Mind How much does anxiety affect your day-to-day life?

Does worrying stop you living life to the full? Here’s how to combat those anxious feelings

Have you had your emotional ups and downs recently? It’s not surprising. While anxiety conditions and other common mental-health problems (such as depression) usually affect around one in five* women each week, almost half of adults say their mental wellbeing has been impacted by the pandemic**. And over 18 months since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, our emotional vulnerability is still having a big impact on our health.

‘Global circumstances have made fertile ground for mental-health problems, particularly for those who were already struggling with anxiety,’ says functional medicine certified health coach Suzy Glaskie, from Peppermint Wellness. ‘You may have symptoms including difficulty sleeping, feelings of impending doom, racing thoughts, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, poor concentration and loss of appetite.’

Take our quick mind MOT quiz to discover your worry levels, then read on for how to help...

HOW ANXIOUS ARE YOU?

Whether you’re uptight or always chilled, how you deal with worry can impact your life…

1

Your boss wants a meeting with you later in the week. You... A Assume you’ve done something wrong, and fret

B Go for a few drinks with workmates

C Get on with your work, but worry in the background

D Think it’s about a pay rise 2

Your friend is worried about something. What do you do? A Listen and empathise

B Change the subject

C Shut out your own stress to talk to her

D Start to feel impatient 3

Are you good at switching off when stressed?

A No – there’s always something to worry about

B Yes, but the worries are still niggling at you…

C No – you find it hard to maintain perspective when under pressure

D Yes, great – nothing is worth the stress

4

You’ve noticed some strange patches on the ceiling, so you… A Convince yourself the roof’s leaking

B Look away…

C Email a builder, but check on it every other hour

D Call a friend for help 5

Generally, how would you describe your attitude to worrying?

A You can’t help it

B It’s to be ignored for as long as possible

C You don’t believe in spending time on it, but it usually wins

D It’s a waste of time!