When Did Anxiety Become A Thing?

Tracing the Roots of Our Anxious Times

Ah, anxiety, that unwelcome guest that seems to have set up permanent residence in our modern lives. But hang on a sec, when exactly did anxiety barge into the room, plonk itself down on the couch, and decide it was here to stay? Well, pull up a chair. Let’s take a little journey through the annals of time to unearth the origins of this all-too-familiar foe.

The Historical Tapestry of Anxiety

Believe it or not, anxiety isn’t a trendy new concept birthed in the era of smartphones and high-speed everything. Nope, this bad boy has been lurking around since the dawn of civilization. Ancient texts and medical records, stretching back to the times of the Egyptians and Greeks, talk about symptoms that scream anxiety. However, back in the day, they had a penchant for attributing such feelings to an imbalance of bodily humors or the displeasure of the gods.

Fast forward to the 19th century, and we start to see a shift. The term ‘anxiety neurosis’ began to gain traction, thanks to the likes of Sigmund Freud and his merry band of psychoanalysts. They were among the first to suggest that anxiety was not just a case of too much black bile or divine smiting, but something rooted in the human psyche.

The Modern Age of Anxiety

So, when did anxiety become the headline-grabbing, meme-generating phenomenon it is today? Let’s zero in on the mid-20th century, a pivotal era where the pace of life began to accelerate like a sports car on the autobahn. The aftermath of World War II, the Cold War, the atomic age – society was undergoing seismic shifts, and with that, people’s mental health started getting some serious attention.

The latter half of the 20th century saw anxiety stepping out from the shadows and getting tagged with its own diagnostic categories. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) stamped it with its seal of approval by including anxiety disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in the 1980s. This was a game-changer. Anxiety was no longer a vague, catch-all term; it was recognized as a spectrum of disorders, each with its own nuances.

Don’t get it twisted, though. The recognition of anxiety disorders didn’t magically make them appear out of thin air. It simply meant that more people were now getting diagnosed – their struggles were finally getting acknowledged on a grand scale.

The Digital Age: Anxiety’s New Playground

It’s no secret that the advent of the digital era has cranked up the anxiety dial to eleven. Social media, the 24/7 news cycle, and the relentless bombardment of information (hello, information overload) have all contributed to skyrocketing levels of anxiety, especially among millennials and Gen Z. The term FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)? Yeah, that’s just anxiety dressed up in a fancy acronym hanging out at cool parties it scrolled past on Instagram.

The digital age has transformed how we communicate, how we perceive ourselves, and how we perceive others. With smartphones glued to our hands and eyes glued to screens, it’s easy to see why anxiety is more visible and vocal than ever before.

Wrapping Up: The More Things Change…

The truth is, anxiety has always been part of the human experience. It’s just that its triggers and the way we talk about it have evolved. From ancient humors to modern hashtags, the essence of anxiety remains constant – it’s a reaction to perceived threats and uncertainties.

So, when did anxiety become a thing? Well, it’s been a “thing” for as long as humans have had the capacity to worry about the past, present, and future. But understanding its history and the factors that exacerbate it today can empower us to manage it better. After all, knowledge is power, and in the battle against anxiety, we need all the firepower we can get.