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Anxiety
Anxiety is a natural response to threats that causes you to feel worried, nervous, concerned, or uneasy.
When anxiety becomes difficult to control and affects your everyday life, then you may have an anxiety disorder. Panic disorders and phobias (fear of something specific) are types of anxiety disorder.
Examples of anxiety disorders include:
- generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) – often feeling very anxious about lots of different things
- social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia) – a fear of social situations
- selective mutism – being unable to speak in certain social situations
- agoraphobia – a fear of being in situations, such as on a bus or in a crowd, where help or an easy escape might not be available
- body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) – worrying about flaws in your appearance
It’s common to have more than one type of anxiety disorder at the same time.
The negative cycle of anxiety — East London NHS Foundation Trust
People with anxiety often also have, or go on to develop, other mental health conditions, such as depression and eating disorders.
Anxiety is also linked with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which is when you can’t stop unpleasant thoughts and feel you need to do a particular action to get temporary relief from the feelings those thoughts bring.
Physical symptoms
- faster, irregular or more noticeable heartbeat
- feeling light-headed and dizzy
- headaches
- chest pains
- loss of appetite
- indigestion, stomach cramps, bloating and feeling sick (nausea)
- constipation or diarrhoea
- sweating
- breathlessness
- feeling hot
- shaking
Mental symptoms
- feeling tense or nervous
- being unable to relax
- worrying about the past or future
- feeling tearful
- not being able to sleep
- difficulty concentrating
- fear of the worst happening
- intrusive traumatic memories
- obsessive thoughts
Changes in behaviour
- not being able to enjoy your leisure time
- difficulty looking after yourself
- struggling to form or maintain relationships
- worried about trying new things
- avoiding places and situations that create anxiety
- compulsive behaviour, such as constantly checking things
What causes anxiety?
We have evolved to feel anxious when we’re in danger so that our ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response will be triggered to protect us. This response involves the release of hormones which make you feel more alert and increase your heart rate so blood can quickly get where it’s needed most (to enable you to run away or fight).
If you have an anxiety disorder, this response is being triggered at times when there is no real threat, and the feelings it brings are very strong or last for a long time.
It’s not fully understood what causes anxiety disorders, though it’s believed that a mixture of things can trigger them, including:
- an event that caused a lot of stress
- genetics (having a close family member who has an anxiety disorder)
- an imbalance of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) in the brain
If you're not sure it's generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
Most people feel anxious sometimes. It does not always mean you have GAD. t's more likely to be GAD if you feel anxious most of the time and it affects your everyday life.
See a GP if
- you think you might have generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
- you've been diagnosed with GAD and treatments are not helping