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Mild anxiety

Published by BUPA's health information team, healthinfo@bupa.com, February 2008.

This factsheet is for people who have mild anxiety, or who would like information about it.

Thinking through problems and challenges is a healthy response to life's pressures. It gives you the motivation to assess, take responsibility and take action in all aspects of your life. Sometimes though, instead of working out the solution to a challenge, you have unresolved concerns. It's at this stage that this thinking can turn into anxiety.

• About mild anxiety
• Causes
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatments
• Sources
• Further information
• Related topics

About mild anxiety

Almost everyone has mild anxiety at some point. Certain situations throughout life are particularly likely to make you feel worried. Mild anxiety can prevent you from enjoying your life to the full.

Causes

Moving home, starting a new job or having a baby can all cause anxiety. It may also be linked to negative events that have happened to you in the past, such as an accident or not doing well in an exam.

You can use your anxiety to avoid facing a problem or taking any action. You may even be afraid of success, because it challenges your self-identity as a non-achiever. Little worries mean you don't have to face the bigger picture.

Excessive anxiety may be linked to personality types. You may also be genetically more likely to be anxious. More serious anxiety disorders can be due to a disturbance of chemicals in the brain.

Mild anxiety is not the same as the medical diagnosis of anxiety disorder. In this condition anxious thoughts take over your life to the degree that you need professional help. For more information, see Related topics.

Symptoms

For one in 10 people, mild anxiety can significantly affect long-term wellbeing. Mild anxiety can stop you from working effectively and taking risks. When you worry too much, you obsess over situations that you can only partly control. You may also have anxiety about things that, realistically, you are powerless to change. Anxiety can produce other emotional and physical symptoms.

Physical effects

Anxiety can have many physical effects anxiety on your body:

• palpitations (irregular heartbeats) - which may cause chest pain or discomfort
• a feeling of breathlessness
• trembling or feeling faint and dizzy
• feeling sweaty
• muscle tension and pains
• digestive problems such as nausea and diarrhoea
• headache
• sleeplessness - which can make you feel tired
• stomach ache

Emotional and behavioural effects

You may also:

• feel helpless
• find it difficult to make decisions
• lack self-confidence
• find it difficult to concentrate
• have panic attacks
• have obsessive behaviour (such as repeatedly checking that the oven is switched off)

Diagnosis

You can talk to your GP about the different options available to manage your anxiety. However, you might find you can deal with your anxiety yourself.

Before you visit your GP, it's helpful to try to understand your own pattern of behaviour and what may have happened to trigger your anxiety.

Treatments

Self-help

Anxiety can make your life difficult. But there are lots of things that you can do to help to reduce anxiety. These things help you find new ways of dealing with everyday situations.

Confront worries

Sometimes, the process of being anxious about a problem becomes much bigger than the problem itself. So you often need to learn to deal with anxiety head on.

• Talk to trusted friends or relatives. It's a useful way to articulate your anxious thoughts or negative feelings. It can also give you a fresh perspective on a situation.
• Write down any specific situations you are anxious about. Take one problem and break it down into parts, ranking them in order of importance. Work out a solution for each task and when to complete it. Writing about your negative thoughts and feelings may also be helpful. This could be in the form of a diary. Challenge each negative point by thinking of a positive point.
• Anxiety can stem from a lack of self-confidence. So it may help you to improve your assertiveness or to attend a self-assertiveness class to improve your interpersonal skills. For more information, see Related topics.
• It can be useful to acknowledge your worst fears about a worrying situation. Try to consider how to react to a worst-case scenario. This will help you see how unlikely such a bad outcome really is. In this way you can increase the sense of being able to cope, and lessen your anxieties.
• Find ways to challenge and confront the things that you are anxious about that do happen. This will empower you.

Make lifestyle changes

You may find that you tend to be more anxious when you are stressed. There are several lifestyle changes that can help.

• Allow yourself breathing space to step back and reflect. Don't take on unrealistic commitments that will affect your wellbeing.
• Learn to relax. This can reduce feelings of anxiety, improve sleep and relieve stress-related physical symptoms such as stomach pains and headaches. Your GP or local library will have details of adult education classes. Or you may find relaxation techniques in books, on CDs or on the internet that can help.
• Regular exercise can help to reduce anxiety. It provides valuable time out and releases brain chemicals that improve mood and help you feel more positive.
• Don't drink lots of drinks containing caffeine or alcohol as both can increase anxiety.
• Eat a balanced diet - this will provide sustained levels of energy to keep you on an even keel.

Sometimes, self-help is not enough to overcome your persistent anxiety. There are treatments available.

Getting help

If you are concerned about your anxiety visit your GP for advice. He or she will advise you about treatments that can help you.

Talking therapies

Talking therapies aim to address negative thoughts and behaviours and deal with the causes of your anxiety. In this treatment you have a series of sessions with a trained therapist. The type of talking therapy you have may depend on the severity of anxiety.

• Cognitive behaviour therapy helps you examine the ways you think (cognition). You learn to explore connections between your ideas, your anxiety, and how you feel and behave. Learning new ways of thinking and behaving will help you face your fears. For more information, see Related topics.
• Psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on the emotional causes of your psychological problems, for example childhood events, unresolved conflicts and family relations.
• Counselling helps you to explore how to make positive choices in life.

Medicines

Your GP may prescribe medicines to treat your anxiety. These can include tranquillisers, particularly benzodiazepines. However, these medicines are addictive. That is why they are only used as a short-term treatment for severe anxiety. Your GP may also prescribe antidepressants for your symptoms of anxiety. Your GP will advise you on the best course of treatment.

Complementary therapy

Many people find complementary therapies useful. These include acupuncture, reflexology and aromatherapy. Herbal remedies, such as valerian, may also be helpful. The benefits of these remedies have not been proven in clinical trials. If you are taking any other medication, check with your GP or pharmacist before taking any herbal remedy.

Further information

• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
  0161 797 4484
  www.babcp.com
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
  0870 443 5252
  www.bacp.co.uk

Sources

• Anxiety. Mental Health Foundation. www.mentalhealth.org.uk, accessed 20 December 2006
• Anxiety and Phobias. The Royal College of Psychiatrists. www.rcpsych.ac.uk, accessed 20 December 2006
• British National Formulary (BNF) September 2006. BMJ Publishing Group, 2006:52
• How to…Stop Worrying. MIND. www.mind.org.uk, accessed 20 December 2006
• Making Sense of Counselling. MIND. www.mind.org.uk, accessed 21 December 2006
• Psychotherapy. The Royal College of Psychiatrists. www.rcpsych.ac.uk, accessed 21 December 2006
• Simon C, Everitt H, Birtwhistle J, Stevenson B. Oxford Handbook of General Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2002. 864-867

Related topics

• Anxiety disorders
• Cognitive behaviour therapy
• Improving assertiveness
• Physical activity

This information was published by BUPA's health information team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been peer reviewed by Dr Adrian Winbow MB, FRCPysch, DPM, Consultant Psychiatrist, Cygnet Hospital, and by BUPA doctors. The content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.

Publication date: February 2008. Expected review date: February 2010.

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