Unfortunately, the state of our collective mental health has been deteriorating. While normal, external stressors are still taking a toll, when combined with a global pandemic, political, and recent social upheavals, the last year has taken a profound toll on the mental health of the world’s population. In particular, stress levels are hitting the younger generation the hardest with one-third stating their mental health is worse than last year and seven out of ten reporting concerning symptoms linked to depression.1
When excessive, stress often becomes a core contributing factor to anxiety. External factors that cause stress can upregulate pathways in the brain that contribute to vigilance, excessive worry, and fear. If the emotional reaction to stress persists even after external stressful circumstances have passed, an anxiety disorder can result.2 Helping to improve stress tolerance and slowing overactive worry and fear circuits in the brain are core components of a functional treatment approach to anxiety disorders.
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