Have I got an anxiety disorder?
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I get stressed sometimes - does this mean I have an anxiety disorder?
We all get stressed and feel anxious from time-to-time, in fact, stress can lead to feelings of anxiety. Patricia Andrews, spokesperson for No Panic, says: 'Stress and anxiety are driven by the same chemical reaction in the body, which is a fight or flight/adrenalin response.
Anxiety is caused by a worry about something. Anxiety becomes an anxiety disorder when this worry or anxiety is constant and takes over all your thoughts. For example, you might be worried because your washing machine is broken, but even after it's fixed you've still got feelings of anxiety and these feelings are out of control and over-the-top,' says Patricia.
Anxiety becomes an anxiety disorder when:
- You feel anxious most/all of the time
- Your level of anxiety is excessive and intense
- Your anxiety is uncontrollable and disrupts your job, relationships and social life
- Your behaviour changes due to your level of anxiety - this could be anything from drinking lots of tea, finding it hard to breathe, not being able to leave the house or performing repetitive rituals, such as counting to 10 before you do something.
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