Anxiety is different from a phobia. A phobia has a trigger you can point at — a spider, a lift, a plane. Anxiety does not. It is there when you wake up and it attaches itself to whatever is nearest. Around one in six Australians experienced an anxiety disorder in the past year, and among people under 25 it is closer to one in three. You are in very ordinary company, and it responds well to work.
Constant worry
The mind scanning for problems, running scenarios, refusing to settle even when nothing is wrong. It is exhausting in a way that is hard to explain to anyone who has not had it, because from the outside the day looked fine.
Social anxiety
The most common anxiety in Australia, affecting around 7% of people. Dreading the gathering for days beforehand, saying less than you meant to while you are there, and going over every sentence afterwards.
Panic attacks
The racing heart, the tight chest, the certainty that something is very wrong. Terrifying the first time — and then the fear of the next one becomes a second problem sitting on top of the first.
Health anxiety
Checking, googling, noticing every sensation and following it somewhere frightening. It has grown noticeably in recent years, and reassurance from a doctor tends to last about as long as the drive home.
Sleep
Tired all day and wide awake at eleven. Anxiety and sleep feed each other, which is why sleep is often the easiest end of the knot to pull on first.
Stress and burnout
Not a diagnosis, but the reason a great many people finally pick up the phone. Running on empty, short with the people you love most, and unable to switch off even when there is finally time to.