• Excessive worry or concern that something bad is going to happen, with an inability to stop worrying
• Worry may interfere with daily activities and relationships
• Tendency to become tired easily
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Poor concentration
• Insomnia
• Muscle tension  or pain  (e.g. in the jaw, back or neck)
• Frequent need to urinate
• Diarrhoea

Panic attacks are one form of anxiety disorder, and may be characterised by symptoms such as:

• Fear of dying or going crazy
• Chest palpitations (increased heart rate)
• Feeling of chest tightness or inability to take in enough air
• Excessive sweating
• Dizziness
• Tremors and shaking
• Nausea and stomach pain

Anxiety may arise from a range of factors including:

• Stressful events and social pressures: factors such as job pressure, family pressure, bereavement and the stress of modern day living may all contribute to or trigger anxiety
• Anxiety may also be symptomatic of or triggered by certain health problems, especially conditions associated with hormonal changes such as hyperthyroidism (over-active thyroid), pregnancy and giving birth, menopause and premenstrual syndrome. These issues may contribute to the fact that women are more prone to developing some forms of anxiety than men are
• It may also be associated with heart disease (e.g. diabetes)
• A personal or family history of mental health problems may pre-dispose some people to anxiety, and similarly, people with certain personality traits (e.g. perfectionism and/or low self-steem) or who have experienced family difficulties during childhood are also at increased risk of developing an anxiety disorder
• Nutritional deficiencies of the B-group vitamins, and the minerals magnesium and zinc may contribute to anxiety

• During trying times the body requires extra nutrients, especially the B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin C, deficiency of which may contribute to anxiety problems. For best results choose a formula that also contains added magnesium, which helps all the muscles in the body to function optimally.
• If worry, tension or mental over-activity are interfering with your sleep, consider taking the herbs passionflower, lemon balm and hops, which are traditionally used to support healthy sleeping patterns and relieve insomnia. The same combination of herbs can also be beneficial for the symptomatic relief of minor gastrointestinal problems (such as indigestion and cramping) when these symptoms are related to worry, nervousness, tension and irritability.
• If you are feeling anxious, try St. John’s wort, which relieves low moods and is traditionally used to relieve anxiety and nervous restlessness.