Conditions: Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress.

Anxious feelings can come and go but they can become problematic when our fears become out of proportion in relatively harmless situations and when they start interfering with our daily life and our relationships. In that case, the feeling of fear may be persistent and/or intense and therefore debilitating. When worry becomes excessive, we feel overwhelmed and physically tense, uncomfortable, or even unwell.

Is your anxiety connected to anything specific?

Social Anxiety

In contrast to everyday nervousness, social anxiety refers to fear, anxiety and avoidance that interfere with relationships and our everyday lives. 

Health Anxiety

Health anxiety involves excessive and overwhelming worrying that you are or may become seriously ill to the point that it negatively affects your everyday life and relationships. 

Panic Attacks

A panic attack is a feeling of sudden and intense anxiety. Panic attacks can also have physical symptoms, including shaking, feeling disorientated, nausea, rapid, irregular heartbeats, dry mouth, breathlessness, sweating and dizziness. The symptoms of a panic attack are not dangerous but can be very frightening and experienced as an impending doom. The physical symptoms that accompany a panic attack are often misinterpreted as dangerous and life threatening. The term ‘panic disorder’ refers to either experiencing recurrent panic attacks or when there is a constant fear of having another panic attack.

Phobias

A phobia is a type of anxiety that is defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Common phobias include fear of animals, birds, insects, heights, enclosed spaces and the sight of blood, or injury or death. The physiology of fear experienced with phobias can include palpitations, breathlessness, sweating and dizziness.

OCD

‘Obsessions’ are unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries, or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind. They are experienced as intrusions, and they can make you feel very anxious and uncomfortable. ‘Compulsions’ are repetitive activities that you do to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession, these can be internal (mental activities such as repeating a specific phrase in your head or checking how your body feels) or external (such as repeatedly checking a door is locked). Many people experience minor obsessions and compulsions, and it is normal to experience unwanted thoughts; it is also common to have intrusive thoughts at times that are disturbing in nature. You may find that your obsessions and compulsions are manageable and at other times they make your day-to-day life really difficult. They may be more severe when you are stressed about other things, like life changes, health, money, work, or relationships. If you experience OCD, it's likely that your obsessions and compulsions will disrupt your daily life and your relationships and that you will feel very distressed, ashamed, and lonely.

Generalised Worry (GAD)

Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. You might worry about things like health, money, or family problems. But you suffer from what is often referred to as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), you may feel excessively and extremely worried or feel nervous about a wide range of everyday events—even when there is little or no reason to worry about them. People with GAD find it difficult to control their anxiety and stay focused on daily tasks and daily life becomes a constant state of worry, fear, and dread.