, skipping class to avoid having to present or hanging around the back of a crowd to
avoid being noticed. Usually, the one affected by this anxiety would analyze their behavior and
pick out their flaws. Some of the main ways for someone to develop social anxiety are
parenting style, bullying, and even social media. Social media is one of the bigger problems
today, with ongoing trends and high standards. This could be a key factor in today’s society on
why anxiety is increasing and becoming so common.
Furthermore, the article, Why is anxiety so common today, claims society has been
overwhelmed with anxiety. Being overworked and put on the edge. As a result, many people
might find themselves feeling on the edge of being left behind. For example, school work and
job environments. With recent unemployment, its difficult for people to get jobs to be able to
sustain themselves. On top of that, our economy is failing. Minimum wage isn’t enough to get
by with everything skyrocketing in price. This could cause people to feel like they’re scraping
their way to earn enough to keep moving forward. This would cause unwanted stress and
pressure which could ultimately lead up to anxiety. I conducted my own research with surveys
to see if school causes anxiety amongst fellow peers, shown on [module 1] 84.7% out of 15.3%
said yes. Some even stated it was because exams, others said it was the thought of failing that
caused them anxiety.

[Module 1]

To continue, societal pressure is also another problem. Nowadays there has been a
strict standard for acceptance among people, which could make it harder for others to fit in. For
instance, having to worry about how you look, how you dress, and even the activities you do.
This could cause one to feel out of place in today’s circle, not feel on par with their peers, and
even feel judged by others. Moreover, this would leave a chunk of society feeling anxious
especially if they’re with the “up to standard” people. For example, people who wear makeup
everyday and dress up with the latest trends or the people with a good standing job. Societal
pressure can make it extremely difficult to feel happy in today’s world.
In other cases, political issues have caused an uproar in our society. The article, Youth
Anxiety About Political News, it states the young adults are expressing worry politic topics. With
upcoming elections and debates, this causes people to be anxious about the uncertainty of the
outcome. For example, the ongoing Texas Governor election. Naturally, with elections come
major topics. Having to worry about topics like gun violence would cause anyone to be anxious.
Furthermore, the stress of uncertainty can make people lose focus and not concentrate on their
everyday agenda. I conducted my own research about it, shown on [Module 2] and [Module 3].
 [Module 2]

In addition the article, INFLUENCE OF LIFE VALUES EDUCATION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION DURING MAJOR EPIDEMIC, stated that the recent outbreak of
the coronavirus was a major public health event. The event impacted society greatly, it caused
jobs, students, and everyday families to change upside-down. Everyone got put into a position
of wariness, not knowing what to do or how to fight it. Some people had to quarantine alone
while others were able to be with their family in those hard times. This caused psychological
problems for some people, as being alone for an extensive amount of time could eat at
someone’s mind. While others had to worry about how to pay bills, getting necessities,
protecting loved ones, and much more. All of this created fear in society towards (the anxiety,
pandemic, or struggles of the pandemic) along with the uncertainty of how long it would take
for it to be over. Finally, within recent months most rules of the virus have been lifted. With the
uplift, society has been trying to go back to how it was, but this outbreak has left a scar on us.
There will always be that anxious feeling when you get sick, having to take a test to make sure it
isn’t the coronavirus. I conducted my own research on the matter, shown on [Module 2] and
[Module 3].
 [Module 3]

In brief, anxiety has made it's way to the forefront of society and has been more
prevalent among us. On any occasion, big or small, it’ll always be lurking in the background.
With the recent events, it’s no wonder why anxiety has increased in today’s society. Anxiety is a
mental health problem that shouldn’t be left alone, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you don’t
feel like yourself. Things get better with the right support, make sure to talk to loved ones,
friends, and family.
As stated throughout the paper, I conducted my own research on the topic of how has
anxiety increased in society. I carried out surveys throughout my university to get insight on
other people’s opinions. I’ve learned that most people I had encountered did carry anxiety with
them. [Module 4]. [Module 4]

I also found that most, 57%, agree that the recent events that have plagued us have caused
some type of anxiety to flow through them and the people around them. [Module 2] & [Module
3]. It was also shown that 42% didn’t get anxiety till they got older while the other 40% half did
grow up with anxiety, with a 16% being that they don’t have any anxiety. [Module 5].

[Module 5]

I also discovered that almost an equal amount of people have family that made an impact on
their anxiety, while others believed that family didn’t. [Module 6]. Not forgetting my finding on
how school gives people anxiety, examples shown on [Module 7].

[Module 6]
 [Module 7]

My findings show a couple of reasons on why anxiety has increased in society, from
education to family. Perhaps one of the main ones being about recent events, with everyone
agreeing that at least one event caused us to be anxious. [Module 2] & [Module 3]. I believe
something like this shouldn’t go unnoticed, anxiety is an overwhelming mental health issue and
shouldn’t be overlooked. This is something that should be talked about more so that more
people could have an understanding. Its important to know about topics like anxiety, especially
when its running through most people. It’ll help people in need that have anxiety or similar
symptoms of anxiety. It could also because a turning point for some, so they won’t be so afraid
to reach out for help. This is why my research is important.

Cited Work
Luco, J. (2021, April 17). Why is anxiety so common today? Brain World. Retrieved September

29, 2022, from https://brainworldmagazine.com/why-is-anxiety-so-common-today/

www.rtor.org, G. A. for. (2020, January 28). Why social anxiety disorder is more and more
common in our society. Resources To Recover. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from
https://www.rtor.org/2020/01/29/why-social-anxiety-disorder-is-common-in-our-society/
 Debiec, J. (2018, May 10). 39% of Americans more anxious today than this time last year.
University of Michigan. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from
https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/body-work/39-of-americans-more-anxious-today-than-time-
last-year
Caixia Liao, Yangtao Xiong, INFLUENCE OF LIFE VALUES EDUCATION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS
WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION DURING MAJOR EPIDEMIC, International Journal of
Neuropsychopharmacology, Volume 25, Issue Supplement_1, July 2022, Pages A90–
A91, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyac032.123

Caporino, N.E., Exley, S. & Latzman, R.D. Youth Anxiety About Political News. Child
Psychiatry Hum Dev 51, 683–698 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-00972-z