Anxiety

What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a word we use to describe feelings of worry, fear and panic. As well as these emotional feelings, people with anxiety might also experience physical (body) sensations such as a racing heart, breathing fast, sweaty hands, dry mouth and feeling shaky. Many people also have “what if” or negative thoughts when they are anxious.
Anxiety is a normal human response to feeling threatened or in danger, this can sometimes be a thought, image or memory. Anxiety can become a real problem if these feelings are very strong, happen even when there is no real danger or if it lasts for a long time. Lots of people experience worry and anxiety although for some people it can impact on everyday life and get in the way of school/college, socialising and even home life.
Some young people living with anxiety share their story in the video below
Common types of anxiety include:
- Worries about what other people think of you or worries about being judged negatively and not feeling good enough
- Worries about bad things happening to you or the people you love and care about
- Uncontrollable constant worry about lots of things (like school, the future, health, world events)
- Worries about your safety and health (including worries about germs and contamination)
- Phobias (big fears) about specific things
- Worries that you are responsible for bad things happening
- Feeling the need to complete certain routines, rituals or behaviour to stop bad things from happening (commonly known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
- Worries about what other people think of you or worries about being judged negatively and not feeling good enough
- Worries about bad things happening to you or the people you love and care about
- Uncontrollable constant worry about lots of things (like school, the future, health, world events)
- Worries about your safety and health (including worries about germs and contamination)
- Phobias (big fears) about specific things
- Worries that you are responsible for bad things happening
- Feeling the need to complete certain routines, rituals or behaviour to stop bad things from happening (commonly known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Contact services
These are your local CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) services if you are looking for help:
- North Cumbria CAMHS
- Northumberland Primary Mental Health Work
- North Tyneside CAMHS
- Newcastle CAMHS
- Gateshead CAMHS
- South Tyneside Lifecycle Primary Care Mental Health Services
- Sunderland CAMHS
- County Durham CAMHS
- Darlington CAMHS
- Hartlepool CAMHS
- Stockton CAMHS
- Middlesbrough CAMHS
- Redcar and Cleveland CAMHS
- Worries about what other people think of you or worries about being judged negatively and not feeling good enough
- Worries about bad things happening to you or the people you love and care about
- Uncontrollable constant worry about lots of things (like school, the future, health, world events)
- Worries about your safety and health (including worries about germs and contamination)
- Phobias (big fears) about specific things
- Worries that you are responsible for bad things happening
- Feeling the need to complete certain routines, rituals or behaviour to stop bad things from happening (commonly known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Contact services
These are your local CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) services if you are looking for help:
- North Cumbria CAMHS
- Northumberland Primary Mental Health Work
- North Tyneside CAMHS
- Newcastle CAMHS
- Gateshead CAMHS
- South Tyneside Lifecycle Primary Care Mental Health Services
- Sunderland CAMHS
- County Durham CAMHS
- Darlington CAMHS
- Hartlepool CAMHS
- Stockton CAMHS
- Middlesbrough CAMHS
- Redcar and Cleveland CAMHS