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Are You Suffering from an Anxiety Disorder? Common Symptoms of College-based Anxiety

© Elizabeth Trego

Anne had waited months for the acceptance letter to arrive. When it finally did she was overjoyed. Not only was she going to the college of her choice, she had been given a terrific financial aid package. Fall came, and her parents helped move her into her dorm. After shedding a few tears, they drove away from the campus, hoping their little girl would have fun, make new friends, and enjoy her courses.

A week into the school year, Anne started having "weird" feelings she couldn't explain. Out of the blue, her heart would start racing, she'd break into a sweat, and feel she needed to run-from what she wasn't quite sure. Sometimes these feelings would happen in class. Other times they'd appear while she was hanging out with her friends. On one particular occasion, she felt so bad she thought sure she was dying.

Anne began to get scared when leaving her dorm room. She could never be sure exactly where or when these feelings would strike. Things got so bad that she called her parents and told them she couldn't take it anymore-she wanted to come home. By week two her father called the school to inform them his daughter was leaving the school due to "personal reasons." While her friends were enjoying their freshman year of school, Anne became housebound. Instead of sending care packages and seeing their daughter during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, Anne's parents now found themselves on a quest; a quest to find out just what was happening to their daughter and how to re-build the self-esteem and confidence that was now all but shattered.

Had Anne known the symptoms of anxiety before they became severe, perhaps she could have remained in school, pursued her degree, yet still found the support and guidance she needed to handle her anxiety.

Anxiety- and stress-based disorders are the number one mental health illness plaguing today's children, teenagers, and adults. Statistics show that those aged 18-25 are most susceptible to depression and anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia). Stress related ailments and complaints make up 70-90 percent of all doctor's visits and nearly 1/4 of all prescriptions written in the U.S. each year are for tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications. The problem has become so widespread that the U.S. Public Health Service has made reducing stress in the 21st century one of its major health promotion goals.