What is ‘Anxiety’?

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 15th – 21st May and the theme this year is ‘Anxiety’.

Anxiety can be a normal emotion for us to feel, but sometimes it can become overwhelming and become a mental health problem.

“Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe.” – NHS, 2023.

We will all have times in our lives when we feel anxious. For example, feeling worried about a job interview or first day at work. Feelings of anxiety at these times are perfectly normal and may even help you perform at your best.

However, some people find their anxiety and worries become out of control and it starts to impact their daily life.

People who suffer from anxiety may find they have problems relaxing, sleeping or enjoying tasks they used to do for fun.

There are many conditions that anxiety is the main symptom of, for example, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and phobias.

Mental Health Awareness Week is focusing on anxiety to help raise awareness and understanding of anxiety by educating people on things you can do to prevent anxiety causing a problem in your life.

Mental Health Awareness Week is also aiming to ensure the pressure to demand change is kept high to make sure that improving mental health is on the agenda for the government, as well as the rest of society.

If you feel that your workplace needs to change it’s approach to mental health, we have a range of courses to help including our Mental Health First Aid courses and our Developing a Mental Health Policy online course.

To find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week, visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk today.

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