Anxiety is a feeling of fear or panic. Feeling generally anxious sometimes is normal. Most people worry about something – money or exams – but once the difficult situation is over, you feel better and calm down.
If the problem has gone but the feeling of fear or panic stays or even gets stronger, that’s when anxiety becomes a problem.
With as many as one in six young people experiencing anxiety at some point, it is very common to have anxiety.
The Symptoms of Anxiety
The symptoms of anxiety start out the same as just feeling generally anxious but get worse or last longer than they should. These include:
- Feeling frightened, nervous or panicky all the time
- Difficulty sleeping
- Low appetite
- Lack of concentration
- Tired and irritable
- Palpitations – when your heart feels like its racing
- Dry mouth
- Trembling
- Feeling faint
- Stomach cramps and/or diarrhoea
Feeling one, some or even most of the above doesn’t necessarily mean you have anxiety. It’s important to talk to your GP to get a full diagnosis.
What to do about Anxiety
Take the first step – if you think you are affected by anxiety, talk to someone you trust in school, college or university, your GP or school nurse.
If your health professional thinks you are suffering from anxiety, they will probably suggest a treatment plan for you to follow. They should catch up with you regularly to see how you’re getting on.
Treating Anxiety
You can help yourself by talking to friends or people you trust about your anxiety. Sometimes simply talking things through can help .
Distract yourself by listening to music, doing some exercise, reading a book, gaming – whatever helps you relax!
The doctor may prescribe you antidepressants that help you think differently about the things worrying you. They usually take two to four weeks to start to work so don’t worry if you’re not feeling better straight away.
Anxiety is often helped with a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, also known as CBT. It’s a talking therapy where you work with a therapist to help you understand your thoughts and feelings and work through ways to change the way they affect you. You’ll also learn techniques to help you relax. Other talking therapies can also be helpful.
Tips For Coping With Social Anxiety
Social anxiety can make everyday activities like going to school or seeing friends difficult.
Speak to someone: Everyone will tell you this one and it probably is the most obvious but speak to someone about how you are feeling. This can be done in a few ways; you could speak to a family member, a friend you trust or a member of staff you feel comfortable with. If you find speaking face to face difficult, you could try calling one of the many helplines that are available.
You could speak to a family member, a friend you trust or a member of staff you feel comfortable with.
Write a letter: If you’re not ready to speak to someone yet, write a letter to yourself explaining how you’re feeling and why. Be as open and truthful with yourself as you can be. Then, a few days later you could read it back to yourself and imagine that someone else wrote it and think about how you would help them.
Write a letter to yourself explaining how you’re feeling and why.
Smile at people when you walk past each other. This can be really tough but can help you connect with people.
It makes me feel happy when I smile at someone and they smile back at me.
Understand that how you’re feeling is normal and you are not alone! Although it goes unspoken, so many people around you have or are experiencing social anxiety. Just because you cannot see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Just because you cannot see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Find something to focus on like a hobby or an interest that you are really passionate about. It can help to know there’s something good to look forward to at the end of the day or at a weekend.
Even if I felt incredibly uncomfortable at school, I knew that there was something good happening later.
Learning to Cope
Taking a few simple actions can help to reduce the sense of panic and feeling sad.
- Listen to loud music
- Go for a walk
- Lose yourself in a favourite book
- Try some gaming online, it can be easier to connect to people when you’re not face to face and it can help build friendships. Be safe though and only connect with people you know and trust.
- The classic – reach out to your friends
Ask for help Anxiety can be a very isolating experience, but you really are not alone. As stressful and anxiety-inducing as seeking help can be in itself, talking to someone and receiving support is the only way to overcome it. It will not magically disappear.