Dr Khalid A Al-Saleh

Six to seven individuals frequent Kuwait Center for Mental Health, according to Director Dr Khuloud Al-Ali, which is a large number for a small country. What makes the issue more dangerous is that 60 percent of patients suffer from anxiety disorders.

There is difference between anxiety, which is a normal human attribute, and anxiety disorders. Natural anxiety means awareness and behavioral elements combine to create an unpleasant feeling that is linked to discomfort, fear or hesitation. Normal anxiety is mostly accompanied by behaviors that reflect tension and discomfort, and of course there is no human being who has not gone through such moments, but it is a natural reaction that gets over when the event ends.

But pathological anxiety or anxiety disorders are a collection of mental disorders that are accompanied by a feeling of fear and worry. This anxiety may be continuous in the form of fear and panic towards future events, similar to the concept of neurotic personality.

So, are there differences between people suffering from anxiety disorders? The answer comes from genetics, which reveals there are personalities that have genes that make them more likely to suffer from pathological anxiety than others, but this genetic defect is not very common. Some studies have said there are external factors that are stronger than genetics in making some people anxious, most important of which is drugs or alcohol addiction.

So we are facing a major pathological phenomenon. Medicine has confirmed its link to alcohol and narcotics use, so it is time to ask whether pathological anxiety is due to drug use in our society. This question needs to refer to the numbers revealed by the director of Kuwait Mental Health Center to reach a scientific conclusion that reveals all aspects of the problem.

Pathological anxiety halts a human being’s contributions and makes them introverted and unable to use their abilities. Here is the danger of this disorder on development, especially if we understand that most patients are young. Many experts have warned against intoxicants and drug abuse, and we are now seeing diseases linked to them spreading among us.

We really need today, more than any time, to confront addiction.