Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal feeling of fear or panic experienced by everyone.

Anxiety is our brain's warning system, designed to alert us to something that feels not quite right and needing to be dealt with.

Our brain wants the difficult situation to go away, so it stops us thinking about other things and makes us focus on the situation.

So for example, when we worry about exams, our brain is trying to help us prepare in order to be successful. It motivates us to study.

We all worry sometimes, about lots of different things. Depending on what’s happening in our lives, we might worry about friendships, relationships, changes in our families, school work or exams. But, usually afterwards we calm down and feel better.

Anxiety becomes more of a concern when you’re not in a stressful situation, and you still feel worried or panicky. Anxiety is a concern if your symptoms get worse and/or are going on for longer than they should and start to really get in the way of living your life.

Symptoms of Anxiety in Adolescents

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.

Symptoms of Anxiety in children

Anxiety can make a child feel scared, panicky, embarrassed or ashamed. Some of the signs to look out for are:

Finding it hard to concentrate.
Not sleeping, or waking in the night with bad dreams.
Not eating properly.
Quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts.
Constantly worrying or having negative thoughts.
Feeling tense and fidgety, or using the toilet often.
Always crying.
Being clingy all the time (when other children are ok).
Complaining of tummy aches and feeling unwell.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, it doesn’t necessarily mean a referral to Specialist CAMHS is needed right now. There are also lots of things you can try to help manage your own anxiety and these strategies are a good starting point if you feel anxiety is beginning to be a problem. Have a look at our Resources pages. If anxiety is having an effect on your day to day life, it’s worth talking to someone you trust about how you’re feeling so they can also offer you some support.

Getting help

It is probably time to get professional help if:

You feel it is not getting better or is getting worse, and efforts to tackle it yourself have not worked.
You think it's slowing down your development or having a significant effect on your schooling or relationships.
It happens very frequently.

Talk to someone you trust; a parent, teacher, youth worker, school nurse, wellbeing worker at school or social worker if you have one. If that’s too difficult, speak to your GP. They can help you to access the help you need and that might mean a referral to CAMHS.