Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of panic or apprehension, which is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, rapid heart rate, agitation, nervousness, headaches and panic attacks. Anxiety can accompany depression or be seen as a disorder by itself, often caused by circumstances that result in fear, uncertainty or insecurity.

If anxiety is caused by practical problems, then getting advice, talking the problem through with family or friends or having counselling might be helpful. Anxiety which accompanies depression is relieved by antidepressant drugs. Some people find massage or other complementary therapies help relieve the symptoms of anxiety.

Drugs such as benzodiazepines, including Valium, are now very rarely prescribed as a treatment for long-term anxiety because they are addictive. However, they are still used in the treatment of short periods of acute anxiety without any long-term dependency problems.

This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.