Anxiety is a “contagious disease”

  In the clinic, sometimes there is a scene where the family member accompanying the patient says, “Doctor, can you prescribe more of this anti-anxiety medication, sometimes I need to take a little bit of it.”  I’ve seen this phenomenon so often that I’m not surprised. You can’t just take the medicine, but I can understand the situation of being a family member. Anxiety is a basic emotion that becomes a symptom when its intensity interferes with our normal life. The etiology of anxiety is complex, but simply speaking, it is related to the personality characteristics of the patient, as well as to life events and life situations, and to significant others in life.  In the interpersonal structure, which is organized in units such as family, work and study environment, there are stronger people. If the strong person is in a state of anxiety for various reasons, the more vulnerable group in this interpersonal structure, can easily be infected by this anxiety. It is common for children and adolescents to have an anxious child behind whom often stands an anxious parent or pair of parents. This is especially true in the workplace, where a masterful team leader is adept at turning stress into motivation, and once a leader has a strong anxiety, he or she will unknowingly affect the mood of the entire team.  Therefore, the treatment of anxiety disorders should not only focus on symptomatic treatment, but also refer to the way of thinking and living, not only to actively adjust the personal psychological state, but also to consider the impact of the symptoms on the surrounding people, and to stop “the sick parents, but the children who take the medicine”.