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Everybody has times when they feel anxious or worried, such as before an exam or a job interview. It is quite normal for people to feel tense or concerned when facing a potentially stressful situation, and it might affect sleep patterns, appetite levels and the ability to concentrate.
Most of the time, the feelings of anxiety go away when the situation is over. However, if they do not go away and start to intrude on everyday life it might be that you have a problem with anxiety or an anxiety disorder.
The Mind website provides a good description of the "flight or flight" reflex:
"Anxiety and fear can protect you from danger. When you feel under threat, anxiety and fear trigger the release of hormones, such as adrenalin. Adrenalin causes your heart to beat faster to carry blood where it's most needed. You breathe faster to provide the extra oxygen required for energy. You sweat to prevent overheating. Your mouth may feel dry, as your digestive system slows down to allow more blood to be sent to your muscles. Your senses become heightened and your brain becomes more alert.
These changes make your body able to take action and protect you in a dangerous situation either by running away or fighting. It is known as the 'fight or flight' reflex. Once the danger has passed, other hormones are released, which may cause you to shake as your muscles start to relax.
This response is useful for protecting you against physical dangers; for example, it can help you run away from wild animals, attackers, fires etc very quickly. The response is not so useful if you want to run away from exams, public speaking, a driving test, or having an injection. This is because, if there is no physical threat, and you have no need to physically run away or fight, the effects of adrenaline subside more slowly, and you may go on feeling agitated for a long time."
We cover the "flight or fight" reflex in our free Stressbusters course, so if you want to learn more about it or how to manage the effect that it has on your body why not sign up to attend?
Any number of situations can cause an anxious response. Sometimes people feel anxious about things that they cannot control or when they come up against situations that have upset them in the past. Some people learnt to respond to situations with feelings of anxiety when they were a young child.
Some people believe it can often be a mixture of the type of person that you are, your childhood experiences and your current circumstances which combine and make you more susceptible to developing an anxiety disorder. On a day-to-day basis, caffeine, excess sugar, poor diet, drug misuse, exhaustion, stress and the side effects of certain medication can also cause anxiety.
After a while, people can start to fear the symptoms of anxiety, especially feeling out of control. This sets up a vicious circle. They feel anxious because they dread feeling the symptoms of anxiety, and then they experience those symptoms because they are having anxious thoughts.
Anxiety affects different people in different ways. It can affect your body, your moods, emotions, feelings and thoughts. Feeling anxious affects you emotionally and can also have an effect upon your body. Different people will experience anxiety in different ways. The signs or symptoms can include:
The physical symptoms are usually as a result of your brain sending out multiple messages to various parts of your body when you're feeling anxious. These messages tend to make your heart and lungs work faster.
We cover the bodies response to anxiety and stressful situations in our Stressbusters course. If you have been experiencing any of the above signs of anxiety, why not sign up for Stressbusters?
There are a number of questionnaires which have been designed to help people decide whether or not they have a problem with anxiety. Some people find it helpful to work through these questionnaires when considering their own symptoms –Take our Stress Test and complete this questionnaire yourself.
If you have been feeling worried and on edge and these feelings have not gone away – and are interfering with your daily life, it may be a sign that you have a problem with anxiety. Take our Stress test and see or contact us now, or you may wish to see your GP.
It is important to remember that anxiety disorder is a mental health issue that can affect anyone in their lifetime. It is not a sign of weakness or failure and you cannot be expected to just snap out of it. People should not be made to feel ashamed. Anxiety disorders can be treated if you seek help (contact us).
Anxiety is quite common, but there are several types of anxiety and panic disorders because everybody responds to anxiety and panic in different ways. Some of the more common disorders are listed below.
You may be diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder if you have felt anxious for a long time and often feel fearful, but are not anxious about anything in particular. The strength of symptoms can vary.
Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour are typical for this disorder. You may, for example, have obsessive thoughts about being contaminated with germs or fear that you have forgotten to lock the door or turn off the oven. You may feel compelled to wash your hands, do things in a particular order or keep repeating what you are doing a certain number of times.
