Is your anxiety impacting you more than you realise?

Liz Makin Author

Aug 22, 2025 |

Feeling anxious at times, is quite normal, but when does anxiety become a problem?

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is ‘Having regular or uncontrollable worries about many different things in your life, particularly about things that are about to happen or which you think may happen in the future’.

The emotion of anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. It is a perfectly natural reaction.

Can feeling anxious be normal?

Feeling anxious at times, is quite normal. You may be doing something that you have never done before, taking a big personal step or you may be dealing with challenging events and changes.

Your anxiety is a normal emotion if you stop feeling anxious once the situation or event is over.

Normal anxiety can also be very helpful as it has the power to focus attention or motivate you to take action.

When does anxiety become a problem?

Anxiety, however, becomes a problem, if it starts to impact your ability to live your life as you would like to. This may include one or more of the following:

* Having very strong feelings of anxiety.

* Feeling anxious for most of the time.

* Your anxiety is out of proportion to the situation or potential threat.

* Avoiding things, people and situations that you think will cause you to feel anxious.

* Feeling that you cannot control your anxiety.

* Being unable to remember not feeling anxious.

* Your anxiety is negatively impacting your day to day life and work.

* Feeling overwhelmed by your anxiety.

How does anxiety impact you?

Anxiety can impact you psychologically, physically and behaviourally. The different symptoms of anxiety are interlinked as how you are thinking can impact how you are feeling, behaving and your health, which will in turn impact your thinking.

Each person with anxiety will have a different experience of it and a different combination of signs and symptoms.

Do you want to delve deeper into your anxiety?

If you want practical tips and strategies to help you manage anxiety positively in your life our Anxiety management for life & work online course is for you. It has over 50 practical tips and strategies that you can use. Take a look at our course here - Anxiety management for life & work.

Categories: : Anxiety management, Personal development, Stress management