Anxiety 101
Anxiety 101: What is anxiety, and what do the symptoms look like? Can I help myself or do I need to get help? I know from my own experience how hard anxiety can be. What is anxiety? Anxiety is a natural response to stress. It helps activate our body to respond to perceived physical, social, or emotional danger. This is called the flight, fight, or freeze response. Anxiety can help keep us and our loved ones motivated, safe, and healthy. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by anxiety. We might experience unhelpful anxiety or find it hard to tell between real danger and perceived danger. Many things can help. Symptoms of anxiety may include: Physical feeling of unease (butterflies, sweating, racing heart, breathlessness, achy) Difficulty sleeping, restlessness, and/or fatigue Fear, panic, nervousness, tension, irritability Worry, having a hard time focusing or stopping anxious thoughts. If anxiety is causing distress, doesn't match the...