Stress and anxiety can comprise anything from feeling 'the butterflies' at social events, or when giving a work presentation, through to full-blown panic attacks. Whilst no-one has ever died from a panic attack, it can feel pretty overwhelming at the time. There may also be a long term toll on the body in terms of physical strain (elevated heart rate etc), as well as feelings of being exhausted. Sometimes there can be somatic (body) symptoms such as headaches or an upset stomach or irritable bowel syndrome.

As with depression, I focus on tackling (i) The negative thought cycles that feed and maintain the anxiety pattern ('I am no good at this/Everyone's looking at me/They all think I'm stupid' etc) but combine this with looking at (ii) The more hidden reasons which underlie the anxiety in the first place. These can be very deep-seated issues about self worth, or have complex explanations such as feeling guilty for competing with others, or even for trying to be successful or happy. These factors can be almost out of our awareness, ie unconscious, but they need to be understood and tackled constructively if you are to deal with this effectively.

The BBC website also has an excellent section on anxiety and panic attacks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3187244

More detailed advice on stress is available from the NHS website
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Stress/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx

Advice on workplace stress is available from the government's Directgov website: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026604
or from the Health and Safety Executive website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/stresspk.html

< BACK TO RELATED ARTICLES