What is anxiety

Anxiety is an emotional state which is characterised by feelings of fear, worry and apprehension. At any time, 1 in 10 people will be experiencing high levels of anxiety, affecting their mood and thinking.
 
Most people experience anxiety at some level within their everyday lives, such as before an examination or a job interview. Such anxiety would be considered normal and may be beneficial for increasing alertness. However, when levels of anxiety remain at an excessive level over a long period of time, this may result in a reduction of one's ability to cope effectively on a daily basis.
 
There are various causes for anxiety. It may be that a person has an anxious personality, or that they have learned to worry though observing another individual, for example a close family member. Stressful life events such as divorce or bereavement may cause anxiety. There are also situational factors which can create anxiety, for example pressure at work or relationship problems.
 
It may be that you are experiencing mild symptoms of anxiety which can be addressed through making changes to your lifestyle. Our health and wellbeing pages give advice on improving general wellbeing including diet and exercise. However, if you are experiencing more severe symptoms you may benefit from talking therapy or guided self-help. Our service offers psychological interventions of this nature, details of which can be found on our Self-help Programmes page.
 
In order to find out whether you are suffering from anxiety, you may find it helpful to follow the flowchart.