Dr. Murali Mohan

Depression stages in Children

Anxiety is more than just feeling stressed or worried. While stress and anxious feelings are a common response to a situation where a person feels under pressure, it usually passes once the stressful situation has passed, or ‘stressor’ is removed. Anxiety is when these anxious feelings don’t subside. Anxiety is when they are ongoing and exist without any particular reason or cause. It’s a serious condition that makes it hard for a person to cope with daily life. We all feel anxious from time to time, but for a person experiencing anxiety, these feelings cannot be easily controlled. The symptoms of anxiety can often develop gradually over time. Given that we all experience some anxiety, it can be hard to know how much is too much. In order to be diagnosed with anxiety, the condition must have a disabling impact on the person’s life. There are many types of anxiety. While the symptoms for each type are different, some general signs and symptoms include:

• feeling very worried or anxious most of the time

• finding it difficult to calm down

• feeling overwhelmed or frightened by sudden feelings of intense panic/ anxiety

• experiencing recurring thoughts that cause anxiety, but may seem silly to others

• avoiding situations or things which cause anxiety (e.g. social events or crowded places)

• experiencing ongoing difficulties (e.g. nightmares/ flashbacks) after a traumatic event.