Introduction

Everyone gets anxious from time to time. But if you worry so much that it stops you getting on with life, you may have an illness called generalised anxiety disorder. We are calling it anxiety disorder for short.

We've brought together the best research about anxiety disorder and weighed up the evidence about how to treat it. You can use our information to talk to your doctor and decide which treatments are best for you.

Everyone gets anxious from time to time. But if you worry so much that it interferes with your life, your anxiety may have become an illness. Doctors call this illness generalised anxiety disorder. We're calling it anxiety disorder for short. We've looked at treatments for adults and for children and teenagers.

Many people who have anxiety disorder don't realise it. They just think they are born worriers. ^[1] Or they may think they have a physical illness. This is because anxiety disorder can give you symptoms such as headaches or palpitations (when you can feel your heart beating too fast). ^[2]

If you have anxiety disorder you can get help. There isn't a cure for this condition, but there are good treatments that can help you control your anxiety, and not have anxiety controlling you. ^[2]

Key points for people with anxiety disorder

• Anxiety disorder is a real illness, and it can be treated.

• If you have it you can't stop worrying, usually about ordinary, everyday things.

• Anxiety disorder is quite common, but many people don't realise they have it. Doctors find it hard to recognise too.

• There's no cure for anxiety disorder, but treatment should help you control your worrying.

• There are two kinds of treatments that work: talking treatments (or psychotherapy) and treatment with drugs.

• The best kind of talking treatment is called cognitive behaviour therapy.

• Anxiety disorder can happen to children and teenagers, as well as adults.

There are some useful questions you can ask yourself if you think you may have problems with anxiety. To read more, see Test yourself for anxiety disorder.

When worry becomes an illness

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. We all worry at times about things like money, our families, or our jobs. But some people get more anxious than others.

Anxiety becomes an illness when you worry so much that it interferes with your life. You can't stop worrying even though you try. You probably worry over lots of different things, like work or school, your family, or your health. Your worry is out of proportion, and it makes you feel ill and tired. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Doctors say you have an anxiety disorder if you worry too much on most days for at least six months. Your anxiety may make it hard for you to live life normally. You might find it difficult to get a job, go to university, or make friends.

Researchers don't really know what happens in your brain when you have anxiety disorder. X-rays or blood tests can't show what's wrong. But that doesn't mean that what you're going through isn't real.