Anxiety can affect how we think, feel, sleep, eat, work, and cope with daily life. While occasional anxiety is normal, persistent anxiety symptoms that interfere with daily activities may point to an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can cause chest tightness, dizziness, stomach pain, blurred vision, nausea, fatigue, muscle tension, poor sleep, palpitations, tingling sensations, and even feelings of unreality.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress, danger, uncertainty, or change. Most of us feel anxious before a job interview, exam, public speaking event, or important medical test. In these situations, anxiety can be helpful because it keeps us alert and focused.

However, anxiety becomes a problem when it is constant, overwhelming, or happens without a clear reason. Anxiety disorders can affect relationships, work, school, sleep, physical health, and confidence. They can also cause physical symptoms that feel frightening, such as chest pain, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, stomach pain, or tingling in the hands and feet.

Research suggests that anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions worldwide. Generalised anxiety disorder affects around 3% of adults each year, while women are affected more often than men. Anxiety in older adults, teenagers, healthcare workers, caregivers, pharmacists, and students can sometimes look different and may be overlooked.

Normal Anxiety vs Anxiety Disorder

Normal anxiety usually has a clear trigger and improves once the stressful situation passes. For example, you may feel nervous before a presentation, driving test, or surgery. Anxiety disorders are different because the fear, worry, or panic continues for weeks or months and may feel out of proportion to the situation.

Signs that anxiety may be becoming a disorder include:

• Worrying most days
• Trouble sleeping because of racing thoughts
• Avoiding work, driving, shopping, or social events
• Feeling sick every morning from anxiety
• Frequent chest pain, dizziness, nausea, or diarrhoea
• Panic attacks that feel like a heart attack
• Constant Googling of symptoms or health anxiety

How Common Is Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders affect millions of people globally. Women are more likely to experience anxiety than men, partly due to hormonal changes, pregnancy, menopause, caregiving pressures, and social stressors. Anxiety in men may be under-recognised because symptoms are sometimes hidden behind anger, alcohol use, irritability, or avoidance.

Older adults may experience anxiety linked to chronic illness, loneliness, medication side effects, memory concerns, or fear of falling. Teenagers and students may struggle with social anxiety, exam stress, body image worries, or social media pressure.

Why Anxiety Happens

Anxiety happens because of a combination of biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors. Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline prepare the body for “fight or flight”. This response can cause sweating, chest tightness, shaking, nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness, blurred vision, heart palpitations, muscle tension, and breathlessness.

Common Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety symptoms can affect nearly every part of the body.

Emotional Symptoms

Common emotional symptoms include:

• Constant worry
• Feeling on edge
• Overthinking
• Fear of losing control
• Irritability
• Feeling unreal or detached
• Health anxiety
• Fear of serious illness

Physical Symptoms

Physical anxiety symptoms that mimic serious illness can include:

• Chest pain and chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness all day
• Blurred vision or eye floaters
• Tingling in hands and feet
• Muscle twitching
• Jaw tension
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Nausea every day
• Stomach pain and diarrhoea
• IBS symptoms
• Acid reflux
• Frequent urination
• Fatigue
• Poor sleep
• Tinnitus
• Skin burning sensations

Behavioural Symptoms

Behavioural symptoms of anxiety may include:

• Avoiding social situations
• Repeatedly checking symptoms online
• Calling in sick to work
• Avoiding driving
• Drinking more alcohol
• Smoking more often
• Avoiding exercise
• Struggling to concentrate

Signs of Severe Anxiety

Signs of severe anxiety include panic attacks, inability to leave the house, not eating properly, severe insomnia, feeling like you are dying, or feeling detached from reality.

Different Types of Anxiety Disorders

Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Generalised anxiety disorder involves excessive worry about multiple parts of life, including work, family, money, health, and relationships.

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder causes sudden episodes of intense fear with symptoms such as chest pain, sweating, dizziness, shaking, tingling, nausea, and shortness of breath.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder involves fear of embarrassment, judgement, criticism, or public attention.

Health Anxiety

Health anxiety can make normal body sensations feel frightening. A headache may feel like a brain tumour, while chest tightness may feel like a heart attack.

