“I can’t breathe, and my chest is killing me. My heart is racing. Am I having a heart attack? I am sweating, trembling, and dizzy. I think I’m going to vomit. My thoughts are racing. Have I gone crazy? What is wrong with me?” If this sounds familiar, you are probably one of three adults in the U.S. who has had an anxiety attack. Screens can have a significant effect on our levels of anxiety, but how?
What is anxiety?
In my 25+ years of clinical practice, I have treated many kids, teens, and adults with anxiety disorders. Since the advent of mobile screen technology, we have seen prevalence numbers increase dramatically. Twenty-five percent of 13- to 18-year-olds have mild to moderate anxiety with the median age of onset at 11 years old.[1]
There are five major types of anxiety disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD) is characterized by chronic worry about things that don’t warrant that level of concern.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent, intrusive thoughts and repetitive ritualistic behaviors, like counting, tapping, washing, or checking.
Panic Disorder (PD) is a chronic dread of having a panic attack, which feels like intense fear and trouble breathing, heart racing, and dizziness.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) is typically triggered by a terrifying ordeal.
Social Phobia (SP) causes people to withdraw due to extreme self-consciousness or embarrassment around others and a fear of being scrutinized or judged.
How Screens Can Trigger Clinical Anxiety Symptoms
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Screens can be distracting and lead to wasted time and poor work performance. Not only do kids worry about those missed assignments, but too many hours of online learning can put them in a state of irritable exhaustion. In Dr. Bennett’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, she details how multitasking, which refers to interrupting one task to attend to another (like social media notifications during homework), burns brain fuel at a rapid rate – leading to mental brownout.[2] Mental brownout can lead one to feel hopeless and helpless, which can lead to chronic worry about … just about everything.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Keeping up with the Jones’s (or Kardashian’s) on social media can lead to obsessive scrolling and compulsive checking. We’ve all seen the notorious #GymSelfie or #FoodPorn that pops up on our news feed. Then there’s the #OutfitOfTheDay, #MCM (man crush Monday), #WCW (woman crush Wednesday), or your #TBT (throwback Thursday). Keeping up can feel overwhelming.
As Dr. B says in her article “Teaching Kids the Brain Traps of Video Games May Break the Spell,” “likes” are designed to tap into our evolutionarily-reinforced need to please our tribe – also called social capital. She elaborates, “When that notification pops up on our smartphone that somebody liked our post, we get a slight euphoria.”
Getting the likes makes us want more (compulsive use patterns), and not getting the likes can send us into compare and despair. Big tech is aware of this and plays on our psychology to keep our eyes on the screen. Our attention has been commodified (meaning that data about our online behaviors is for sale because it has value to marketers). The more we stay on screen, the more we fall victim to ads and the compulsion to buy.
Panic Disorder
Panic attacks happen when the autonomic nervous system, our survival center, gets triggered too easily. Poor self-care (like not sleeping, eating well, exercising, or socializing) can make us vulnerable having panic attacks. Dr. B says video games are also programmed to jack up your autonomic nervous system, which can lead to panic attacks.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In our GKIS article, “Live Streaming Can Cause PTSD in Adults and Children,” we detailed how watching live-streamed videos on social media and Youtube can lead to debilitating trauma symptoms. It’s critical to consider that screen content matters as much as, if not more than, screen time.
Social Phobia
It doesn’t take much imagination to consider that social media can lead to fear of excessive social scrutiny. Dr. B writes about the normal adolescent defense called the imaginary audience. She writes, “Teens can become extremely focused on their looks and very self-conscious, convinced that EVERYBODY is looking at them. As a result, they pay meticulous attention to clothing, makeup, hairstyle, body shape, and mannerisms. It’s as if they are carefully cultivating their brand to fit in and stand out among admired peers. Although imaginary audience has been observed among adolescents throughout history, social media may exacerbate anxiety. I believe compulsive urges to take perfect selfies are a healthy expression of the imaginary audience rather than the pathology of narcissism.”
It didn’t happen if you didn’t post it.
There is a popular saying that if you didn’t post about it, it didn’t really happen. Many teens are more invested in their virtual lives than they are in their non-virtual lives. This makes sense considering they spend more waking time on screen than they do off-screen!
Teen life often happens in a snapshot and not much else. Our kids are spending time at events, the beach, and vacation looking for that split moment to capture a picture guaranteeing them likes from their followers. Conversations are “Uh-huh” and “Mm, sure” without eye contact. Screen time is the master, and we’ve grown to accept that that is “just what teens do these days.”
Social media can become a shrine of a person’s life, and if it is subpar, that person’s life seems subpar. Sound extreme? It is, and it is real. The pressure to be perceived in a certain way can consume our minds and impact self-esteem. A Canadian study found that the more time spent on screens, the higher the risk of developing anxiety in children.[3] Screen addiction is proving to be a real concern rather than a minor annoyance.
Driven to Distraction
Anxiety has the potential to impact not only the quality of time spent with family and friends but may also sever the most important relationship of all, the one with ourselves. Self-worth goes down, anxiety shifts to depression, and all because we judge others and ourselves through the safety of a screen, hidden in anonymity, and supported by strangers.
It can happen to anybody.
A child therapist friend of mine shared with me that she recently deleted all social media apps off her phone. She said she felt social media was consuming her and ultimately the cause of a lot of anxieties. Between clients, she browsed Facebook and Instagram instead of doing her mandatory briefings. Her briefings would get stacked up for weeks. Ultimately, this would contribute to her unease. This is a professional in mental health, one whom we would like to think could find a good balance. Now imagine your teenager…
What can we do about it?
