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WHAT IS ANXIETY?

Anxiety is the body and brain’s response to threat, designed to help us stay safe. It’s an essential part of our nervous system; without our anxiety response, humans wouldn’t survived. It puts our bodies into fight, flight or freeze mode, so we can respond appropriately to danger.

Anxiety can be beneficial in some situations, such as when it alerts us to a potential threat or helps with focusing on an important task. However, anxiety can become a problem when we get triggered by perceived threats (such as the fear of being disliked by others), rather than actual, physical danger.

Anxiety often feels horrible and unpleasant, but it’s usually not harmful in itself. The main physical symptoms include increased heart rate, muscle tension, restlessness, nausea and fast breathing. Psychological symptoms include feeling out of control, a sense of impending doom, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating and feeling panicked.

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Anxiety disorders

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Anxiety becomes a problem when it’s excessive, persistent, and interferes with daily life. In such cases, it may be diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. Mental Health UK statistics show that over 8 million people in the UK are experiencing an anxiety disorder..

Common symptoms of anxiety disorders include:

  • Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge

  • Uncontrollable or excessive worrying

  • Restlessness and difficulty relaxing

  • Becoming easily annoyed or irritable

  • Feeling afraid that something awful might happen


A medical professional, such as a GP, is needed to get an anxiety diagnoses. Common anxiety disorders include:

  • Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Chronic worry and tension that affects multiple areas of life and interferes with daily functioning.

  • Panic Disorder: Recurrent panic attacks, which are sudden periods of intense fear or discomfort that peak within minutes.

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): This involves unwanted, persistent thoughts and repetitive behaviours to reduce anxiety or prevent feared events.


Some people may also experience anxiety that is specific to certain situations or triggers, such as social anxiety, health anxiety, phobias and eco/climate anxiety.


The anxiety cycle


When we’re anxious, it’s easy to get stuck in an cycle of anxious thoughts, feelings and behaviour. The anxiety cycle looks something like this:

  • Thinking something bad will happen or worrying we won’t be able to cope

  • Having bodily sensations of anxiety and panic

  • Avoiding doing things that provoke anxiety


These three areas of thoughts, feelings and behaviours are so closely intertwined that we’re usually not aware of them all, and experience them all simultaneously. When we get stuck in the cycle, we end up avoiding doing things that make us anxious, which means we don’t learn how to manage and overcome our feelings, so we continue to feel anxious.

The good news is that we can change our thoughts, feelings and behaviours to interrupt the anxiety cycle and start feeling better. Here are a few practical techniques you can use:

  • Remind yourself that there’s no real danger/threat

  • Use grounding techniques, such as breathing, visualisation and meditation, to reduce anxiety symptoms

  • Check if your anxious thoughts reflect reality – are you seeing things as they are, or adding a negative interpretation or prediction?

  • Use a positive mantra, such as ‘keep calm and carry on’ or ‘I can cope’

  • Take small steps towards facing your anxieties to build up confidence and beat the anxiety cycle


Anxiety can also be managed with treatments including counselling/psychotherapy, CBT, complementary therapies and medication. 

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