Anxiety is a normal, human feeling that everyone has. Other words people use for anxiety are worry, fear or panic. When we face stressful situations, it can set off our brain’s in-built alarm system which tells us something isn’t right and that we need to deal with it. We call this the Fight, Flight, Freeze response, which is our body’s way of protecting us from harm. Our brain wants the difficult situation to go away, so it makes us feel more alert, stops us thinking about other things, and even pumps more blood to our legs to help us run away.
Anxiety incorporates both the emotions and the physical sensations we might experience when we are worried or nervous about something. This is our normal biological reaction to feeling threatened.
Most of us worry sometimes – about things like friendships or money – and feel anxious when we’re under stress, like at exam time. But afterwards we usually calm down and feel better. But when you’re not in a stressful situation, and you still feel worried or panicky, that’s when anxiety can get in the way of what is important.