Dr Christian Jessen: Tackle the anxiety plague

For most of us anxiety reaches a high point when waiting for the results of something stressful: hospital tests or exam results, perhaps. The feelings of anxiety gear the body up should sudden decisive, or defensive, action need to be taken. That’s about as far as it goes for the majority. For others, however, it’s a different story. Research suggests that around seven million prescriptions were issued by the NHS for anti-anxiety drugs, and the numbers treated in hospital for such disorders quadrupled to more than 17,000 outpatients’ appointments in the past year. I have no doubt that as our current economic woes worsen, and job and mortgage worries increase, the number of sufferers will grow higher still.

Feeling anxious is quite normal and has an important function but people with generalised anxiety disorder — one in 20 British adults — find it hard to control their worries, and their anxiety is often not based on any recognisable or justifiable cause. This anxiety is constant and begins to adversely affect their health.

Importantly, anxiety is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. A patient experiencing undue anxiety may well end up being diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobia and even post-traumatic stress disorder.

Research also suggests that people may inherit a tendency to be more anxious. We all become anxious under pressure but one person may succumb more easily than another, because of a mixture of personality, current circumstances and childhood experience. There are also many external influences on anxiety, including caffeine, excess sugar, poor diet, drug misuse, exhaustion, stress and the side-effects of certain medications.

Symptoms develop slowly and can range from restlessness, feeling on edge, dread and irritability to full withdrawal from social contact. Along with these comes a host of physical symptoms associated with fear — dry mouth, dizziness, palpitations, nausea, diarrhoea and insomnia.

The two main forms of treatment for generalised anxiety disorder are psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Studies have found that psychological treatments last the longest.

But there is much that sufferers can do for themselves. Regular exercise helps reduce stress and making dietary changes can also help: cutting out stimulating foods containing caffeine and other energy-drink-type stimulants makes a difference. Unsurprisingly, smoking and alcohol have been shown to make feelings of anxiety worse.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, which aims to help change the way you think about your problems, may also be a good place to start — there is plenty of instructive literature available.

Considering how much information we are exposed to daily — which switches our brains to an alert, expectant state, not dissimilar to anxiety — just taking some time is one of the best ways to stop anxiety building. It seems that more than ever there is a need to truly switch off.

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