A Journey Into Fear: Exploring Anxiety Through Personal Experience and Physiological Fact
Graduation Date
5-2017
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Humanities and Cultural Studies
Department or Program Chair
Chase B. Clow, PhD
First Reader
Philip Novak, PhD
Abstract
Many people suffer from anxiety to an extent. Most are unaware of how many people it affects, and exactly how debilitating of a condition it can be. Some people do not know they are suffering from it, as it may not affect them so strongly. Others may realize this but may not know what to do about their situation. Anxiety, in some cases, may also lead to accidental drug addiction because they are unable to cope. It is such a strange disease in the way that each case is never just the same and if not treated, or treated properly can even lead to loss of life. Individuals, with the help of medical professionals must find their personal homeostasis so they are able to heal and recover in whatever fashion suits them the best. This thesis will explore the nature of anxiety and different ways it may affect individuals within contemporary American culture. It will do so in two distinct parts. The first part is a research essay in which I present relevant information about anxiety and how it affects everyone differently. The second part will be an exploration of the onset, the experience, and finally the healing through a journal of personal accounts of my own battle with anxiety growing up, and managing it through adulthood to show readers the magnitude of how badly I was affected by this disease.
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