Anxiety is a normal part of everyday life. But some people can have anxiety disorders that interfere with their lives.

If you have anxiety, it’s important to get help. Talking with a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist can help. Treatment options include medication, psychotherapy and a combination of both. Medication is usually the first step.

It’s normal to feel anxious.

Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point, usually during stressful situations. But for some people, these anxious feelings can become more chronic and affect their lives.

Anxiety is a normal part of life, but excessive anxiety may be a warning sign of an underlying health problem.

If you have too much anxiety, talk to your doctor about it. They will ask you questions to check that something else is causing your symptoms and perform a physical exam.

Anxiety that doesn’t go away and gets in the way of daily life can be a sign of an anxiety disorder, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Treatments like psychotherapy or medication, along with coping strategies like mindfulness, stress management techniques and healthy lifestyle choices, can reduce your symptoms and help you feel better.

It’s normal to feel fear.

Anxiety is your body’s natural reaction to a stressful situation. You might feel a bit of butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms or a fast heartbeat.

But if these feelings last longer than 6 months, interfere with your life and make you avoid situations that are normal for you, it might be time to ask a doctor.

You might have a phobia, which is an intense fear of something that, in reality, doesn’t pose any real danger. For example, a phobia of spiders or water can be very debilitating.

It’s normal to feel overwhelmed.

Feeling overwhelmed is a normal part of life, but it’s important to know how to respond to those feelings so you can manage them. When overwhelm becomes chronic, it can lead to a host of physical and emotional symptoms that can affect your wellbeing.

Mentally, overwhelm looks like rumination, worrying and racing thoughts. It can also include aches, pains and dizziness.

You might find it helpful to take a break from what’s overwhelming you and ask yourself what needs attention right now. That could mean taking a few deep breaths, drinking a glass of water or calling a friend to chat. Or it could mean creating healthy boundaries and saying no to things that don’t make sense for you. It can be tough, but it’s the only way to protect your mental health.

It’s normal to feel worried.

Many people experience occasional worries about their health, finances or relationships. These feelings serve as a normal part of everyday life and can motivate you to take on new challenges.

However, chronic worrying can be a sign of an anxiety disorder. This includes generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder.

A person with GAD will typically worry about things that are out of proportion to the situation and are difficult to control. The worry may also involve excessive avoidance of situations that can trigger the symptoms of anxiety.

Excessive worrying can affect every aspect of a person’s life including their diet, lifestyle habits, relationships and job performance. It can even lead to physical symptoms such as rapid breathing and heart palpitations.

It’s normal to feel scared.

Everyone feels anxious from time to time, but it can be a problem when your worries and fears take up all your energy.

Your body produces fear as a normal reaction to danger, and it helps you to react quickly. Feeling scared changes your heart rate, breathing and makes you flinch or jump.

However, this normal reaction can be mistaken for an anxiety disorder if it is excessive or not adaptive to your situation.

This is called generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). People with GAD have persistent and excessive worry about everyday things - even normal, routine situations.