What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry or fear. It is normal to feel worried or scared from time to time. It is your body's natural response to things which feel stressful and you can experience it as a combination of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.
Below are some videos that explain what anxiety is.
Childline: How to Cope with Anxiety
A video explaining what anxiety is and how to cope with it. This video may be more suitable for younger children. This video is 1 minute 34 seconds.
YoungMinds: Living With Anxiety
A video with young people sharing their experiences with anxiety and how they cope with it. This video is more suitable for older children and teenagers. This video is 1 minute 23 seconds.
West Sussex Mind: Anxiety - a guide to supporting children and young people
A video explaining how to support children and young people with anxiety, you may find this helpful if you are a parent or carer of a child or young person with anxiety. This video is 6 minutes 14 seconds.
A small amount of anxiety is normal and can actually be helpful, for example if you are taking a test. Having a little bit of anxiety can give your body adrenaline which helps you to focus and work faster than you might do if you were relaxed. It can also help you be more aware of your surroundings and keep you safe.
Below is a video from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust which talks about what anxiety is and why some anxiety is normal. This video is 2 minutes 38 seconds.
Anxiety becomes a problem if it is constant, feels out of control and starts getting in the way of you living your life and doing everyday things. You might get so anxious that you are unable to think straight, and you start to get physical sensations like a racing heart, feeling hot and sweaty, feeling sick and dizziness. You start to focus on worrying thoughts (for example ‘nobody likes me’, ‘everyone's looking at me’).
These anxious and negative thoughts can cause your body to have those uncomfortable physical sensations and can mean that you run away from or avoid situations which make you anxious. We know it is hard to face you fear, there are ways to do this. It is a gradual process and takes time, we will do it at your pace. you will work with your clinician to do this. This will help make your anxiety better in the long term.
Common symptoms, emotions and reactions
Anxiety looks different for everyone, but there are some common sensations you may have noticed.
- Headaches
- Stomach ache
- Shaking
- Fast heart rate
- Feeling hot
- Feeling dizzy or faint
- Nervous
- Irritable
- Overwhelmed
- Feeling unsafe or hypervigilant
- Feeling self-conscious
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep problems
- Panic attacks
- Struggling to relax
- Eating more or less than you usually do
- Self harm, please visit our emotional intensity page to find out more about self harm
Types of anxiety
There are many types of anxiety which can affect you in different ways. Below is a list of these with a brief description.
You may worry about lots of different things a lot of the time. You may worry about things before they happen and may think of the worse scenario possible. You may find the Anxiety UK page on GAD helpful for more information.
You may experience regular panic attacks; these happen suddenly and can be hard to deal with.
Panic attack symptoms include:
- Your heart beating quickly
- Feeling sick
- Breathing quickly
- Feeling dizzy and faint
- Sweating
- Shaky feeling in your body
- Feeling very hot or very cold
- Crying and tearful
Panic attacks usually last about 10 minutes, but they may be longer if you have lots of panic attacks in a row. You may have panic attacks once a month or many times a day.
You may find the Anxiety UK and YoungMinds pages on panic attacks helpful for more information.
Mind: Coping with anxiety and panic attacks - Beyla
A video of a young person explaining their experiences of anxiety and panic attacks and how they cope. This video is 2 minutes 13 seconds.
You might feel overwhelming fear to a specific thing or situation.
This could be:
- Animals
- Injections/medical treatment
- Flying
- Small spaces
You might avoid this thing or situation and worry about what might happen if you do come across it. You may find the Anxiety UK and YoungMinds pages on phobias helpful for more information.
You might experience fear when you are away from your parent, carer or other important person in your life. You might struggle to sleep on your own and try to avoid being away from them like not going to school or seeing your friends.
You may find the Anxiety UK page helpful for more information.
You may experience very overwhelming anxiety in social situations; you might struggle to participate in social interactions and worry about being judged by other people. You might experience the symptoms described in the 'Common symptoms, emotions and reactions' when you are in social situations and panic attacks.
You may find the Anxiety UK page helpful for more information.
Mind: Social Anxiety and Finding a Community You Can Thrive in - Sola
A video of a young person sharing their experiences of social anxiety and how they cope. This video is 1 minute 19 seconds.
Anxiety and Neurodivergence
Many neurodivergent children and young people experience anxiety. Your anxiety may be part of being neurodivergent but could also be a separate from being neurodivergent.
Anxiety in neurodivergent young people will be varied, but you might find some types of anxiety are more common such as social anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. For more information on anxiety in autistic people, please visit the National Autistic Society's information on anxiety.
