Anxiety is a perfectly normal and healthy reaction to threatening or dangerous situations; it is very important for our survival as it is our natural protection - a built-in alarm, if you like. Anxiety can affect us mentally, physically or both.

Sometimes we may feel anxious but we don't know why, this can be a constant feeling that feels out of proportion to the situation, or waves of anxiety that come and go. When this starts to affect your daily life, it can become overwhelming and you may feel out of control.

Everyone will experience anxiety differently and we all have our own triggers; we may not always know what causes our anxiety which can feel upsetting and stressful and can actually cause further anxious feelings.

We don't always have control over things that affect our mental health, factors such as our environment, bereavement, past and present circumstances, previous trauma or our childhood experiences, can all influence our mental and emotional state.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

It is important to remember that anxiety feels different for everyone, however, there are some common symptoms, listed below. You might also experience other symptoms or difficulties that aren't listed here.

• Feeling nervous, on edge, or panicky all the time
• Feeling overwhelmed or full of dread
• Feeling out of control
• Having trouble sleeping
• Low appetite
• Finding it difficult to concentrate
• Feeling tired and grumpy
• Heart beating really fast or thinking you're having a heart attack
• Having a dry mouth
• Trembling
• Feeling faint
• Stomach cramps and/or diarrhoea/needing to pee more than usual
• Sweating more than usual
• Wobbly legs
• Getting very hot