GREENSBORO, N.C. — According to the CDC, the number of adults receiving mental health treatment skyrocketed throughout the pandemic. For the first time, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force suggests adults under 65 get screened for anxiety.
Danielle Harper is a licensed clinical mental health counselor with Novant Health. She said there are major consequences to not addressing anxiety.
“Often when anxiety is not addressed it impacts not only your mental health it impacts our bodies,” Harper said. “So, that means cardiovascular disease can increase, kidney disease can increase.”
Harper said two of the most common types of screenings are for General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and depression. She said patients are typically given a questionnaire where they are rated on how anxiety is impacting their daily living on a scale of one to ten.
“It may ask domains of work, family relationships, some other areas may be interpersonal relationships,” Harper said. “They want to see how it's impacting that and then they score it and based on your score it determines how high the anxiety symptoms you may have. Then it may determine what kind of treatment you may need based on your score."
As many continue to battle stressors brought on by the pandemic, Harper said it’s important to recognize what your body tells you.
“I think oftentimes people don't realize that anxiety is one of those things that can sneak up on you,” Harper said. “So, paying attention if you notice you're more irritable than normal if you notice that you're socially isolating more than normal, if you're avoiding situations, just recognize those things that seem to be a little bit more off than normal."
Harper said you can reach out to your primary care doctor for an anxiety screening.