Search

Background: Anxiety can create serious disruption in the life and mind of youth who are affected. Youth living with anxiety suffer a wealth of physical and psychological challenges, yet little is known about how anxiety influences the sense of the self. The purpose of this research was to explore the experience of the self in a sample of Canadian youth living with anxiety., Materials and Methods: The qualitative research approach of hermeneutic phenomenology was used. The sample consisted of 58 Canadian youth with anxiety, 44 females and 14 males between the ages of 10 and 22. Youth took part in open-ended interviewing, ecomaps, and photovoice. Data analysis followed a staged process, informed by Max van Manen. All sources of data were included in the analysis to form thematic statements., Results: Entering into the lifeworld of youth revealed that they suffered deeply. A fractured sense of self underlined their experience, setting up for a great deal of self-scrutiny and a lack of self-compassion. They experienced a profound sense of responsibility for others at the loss of being-there-for-oneself. Navigating their social sphere presented an additional challenge. However, youth were genuinely interested in self-discovery through awareness and reflection., Conclusions: The phenomenological accounts by youth on living with anxiety reinforce the challenges they experienced within themselves that give rise to a great deal of inner turmoil. Care and support to youth with anxiety requires an understanding of the ways in which the self may be fractured by their experiences with anxiety. Providing young people with an opportunity to share with others who had similar lived experiences can serve to contribute to a sense of healing for youth, while also providing a safe space in which young people can let down their guard and openly acknowledge or share their experiences without fear of stigmatization., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Findings reported in this article emerged from the study titled "Youth's Voices: Their Lives and Experiences of Living with an Anxiety Disorder." Though the initial focus of this study was not on the pain experiences of youth living with an anxiety disorder, it became apparent from the very first interviews that pain and suffering was key in the youth lived experience, permeating their everyday lives and impeding their participation and functioning in the world. Aims: The aim of this article is to highlight the ways in which pain is a central experience for young people living with an anxiety disorder. Methods: The study was approached from the qualitative research design of hermeneutic phenomenology. Fifty-eight young people who were living with anxiety disorders and their parents participated in the study. Youth took part in multiple qualitative open-ended interviews and the participatory arts-based method of photovoice. Themes were developed using van Manen's method of data analysis. Results: The overall theme emerged as "anxiety is very much about pain." The four subthemes are (1) embodied experience of anxiety: physical pain; (2) a prominent symptom of anxiety: mental–emotional pain; (3) difficult interpersonal relationships: social pain; and (4) articulating their pain. Conclusions: Use of qualitative, arts-based methodologies provided the opportunity and space for youth with anxiety to articulate their multifaceted experience with pain in their own words. This work reinforces the need for use of qualitative approaches to understanding pain experiences in young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety disorders typically emerge in childhood and, if left untreated, can lead to poor health and social outcomes into adulthood. Stigma contributes to the burden of mental illness in youth. Mental health stigma has been conceptualized as a wicked problem and efforts to address this complexity require a greater understanding of how stigma operates in the lives of youth. Fifty-eight youth in Manitoba, Canada aged 10 to 22 years and living with anxiety took part in the study. Data collection involved in-depth interviews and arts-based methodologies. Youth living with anxiety faced stigma at three levels: (a) interpersonal, (b) intrapersonal, and (c) structural. Stigma held by others, internalized by youth and embedded in social institutions led to compromised relationships with family and peers, low self-esteem and self-efficacy, reduced help-seeking, and discrimination in school, workplace and health care settings. Implications and potential strategies for addressing these levels of stigma are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Counselling & Psychotherapy / Revue Canadienne de Counseling et de Psychothérapie is the property of Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)