Anxiety is a natural response to feeling under threat or worried about the future. Most people feel anxious at times, but for some, anxiety is frequent, overwhelming and hard to control.
Anxiety is the main symptom of several conditions, including panic disorder, where people experience sudden and intense panic attacks that can happen without warning.
Anxiety affects everyone differently and can cause a mix of mental and physical symptoms.
Panic attacks are sudden and frightening episodes of intense fear. They often appear without an obvious cause.
Symptoms can include:
Although panic attacks feel alarming, they aren’t dangerous. Most last between 5 and 20 minutes and will pass. Fear of having another attack can lead people to avoid situations, which can increase anxiety over time.
If anxiety or panic attacks are affecting your daily life, speak to your GP. Support and treatment can help reduce symptoms and prevent anxiety from becoming overwhelming.
Aim for around 150 minutes a week of activity that raises your heart rate, such as brisk walking, swimming or cycling.
Caffeine can increase anxiety and disrupt sleep. Cutting back may help you feel calmer.
Yoga, pilates, breathing exercises and mindfulness can all help manage anxiety. Try some of the techniques in our quick-start mindfulness sessions.
Stay calm, encourage slow breathing and move them to a quieter space if possible. Afterwards, listen to their experience without judgement.
Everyone’s needs are different. Asking shows care and reassurance.
Anxiety isn’t a choice. Avoid pressuring them and move at a pace they’re comfortable with.
Offer help booking appointments or attending them together.
Learn meditation and mindfulness skills from world-class experts and develop tools to help you focus, breathe, stay calm, and find balance in your life.
Use the simple learning modules to manage fear, anxiety and stress and tackle unhelpful thinking. Record your experiences and track symptoms to better understand your mental health.
If your partner, family member or friend works in UK policing, let them know there are lots of online resources on the Oscar Kilo website. They will need an Oscar kilo account to access the majority, an OK account can be created here by anyone with a .police.uk email address.
The resources on this page aim to directly support the mental health and wellbeing of everyone who works in policing.
Whether you're an officer, staff member or volunteer - whatever your role - there's material to support your mental health and physical health along with some bespoke toolkits for specific roles.