Expert and TikTok star discusses anxiety
Licensed therapist Trey Tucker offers tips for better mental health.
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As we mark World Mental Health Day this week, doctors continue to see an increase in reports of anxiety and depression across the globe.
Millions of people are turning to the internet to supplement their mental health care.
According to Trey Tucker, licensed mental health therapist with Rugged Counseling, there’s increased anxiety in all age groups, but especially among young people.
He says the number one reason is too much information.
“At any given point they can grab their phones,” he explained, “and find out what’s going on in the world, anywhere, and that’s just simply too much information for one brain to process.”
“The brain needs to rest; it needs some recovery time.”
Turner says we all sit too much and don’t burn off enough energy by the end of the day.
“If there’s left over energy in the body, the body is going to figure out how to use that energy and typically it is going to find something to worry about to burn that off.”
He also says most people have their priorities wrong and should be chasing things that bring peace and hope, such as significance and purpose, rather than pleasure and happiness.
Tucker says since the pandemic quarantine, there’s been a 25% increase in people diagnosed with anxiety.
“And that doesn’t even count the people that just struggle with it,” he added, “and deal with it without actually going to get any sort of help or a diagnosis, so it really is across the board.”
When it comes to social media, Tucker says research shows it’s a big contributor to anxiety across all age levels.
“If you follow the graph all the way from roughly…2007-ish to now,” he said, “it’s just a steep incline of anxiety. I’m sure there are other factors for that increase besides phones and social media, but those are the obvious ones to look at.”
Tucker says, to get a handle on anxious thoughts or feelings, do some kind of movement to keep you in the moment.
“One of my favorite tips is touch your finger, each finger to your thumb, and then change the order, maybe call out the number of the finger as you do it. That grounds you in the present moment because anxiety wants to pull you to the future …[and] is really just trying to tell us about some unmet needs, it’s trying to get our attention.
To connect with Trey Tucker online, click here .