We encourage you or your parents and carers to talk to your clinician about adjustments you may need. We will make adaptations to support you to engage with the treatment we offer.
Below are some example of adjustments you could ask for.
- Movement breaks during sessions
- Turning bright lights off
- Using visuals or writing your thoughts down
- Session plans sent before and after sessions
How can I help myself?
If you have to wait for therapy or you can't access it for any reason, or if you just want to try things to help yourself here are some things you can do to manage anxiety.
- Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling - you could use an emotion wheel and body map to help you identify and explain your feelings.
- Moving – walking, running or doing any form of exercise - especially if it is outside, you could listen to music or a podcast at the same time.
- Breathing – taking control of/slowing down your breathing can help you feel calmer. Try taking a slow deep breath in through your nose for 5 seconds, hold this breathe for 5 seconds, then slowly breathe out through your mouth for 5 seconds. You may find the West Sussex Mind video below helpful.
- Personal Coping Plan - you might find it helpful to do this with someone you trust, there is more information on this here.
- Self-soothe box - you might it helpful to make this, there is more information on this here.
- Distraction and grounding techniques - you might like to use the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste
- Relaxation and mindfulness - you can find guided relaxation and mindfulness videos on YouTube or there are some apps below.
YoungMinds: Anxiety Practical Tips Dr Ally
This video shares 5 top tips for anxiety. The video is 1 minute 30 seconds.
Mind: 30 second breathing exercise
This video guides you through a short breathing exercise. The video is 31 seconds.
More guided breathing exercise videos are below in the More Information about Anxiety section.
Support while I am waiting
We know that it can be difficult waiting for therapy to start.
There are a number of different places that can offer some support whilst you wait, and there are places that you can go to learn more about anxiety. Some of these support services and resources are outlined below.
Please note that none of these support services are a replacement for treatment, but they can be a good way to connect with others with common experiences and continue working towards your goals. They are also may not be able to provide urgent help.
If your life is in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to A&E.
- Text the word SUSSEX to 85258 (free NHS 24/7 mental health text-messaging support service)
- Call NHS 111 and select the mental health option (free 24/7 advice service for anyone concerned about their own, or someone else’s, mental health)
- Call Samaritans on 116 123 (free 24/7 listening service providing support and advice for anyone having thoughts of suicide). You can also email: jo@samaritans.org
- Call Hopeline247 on 0800 068 4141 (free 24/7 listening service offering support and advice for young people having thoughts of suicide). You can also email: pat@papyrus-uk.org or text: 88247
- Call Childline on 0800 1111 (free 24/7 support and advice for young people who want to talk about how they are feeling). You can also speak to a trained professional via web chat: https://
www. childline.org.uk/ get-support/ 1-2-1-counsellor-chat/
If you do not current have a lead practitioner within CAMHS and you are waiting for treatment, you can contact the CAMHS duty team if your mental health gets worse and you need some support. The duty team is not an emergency service, and you can expect to get a response within 2 to 14 working days, if you require more urgent help, you should call 111/999/attend A&E.
More information about anxiety
Below are some links to additional information about anxiety.
Please note: This is a collection of resources that children and young people often find helpful, and they are not authored by or owned by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. We will attempt to keep these resources as up to date as possible, but you may find changes with the links and information given.
Websites
This website link explains what anxiety is, what the symptoms of anxiety are and treatment and management of anxiety. You will be able to find additional information about specific types of anxiety here too.
This website link explains what anxiety is, when anxiety becomes a problem, the causes and symptoms of anxiety, what different types of anxiety are and ways to help yourself.
This website link explains what anxiety is, what different types of anxiety are and some resources to support you.
This website links includes a link to getting support for OCD and phobias from this organisation.
Guided breathing and distraction videos
West Sussex Mind: How to calm your anxiety in less than 20 seconds
This video guides you through the 4,7,8 technique and square breathing. The video is 1 minute 34 seconds.
Mind: Feeling Overwhelmed? Take a breath
This video guides you through taking a breath and connecting with the environment around you using your five senses.
YoungMinds - supporting your child or young person
The link below describes what anxiety is, how to identify anxiety in your young person and what you can do to help them.
Supporting A Child With Anxiety | Tips and Advice | YoungMinds
Anna Freud - Supporting Children and Young People
The links below provide information on supporting children and young people with anxiety and social anxiety disorder. They give an overview of the anxiety, signs to look out for and how to support them.
Supporting children and young people with anxiety | Anna Freud
Supporting children and young people with social anxiety disorder | Anna Freud
Webinars for parents and carers about supporting children and young people with anxiety
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - Anxiety: A parent and carer workshop
This webinar is 1 hour and 26 minutes, it provides more detailed information about anxiety, specific issues for children and young people and how can you help as a parent or carer.
