Feeling anxious?

Sometimes stress can develop into a physical illness or anxiety.

Anxiety is the most common of all mental health problems, affecting around 1 in 10 people at any time. Most of the time it is a useful response to a situation and can keep you alert to potential dangers.

For instance, it can be helpful to feel some anxiety about crossing a busy road – it makes sure that you look carefully before crossing. However, sometimes this natural reaction can go into overdrive. A person's anxiety levels can remain high and prevent them from living their life in the way they would like.

The term anxiety is used to describe a number of different problems. The more common are:

• Panic
• Phobias – such as fear of open spaces, going out, flying, heights
• Obsessive Compulsive behaviours/thoughts
• Generalised anxiety
• Social anxiety

Common signs of anxiety can include:

• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Feeling apprehensive
• Feeling tense
• Feeling irritable
• On edge
• Difficulty concentrating
• Excessive worry
• Panic attacks - click here to download a toolkit on Panic Attacks

If you recognise some of these signs, there is help available. For immediate help, go to get help now.