Anxiety is a gift from nature because it aids survival — none of us would live long if anxiety didn't stop us from taking foolhardy risks!  But, like anything else, excessive anxiety can be problematic and become as disabling as any chronic physical illness.  

Excessive fears and worry, panic attacks, phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and post-traumatic stress reactions are all forms of out of control anxiety.  If you suffer from one of these conditions, or if your days are blighted by continual low-grade anxiety, it can feel as if life your will never be normal again, as if something alien is in control of you.
 
There are three elements to anxiety:
• the physical sensations you experience;
• the emotions you have while experiencing them
• and the thoughts that go through your mind at the time.
 
But anxiety is not something all-powerful and inexplicable.  It can be managed very easily, when you know how.   
 
Self-help:  If you or someone you know suffers from high levels of anxiety, there are many things that people can do to help themselves. Useful information can be found on the CD and book listed opposite and further information about common types of anxiety can be found on the Trauma and phobias and OCD pages.

Professional help:  If you feel that you need more and would like extra help to overcome your own particular anxiety, you might like to seek the help of someone trained in effective psychotherapy for lifting it, whatever the cause. See the section on effective psychotherapy for more information and guidance about choosing a therapist. Human givens therapists are all trained in relieving anxiety, see the HGI's Register of HGI approved human givens practitioners.
 

> Human givens therapists are trained in helping with anxiety: click here for more information

For a fascinating read about stress, anxiety and the effects of anxiety on the body read Back from the Brink: Coping with Stress by Nick Leeson and Ivan Tyrrell.  It's full of information and tips all interweaved with the inside personal story of how Nick Leeson's catastrophic risk-taking behaviour brought down Barings bank and what the continual high stress levels this caused Leeson did to his mind/body system, including developing colon cancer whilst in a gang ridden Singapore jail.

> Find out more by reading: How to master anxiety - all you need to know to overcome stress, panic attacks, traumas, obsessions and more

Written without jargon and full of practical advice, this best-selling book is easy-to-read and ideal for anyone who either suffers from anxiety, or who would like to help others who do.

> For further information about different forms of anxiety disorders and the treatments they require, listen to the CD:
Effective anxiety management, without drugs