Phobias and Specific Fears

Phobias are intense fears linked to specific situations, such as flying, needles, driving, spiders, heights, or enclosed spaces.

Anxiety in Children and Teenagers

Children and teenagers may show anxiety through stomach aches, school refusal, clinginess, irritability, headaches, or sleep problems.

What Causes Anxiety?

Genetics and Family History

Anxiety can run in families. Having a close relative with anxiety, depression, OCD, or panic disorder may increase the risk.

Stress, Trauma, and Life Events

Major life changes such as divorce, bereavement, job loss, financial problems, illness, or caregiving stress can trigger anxiety.

Medical Conditions and Hormonal Changes

Anxiety can be linked to thyroid disorders, menopause, pregnancy, diabetes, hormone changes, chronic pain, IBS, heart disease, breathing conditions, and medication side effects.

Medication-related anxiety may occur after using:

• Steroids
• Decongestants
• Asthma inhalers
• Thyroid medicines
• Stimulants
• Some antidepressants
• Caffeine tablets

Lifestyle Factors That Make Anxiety Worse

Common triggers include:

• Too much caffeine
• Alcohol use or withdrawal
• Smoking or quitting smoking
• Sleep deprivation
• Excessive social media use
• Lack of exercise
• Poor diet
• Blood sugar crashes

How Anxiety Affects Daily Life

Anxiety and Sleep Problems

Anxiety often gets worse at night because there are fewer distractions. Racing thoughts, palpitations, sweating, and overthinking can make it difficult to fall asleep.

Anxiety at Work or School

Workplace anxiety symptoms may include poor concentration, burnout, irritability, absenteeism, and fear of making mistakes.

Anxiety and Relationships

Anxiety can affect communication, trust, intimacy, and confidence.

Anxiety and Physical Health

Chronic anxiety may worsen IBS, high blood pressure, diabetes, headaches, migraines, fatigue, acid reflux, and chronic pain.

How Anxiety Is Diagnosed

When to See a Doctor

See a doctor if anxiety lasts more than a few weeks, affects sleep or work, causes panic attacks, or leads to physical symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness, fainting, or weight loss.

Questions Doctors May Ask

Doctors may ask about:

• Symptoms
• Sleep
• Stress levels
• Alcohol and caffeine intake
• Smoking
• Medication use
• Mood changes
• Family history

Tests Used to Rule Out Other Conditions

Tests may include blood pressure checks, blood tests, thyroid tests, ECGs, glucose testing, vitamin levels, and hormone tests.

Anxiety Treatment Options

Talking Therapies and CBT

Cognitive behavioural therapy helps people recognise unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.

Medicines Used for Anxiety

Medicines used for anxiety may include SSRIs, SNRIs, beta-blockers, or short-term sedatives.

Natural Remedies and Lifestyle Changes

Evidence-based natural remedies include:

• Regular exercise
• Deep breathing
• Limiting caffeine
• Reducing alcohol
• Magnesium-rich foods
• Better sleep habits
• Journalling
• Mindfulness
• Yoga

Self-Help Strategies for Anxiety Relief

Helpful self-care strategies include grounding exercises, breathing techniques, keeping a routine, spending time outdoors, reducing caffeine, and limiting symptom Googling.

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety

Validated Research Highlights

• Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health disorders worldwide.
• Women are affected more often than men.
• CBT is considered one of the most effective non-drug treatments.
• Regular exercise and good sleep can reduce anxiety symptoms.
• High caffeine intake can worsen anxiety symptoms.
• Chronic anxiety can worsen IBS, acid reflux, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

References

Bandelow, B. and Michaelis, S. (2022) ‘Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century’, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2024) Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults.

National Health Service (2025) Anxiety disorders.

Baxter, A.J. et al. (2013) ‘The global prevalence of anxiety disorders’, Psychological Medicine.

British Journal of Sports Medicinet (2023) ‘Effect of exercise on depression and anxiety symptoms: systematic umbrella review with meta-meta-analysis.

Salari, N. et al. (2024) ‘The prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression within healthcare workers’, BMC Psychiatry.

Ströhle, A. (2009) ‘Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders’, Journal of Neural Transmission.