Panic attacks may sometimes occur for no reason, and you may not be able to understand why. You may feel as if your mind has gone totally out of control. When you experience panic attacks that seem completely unpredictable and you can’t identify what has triggered them, you may experience panic disorder. Because the onset of panic seems unpredictable, you may live in fear of having another panic attack. This fear can become so intense it can trigger another panic attack.
Click here to find out more about panic attacks
If you have experienced or witnessed a very stressful or threatening event, e.g. war, serious accident, violent death or rape, you may later develop post-traumatic stress disorder. You are likely to experience flashbacks and have dreams about the event, and these are likely to trigger strong anxiety and feelings you experienced during the actual event.
Phobia is about irrational fear. If you have a phobia, your anxiety will be triggered by very specific situations or objects; such as spiders, heights, flying or crowded places, even when there is no danger to you. For example, you may know a spider isn’t poisonous or won’t bite you, but this still doesn’t reduce your anxiety. Likewise, you may know that it is safe to be out on a balcony in a high-rise block, yet, feel terrified to go out on it or even enjoy the view from behind the windows inside the building.
Click here to find out more about Phobias
There are many things you can do to reduce your anxiety to a more manageable level. Taking action may make you feel more anxious at first. Even thinking about anxiety can make it worse. Therefore, a common – and natural – response to anxiety is to avoid what triggers your fear. For example, if you are afraid of spiders, running away every time you see one, is likely to increase your fear. Avoiding an exam because you feel anxious is likely to make you feel worse. Therefore facing up to anxiety, and how it makes you feel, can be the first step in breaking the cycle of fear and insecurity.
You may find that your symptoms can be controlled by breathing and relaxation techniques. Books and CDs on the topic are available both online and from bookstores to help you with this. Several self-help programmes on relaxation are available online, or you could attend a relaxation class. In some areas there are also classes in anxiety management, see our Stressbusters page to find out more.
The most common forms of treatment offered are talking treatments and medication. You may also be offered, for example, exercise on prescription.
Most people, who seek help with their anxiety disorders, recover well. There are many things that can help you with your anxiety. These include:
There is more information about medicines that can help with anxiety on the websites of the national mental health charities, Mind and Rethink.
Anxiety Care
07552 877 219
Helps people to recover from anxiety disorders.
Anxiety UK
08444 775 774
Support, help and information for those with anxiety disorders.
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
0161 705 4304
Can provide details of accredited therapists.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
01455 883 300
Information about counselling and therapy. Details of local practitioners.
The British Psychological Society
0116 254 9568
Produces a directory of chartered psychologists
The Complementary Medical Association (CMA)
0845 129 8434
Has a register of professional practitioners and training courses.
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Information about the therapy, classes in Mindfulness and training.
NICE (National Institute for health and clinical excellence)
Information and guidelines on recommended treatments for different disorders.
No Panic
0800 138 8889
Provides a helpline, step-by-step programmes, and support for those with anxiety disorders.
Samaritans
24-hour helpline: 08457 90 90 90
email: jo@samaritans.org
Emotional support for anyone feeling down or struggling to cope.
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
020 7014 9955
Has a voluntary register of qualified psychotherapists.
Books Can Help
This is the Kent Libraries & Archives' books on prescription scheme. This scheme aims to assist people with mild to moderate mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, phobias and eating disorders.
Mental Health Matters Helpline
Confidential emotional support and guidance – Tel. 0800 107 0160
Mental Health Matters Helpline is a confidential service staffed by highly trained and experienced Telephone Helpline Workers, offering emotional support to anyone calling. We provide information on local and national services specific to Mental Health. You do not need a diagnosed illness to call, people contact us about many different issues's such as bereavement, relationship problems, loneliness/isolation and stress. Ongoing support is available, we are also here for carers in need of support.
Live it Well
The Live It Well website provides information on mental wellbeing, and provides more information about support groups and services in your area.
Signpost UK
The Signpost UK website provides information on mental health problems, information for carers and links to local services.
Glasgow Steps
The Glasgow Steps website will tell you all about common anxiety problems and give you some ideas on how best to tackle them.
Living Life To The Full
Living Life To The Full is a self help life skills training package based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), for those with mild to moderate depression and anxiety.