Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues people experience, so if you struggle with it… it’s important to know you’re not alone.

In fact, we all experience anxiety to some degree in our lives. A feeling of unease in pressured situations, worrying about doing something or low-level fears are types of anxiety that can be part of everyday life (think job interview, just before a cup final football match or big date). However, for some those anxious feelings are harder to control and can develop into episodes of anxiety.

Now here’s the science bit: When an episode occurs our bodies release stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Once they’re released we start to worry, our levels of fear starts to rise, and we feel like there may be no escape. Aside from what goes through our mind during an episode, we may also experience physical symptoms, including:

• Increased heart rate
• Breathlessness
• Sweating
• Stomach pains and muscle tension
• Feeling sick
• Excessive tiredness or Insomnia

With both physical and mental health symptoms developing, episodes of anxiety can really influence the way we live our lives. Here are some tips, advice and tools to help you minimise the impact anxiety can have.