Explains anxiety and panic attacks, including possible causes and how you can access treatment and support. Includes tips for helping yourself, and guidance for friends and family.
Anxiety feels different for everyone. You might experience some of the physical and mental effects listed on this page, as well as effects in other areas of your life.
You might also have experiences or difficulties with anxiety that aren't recognised here.
This page covers:
These can include:
Watch Alex talk about the physical impact anxiety has on his body in this video:
These can include:
"I could feel all these physical symptoms building inside me, literally filling every part of my body until I felt completely light-headed and disembodied."
"I constantly thought I was dying of undiagnosed illnesses, because I was convinced that the physical symptoms were too bad to be 'just anxiety'."
Anxiety symptoms can last for a long time, or come and go. You might find you have difficulty with day-to-day parts of your life, including:
In some cases anxiety can have a serious impact on your ability to work. See our pages on how to be mentally healthy at work for information on how to cope. Our legal pages on discrimination at work can provide information about your rights in the workplace.
If you drive you may have to tell the DVLA if you have an anxiety disorder. For information on your right to drive, including when and how to contact the DVLA, see our legal pages on fitness to drive.
"...I quickly felt lonely, overwhelmed and, at times, quite depressed due to my social skills, or lack thereof."
This information was published in February 2021. We will revise it in 2024.
References and bibliography available on request.
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