West Sussex Mind - Understanding Anxiety in Young People
This webinar is 1 hour and 5 minutes, it provides more detailed information about anxiety, symptoms of anxiety, why anxiety happens and how can you help as a parent or carer.
Please note some of these app may require payment or paid subscriptions to access certain features of the apps.
For anxiety
What's Up? is a free app utilising some CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help you cope with Depression, Anxiety, Anger, Stress and more!
Features include:
- Strategies to help with immediate distress management
- Advice on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and challenging them, understanding your thoughts better and managing worries
- Information on anger, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and stress
- Diary feature
- Habit tracker
- Notes
MindShift aims to help you learn how to relax, develop more helpful ways of thinking, and identify active steps that will help your anxiety. This app includes strategies to deal with everyday anxiety as well as specific tools to tackle: Test Anxiety, Perfectionism, Social Anxiety, Performance Anxiety, Worry, Panic, Conflict.
FearTools is an evidence-based app designed to help you combat anxiety.
Features include:
- Information on anxiety
- Videos - guided meditations, soothing sounds, TED talks
- Thought diary
- Exposure tool
- Breathing tool
Clear Fear uses a Cognitive Behavioural framework to help you change anxious thoughts and emotions, alter anxious behaviours and calm fear responses.
Features include:
- Activities to help with dealing with emotions, managing worries, reacting to worries and managing physical responses to anxiety
- Inspirational statements, people and thoughts
- Information on different types of anxiety
- Safety net - things you can do and think using your strengths to keep yourself safe as well as useful contacts
- Immediate help - dealing with panic and breathing activities
- Self-monitoring function
Molehill Mountain is an app to help autistic people understand and self-manage anxiety.
Features include:
- Track worries and causes of anxiety
- Daily evidence-based exercises to work through your worries
- Practical evidence-based tips to manage anxiety and build confidence
- Breathing exercise
- Worry mountain
For parents and carers
Combined Minds helps families and friends to find ways to provide the right environment to help the individuals they support affect their own change. This provides support to families and friends to help them understand and manage their loved one's difficulties including anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, digital addiction and safety planning.
For mindfulness and relaxation
Free mobile app with virtual “bells” to time and support your meditations, and access to lots of guided meditations by many different meditation teachers.
Chill Panda is a game-style app that incorporates breathing exercises and coping strategies to help manage anxiety in an interactive way. You can engage in the app by playing the full game mode or use the "Quick Chill" function to access skills quickly.
You may find other helpful apps on the Sussex Health and Wellbeing app library.
Please note that not all of these books may be available to loan at your local library.
Books for Younger Children
Anxiety
Ideal for children aged 5 to 9 years old
This book helps children to understand and manage their anxiety using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques through activities such as stories, drawing and games.
Ideal for children aged 6 to 12 years old
This book helps children to understand and manage their anxiety using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques through activities such as stories, drawing and games.
Ideal for children aged 7 to 11 years old
This picture book helps children to understand recognise when they are feeling anxious and ways they can manage their anxiety.
Separation Anxiety
Ideal for children aged 6 to 10 years old
This book helps children to understand why they feel worried about being apart from their parents or carers and how to manage their anxiety using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques through activities such as stories, drawing and games.
Books for Older Children & Teenagers
Anxiety
Ideal for children aged 10 years and over
This book helps children and young people to understand and manage their anxiety using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques through activities such as stories and activities.
Ideal for children aged 9 to 13 years old
This book helps children and young people to understand and manage their anxiety using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques through activities such as stories and activities.
Social Anxiety
Ideal for children aged 13 years and over
This book uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques to help young people understand their social anxiety and provides activities to manage it.
Ideal for children aged 13 years and over
This book uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy techniques to help young people understand their social anxiety and provides activities and worksheets to manage it.
Books for parents & carers
This book helps parents and carers to understand the causes of their child's anxiety and offers practical strategies to support them. It covers a range of types of anxiety.
This book helps parents and carers to understand the causes of their child's anxiety and offers practical strategies to support them such as addressing family accommodation. This is suitable for a range of types of anxiety.
This book helps parents and carers to understand the causes of their child's anxiety and offers practical strategies to support them using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques. This is suitable for a range of types of anxiety.
Books for Neurodivergent Children and Young People and their parents and carers
This books helps parents and carers to understand their child's anxiety while acknowledging their autism and how these are linked. It provides practical strategies to help support them.
This book helps children and young people to understand their anxiety and provides activities which can help them manage their anxiety.