Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe.
Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. For example, you may feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam or having a medical test or job interview.

Feeling anxious is sometimes perfectly normal.

However, people with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and often affect their daily life.
Anxiety is the main symptom of several conditions, including:
panic disorder
phobias - social anxiety disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder



Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

GAD is a long-term condition which causes you to feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event.
People with GAD feel anxious most days and often struggle to remember the last time they felt relaxed. GAD can cause both psychological (mental) and physical symptoms.
These vary from person to person, but can include feeling irritable or worried and having trouble concentrating or sleeping.
Read about the symptoms of anxiety.

How common is anxiety?

For example GAD affects about 1 in 20 adults in Britain. Slightly more women are affected than men, and the condition is most common in people in their 20s.

How is anxiety treated?

GAD can significantly affect your daily life, making it difficult to carry out everyday tasks. However, several different treatments are available to ease your psychological and physical symptoms.

These include psychological therapy and medication.
There are also many things you can do to ease the symptoms of anxiety yourself.

Find out more about the treatments for anxiety and self-help tips for anxiety.