ANXIETY GUIDES
Understand anxiety with plain, judgment-free guides.
Worry, overthinking, sleep, exam and work anxiety, health anxiety, physical symptoms and supporting someone who lives with anxiety: 15 guides by a clinical psychologist, in one place.
Anxiety is the body, mind and behaviour switching on together against a possible threat, and most people feel it at times. It becomes a problem when it clearly narrows daily functioning, sleep or relationships. The guides in this hub explain how anxiety works; they are psychoeducation and do not diagnose.
Understanding Anxiety
The difference between worry and anxiety, thought loops, uncertainty and the cognitive-behavioural approach.
The Difference Between Worry and Anxiety
How to tell thoughts that go round in the mind from the alarm felt in the body, why they overlap and how to spot a worry that can be solved.
Read GUIDEWhy Overthinking Turns Into a Loop
Why the mind goes back to the same place, what pushing a thought away costs and trying to turn an abstract question into a concrete sentence.
Read GUIDEIntolerance of Uncertainty: Why “What If I Don’t Know?” Feels So Hard
The role of intolerance of uncertainty in anxiety, the cost of seeking certainty and noticing the small uncertainties you already live with.
Read GUIDEHow the Cognitive-Behavioural Approach to Anxiety Works
The chain of event, meaning, body and behaviour; thoughts, avoidance and safety behaviours. What the approach does not promise.
ReadHabits That Keep Anxiety Going
Reassurance-seeking, avoidance and perfectionism: patterns that relieve in the short term and narrow life in the long term.
The Reassurance-Seeking Loop: Why “Are You Sure?” Is Never Enough
The short relief and the cost of reassurance-seeking, how it differs from connection and a ten-minute waiting step you can try once.
Read GUIDEHow Avoidance Feeds Anxiety
The short relief and long cost of safety behaviours, a narrowing life and the place of small, chosen steps.
Read GUIDEPerfectionism and Anxiety: When a High Standard Gets Expensive
The difference between setting goals and the worry around mistakes, the rule under the thought, what a standard costs and a “what would I tell a friend?” step.
ReadEveryday Situations
Exams, work, social situations and health: the places anxiety shows up most.
Exam Anxiety: Why It Rises and When to Get Support
The thinking, body and attention sides of exam anxiety, the “if it goes badly, what would I do next?” question and when to see a professional.
Read GUIDEWork and Performance Anxiety: Why It Happens and What Can Help
Meeting, presentation and review anxiety; inner rules, over-preparing, the part the workplace plays and a one-minute attention step.
Read GUIDEAnxiety in Social Situations: Watching Yourself, Missing the Conversation
Inward attention and safety behaviours in social situations, how it differs from shyness, trying to turn attention outward and when to get support.
Read GUIDEHealth Anxiety: The Fear of Illness and the Checking Loop
The loop of body-checking, searching online and seeking reassurance; why a doctor comes first and one small sample step.
ReadBody and Sleep
Palpitations, shortness of breath and lying awake thinking: what to check first and when to see a doctor.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety: Palpitations and Shortness of Breath
Why anxiety feels like this in the body, the situations where a doctor comes first, how symptoms feed themselves and a small grounding step.
Read GUIDEAnxiety and Sleep: Why Do You Lie Awake Thinking?
The two layers of night-time anxiety, the two-way link between sleep and anxiety, giving a worry an address and the situations where a doctor comes first.
ReadSupport and Help
When to seek professional help and how to support someone who lives with anxiety.
When to Seek Professional Help for Anxiety
Emergency signs, symptoms that need a doctor first, what each professional does and how to prepare for an appointment.
Read GUIDESupporting Someone With Anxiety
Listening, responding to the feeling when reassurance is asked for again and again, not forcing, looking after yourself and when to point to a professional.
ReadFrequently Asked Questions
What is anxiety, and how is it different from worry?
Worry is usually “what if” thinking about a particular topic; anxiety is the wider alarm state in which body, mind and behaviour react together. The two overlap, and some of the same skills can be used for both. For more detail, see the guide on the difference between worry and anxiety.
Which guide should I start with?
Start with the guide closest to what is on your mind: overthinking if your thoughts keep going round, anxiety and sleep if you lie awake thinking at night, physical symptoms of anxiety if body sensations frighten you. If you are not sure, the guide on the difference between worry and anxiety is a good way in.
Are these guides therapy, and do they diagnose?
No. They are psychoeducation: they explain how anxiety works and give at most one small sample step and a stop rule. They do not diagnose and are not therapy. If you are struggling, it makes sense to see a mental health professional.
When should I see a professional?
See a mental health professional if anxiety clearly disrupts your daily functioning, sleep or relationships, has lasted for months, or comes with thoughts of harming yourself. For new or severe symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath, see a doctor first, and in an emergency call your local emergency number.