Anxiety
Anxiety is characterised by worrying and hypervigilance. Anxious people evaluate life with apprehension, dreading situations that may provoke anxiety, or feel anxious with no apparent reason. They may experience severe agitation, physical tension, heart palpitations, rapid breathing, an 'anxiety' stomach, disturbed sleeping patterns, or simply not be at ease. Anxiety is common. In the UK, anxiety affects 43 in every 1000 men and 46 in every 1000 women (ONS).
Anxiety can be moderate (free floating) or severe (panic attacks), stimulus specific (examination anxiety) or without an obvious stimulus, and be temporary or persistent (phobias). Anxiety is part of many conditions such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, phobias, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the UK, anxiety with depression affects 68 in every 1000 men and 108 in every 1000 women (ONS).
The BBC interviewed former England cricket team star Marcus Trescothick about his anxiety. Marcus said anxiety affected him when he was separated from his home on school trips as a boy and when on cricket tours abroad as an adult. He described how he "struggled" with the "worrying" that is part of anxiety, and how he had "hid" it from others, a common reaction, that he got tired of doing. His openness about anxiety may help others to understand it more.
The causes of anxiety are believed to include real or imagined experiences of threat, unconscious conflicts, someone or something being too much, misinterpretation of physical sensations, a cultural norm known as the age of anxiety, or the philosophical entity of existential anxiety. If you are concerned about a problem do not diagnose yourself. Always consult your GP or a therapist who is qualified to both diagnose the issue and help you work through it.
Articles on Anxiety
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