Identify the triggers and recognize that you may be powerless against them without cutting down on screen time.
Set reasonable parameters.
Use time management and blocking apps.
Learn cognitive behavioral coping skills like breathing, mindfulness, cognitive restructuring, and meditation
Make your nonvirtual life more enriching
Thank you to Chad Flores for helping us recognize how screens may contribute to anxiety.
[3] Maras, D., Flament, M. F., Murray, M., Buchholz, A., Henderson, K. A., Obeid, N., & Goldfield, G. S. (2015). Screen time is associated with depression and anxiety in Canadian youth. Preventive Medicine: An International Journal Devoted To Practice And Theory, 73133-138. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.01.029
Your heart is racing, your chest is constricting, and it feels as if you may vomit. The logical part of your brain tries to soothe the panic that’s building in your chest by informing you it’s due to the three cups of coffee you’ve consumed in the last hour. But instead of listening to your better instincts, you turn to Google. Article after article feeds your worst fears with information about heart attacks. And just when you think your “diagnosis” can’t get any worse, a dreaded link takes you to a site for cardiac tumors. Before you know it, you are texting your mom to tell her how much you love her and escaping into social media rather than paying your bills. All you can think about is how painful it’s going to be to die from this fatal medical condition. While you are preoccupied with your heart, a muscle spasm occurs in your lower back which drives you into more panic. Now you’re convinced your kidneys are shutting down…
What is Illness Anxiety Disorder?
Illness Anxiety Disorder is a relatively new concept that has replaced the diagnosis of hypochondriasis. Individuals who suffer from this disorder are frequently preoccupied with worry over becoming extremely ill or developing a rare life-threatening condition. They may fixate on a specific part of the body or a certain medical condition like cancer or tumors.
Although illness anxiety or health anxiety will not kill you, it is extremely distressing and can be debilitating. According to Mayo Clinic (2018), illness anxiety disorder typically develops in early to middle adulthood and can get progressively worse over time.
Symptoms of Illness Anxiety Disorder
Repeatedly checking your body for signs of illness or disease, like checking your breasts for lumps or checking moles constantly
Frequently making medical appointments for reassurance
Frequently searching the internet for causes of symptoms or possible illness
Worrying excessively about a specific medical condition or your risk of developing a medical condition because it runs in the family
Having so much distress about a possible illness that it’s hard for you to function.[1]
Cyberchondria
With information just a click away, it is very easy to become a victim of cyberchondria. Cyberchondria is a subtype of illness anxiety disorder. It occurs when an individual seeks Dr. Google to research their ache or pain. Cyberchondria refers to preoccupation with a feared illness paired with compulsive Internet browsing.
What the Research Says About Illness Anxiety Disorder
A research team from Microsoft found that, although people reported low levels of health anxiety when Googling their symptoms, the searching provoked anxiety, leading to more compulsive searches. From there, many went on to schedule exploratory doctor or specialist appointments.
Although occasionally triggering unnecessary anxiety, White and Horvitz (2009) pointed out that a benefit of Googling a pre-existing medical diagnosis is an opportunity to become acquainted with accurate medical terminology. With this knowledge, a patient can give a more informative history and be a better advocate for appropriate treatment with their doctor.
Illness Anxiety Disorder Often Occurs with Another Psychiatric Disorder
Research has shown that illness anxiety disorder is more commonly comorbid with other anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder (worrying excessively), panic disorder (impairment due to fear of panic attacks), agoraphobia (avoidance of everyday life experiences due to fear of panic attacks), and even phobias (excessive fears).[3] It can also be seen in those who suffer from depressive symptoms but is most commonly seen in those with anxiety disorders.
Not much information is known on illness anxiety disorder because individuals who suffer from this will seek medical help first over psychiatric help. That means the client undergoes expensive medical diagnostic procedures rather than cognitive-behavioral therapy (the psychological treatment that is the most effective treatment).
What Causes Illness Anxiety Disorder?
While the exact cause of illness anxiety disorder is still unknown, researchers believe certain events contribute to the early onset of an illness anxiety diagnosis.[2]
Possible contributors:
History of abuse as a child
Excessive screen use overall
A serious medical diagnosis as a child or a parent had a serious medical diagnosis
Experiencing a major stressful life event
Excessive worrying related to health
Difficulty asserting oneself or impoverished social skills
How to Help Individuals Suffering from Illness Anxiety
If your child or teen is demonstrating tendencies, use the tools offered in our GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit. They will allow you to identify risk by monitoring browser searches, emails, and inquiring text messages.
Limit screen time and Internet access to WebMD and Mayo Clinic
Develop a positive, healthy relationship with your doctor by informing them about your tendencies
Find a psychologist for cognitive-behavioral therapy
Develop ways to ease stress, like exercise or meditation
Thank you to CSUCI intern, Kassidy Simpson for providing parents with the knowledge they need to help recognize and become aware of the signs of illness anxiety disorder. If you learned something new from this article, please talk to your friends about us and “like” our GetKidsInternetSafe Facebook page so other parents can find us!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Onward to More Awesome Parenting,
Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
White, R. W., & Horvitz, E. (2009). Experiences with web search on medical concerns and self-diagnosis. AMIA … Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium, 2009, 696–700.
Scarella, T. M., Laferton, J. A., Ahern, D. K., Fallon, B. A., & Barsky, A. (2016). The Relationship of Hypochondriasis to Anxiety, Depressive, and Somatoform Disorders. Psychosomatics,57(2), 200–207. doi:10.1016/j.psym.2015.10.006
