Jefferson City psychologist an expert in anxiety disorders

04/30/2002
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Growing up with friendly, outgoing parents, Barb Markway felt like the shy misfit. She wouldn't talk to her parents' friends when they visited.

She never spoke in school. She hated going to church because walking forward for communion and shaking the pastor's hand after the service made her anxious.

As a teen-ager, she would beg her father to fill her car with gas and her mother to make store returns because she didn't like facing sales clerks. In college, she avoided classes that required student participation.

Her social shortcomings made her depressed, even suicidal. And that made her more withdrawn.

Ironic, then, that Markway, a Jefferson City psychologist, is now at the forefront of treating people like herself, those who suffer from anxiety disorders. Markway was featured in the PBS documentary, "Afraid of People," which aired last week.

Wednesday is National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day, an opportunity for people to receive a free and anonymous mental health screening at sites around the U.S. Screening sites can be found at www.freedomfromfear.org or by calling 1-888-442-2022.

Anxiety disorder is the intense fear of being embarrassed or humiliated by a person's own actions. It is considered the third most common mental disorder behind depression and alcoholism. Experts say that only 5 percent of the more than 10 million American affected will receive treatment.

The disorders come in varying forms:

• Social Anxiety Disorder, where people experience intense and chronic fear of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder, where people worry excessively about unfounded issues such as money or health.
• Panic Disorder, where people suffer from unexpected and repeated episodes of intense, physical fear.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, whose sufferers have recurrent, unwanted obsessions and compulsions.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, where people repeatedly re-experience a traumatic ordeal in forms such as flashbacks or nightmares.

"People often go into helping professions because they've had struggles of their own," Markway said. "I understand where they're coming from. Some people, even some doctors, don't take it seriously. They say, 'Oh, just snap out of it.' I have a perspective knowing it is serious, but also knowing there is hope."

While many people have some degree of shyness, it's a serious problem when it controls and limits a person's entire life.

It was while in graduate school that Markway began to recover with the help of group therapy. Medication also was effective in treating the disorder, which doctors have described as part psychology/part biology, stemming from the brain's physiological overreaction to the unfamiliar.

Determination has played a big part in her recovery. "I refused to let fear run my life. There are things I want to do. If they make me nervous, I'll do it anyway," Markway said.

That's not to say her struggles are over. "I'm never going to be an outgoing social butterfly. But, I'm fine as I am, and I'll use the talents I have.

"I have this sense there's a reason for the struggles I've been through, that I can help others," Markway said.

On the Net:

www.freedomfromfear.org