Anxiety Vs Western Culture

Over forty million people in the United States alone are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, which roughly makes up 18 percent of the country’s population. Each year a whopping sum of 42 billion United States dollars are spent on this mental disorder. (1) The western world is not alone in facing anxiety disorders; Anxiety occurs on a global scale but scientific studies have consistently shown that in comparison to Western cultures, Eastern cultures have significantly lower diagnostic rates of anxiety disorders (4). Although one cannot determine the exact cause of the discrepancy between the two worlds, I will investigate the cultural and philosophical differences, which may be contributing factors. Anxiety is an undesirable emotion, which all human beings experience at one time, or another. It is an

This establishes a “bigger-better mindset”. This mindset is often associated with feelings of continuous discontent with the ones current state of being despite. There is relentless pressure coming from all directions to further advance ones position academically, socially, and economically. Most people are motivated both internally and externally to live such exhausting lives. Human beings naturally long for acceptance within a community. Our external motivation for success develops from our concern with how others view us and whether or not they will accept us. Internal motivation stems from the belief that more “stuff” will bring happiness. Whether it be monetary value, material possession, or popularity when these material things are not attained we perceive this as failure and begin to develop a sense of emptiness and uselessness. With this wide range of environmental and cultural stressors it is not surprising that the west displays such high diagnosis rates of anxiety disorders. The western mindset fosters an unfavorable environment for those people who are genetically predisposed to the