Anxiety or Stress

Anxiety is a physical feeling of fear or panic that we have in response to something that threatens the safety of ourselves or people we care about. It is normal and natural for children and young people to feel a degree of anxiety or stress, for example, over exams. For most people, once the situation has passed, they feel better and calm down. If the situation has passed, but the feelings of fear or panic remain or get stronger and start to affect daily living, then that is when anxiety can become a problem.

Some of the symptoms that children and young people may have include:

feeling frightened, nervous or panicky all the time
difficulty sleeping
poor appetite
lack of concentration
feeling tired and irritable
palpitations (when the heart feels like it is racing)
a dry mouth
trembling or shaking
feeling faint
stomach aches, cramps or diarrhoea

Anxiety or stressful situations can make it difficult for children and young people to do their best at school, stop them wanting to do the things they usually enjoy the most and make it difficult for them to enjoy other parts of their lives.

The most common anxiety problems (in alphabetical order) are:

Generalised anxiety – worrying about everything
Health anxiety - worrying about our own health in the future
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - worries that something bad will happen unless we do things in a certain way (such as rituals, cleaning or thinking certain thoughts in a certain order)
Panic Disorder – worrying that something bad will happen to us imminently
Phobias – worry about a specific thing (such as needles, blood or dogs)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – when memories about something bad that has happened to us in the past intrude on our day to day life and leave us feeling scared
Separation anxiety – worries about being away from main caregivers
Social anxiety – worries about being judged by others

NHS Anxiety disorders in children
NHS How to deal with stress
NHS Breathing and relaxation exercises for stress
Royal College of Psychiatrists Anxiety, panic and phobias
Royal College of Psychiatrists Feeling stressed

All Birds Have Anxiety by Kathy Hoopmann
Banish Your Self-Esteem Thief: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Building Positive Self-Esteem for Young People by Kate Collins-Donnelly
Breaking Free from OCD: A CBT Guide for Young People and Their Families by Jo Derisley
CBT Toolbox for Children and Adolescents by Amanda Crowder, Lisa Weed Phifer and Tracy Elsenraat
Coping with an Anxious or Depressed Child: A Guide for Parents and Carers by Samantha Cartwright-Hatton
Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks by Barry McDonagh
From Timid to Tiger: A Treatment Manual for Parenting the Anxious Child by Sam Cartwright-Hatton, Ben Laskey, Stewart Rust and Deborah McNally
Helping Children to Cope with Change, Stress and Anxiety: A Photocopiable Activities Book by Deborah Plummer
Helping Children with Fear by Margot Sunderland and Nicky Armstrong
Helping Children with Low Self-esteem by Margot Sunderland and Nicky Armstrong
Helping Children Who are Anxious by Margot Sunderland and Nicky Armstrong
Helping Children Who Bottle Up Their Feelings by Margot Sunderland and Nicky Armstrong
Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel By Changing the Way You Think by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A Padesky
Outsmarting Worry (An Older Kid's Guide to Managing Anxiety) by Dawn Huebner
Overcoming Your Child's Shyness and Social Anxiety by Cathy Creswell and Lucy Willetts
Overcoming Your Child's Fears and Worries: A Self-help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques by Cathy Creswell and Lucy Willetts
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Anxiety Management for Young People by Kate Collins-Donnelly
Supporting Adolescents and Teenagers with Anxiety & Stress: Evidence-Based Strategies by Tine Rae and Jo Wood
The Anxiety and Stress Solution Deck: 55 CBT & Mindfulness Tips & Tools by Judith Belmont
The Big Book of Blob Trees by Pip Wilson
The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside and Frank Rodgers
What to Do When… Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD by Dawn Huebner
What to Do When… You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Dawn Huebner
Lancashire Libraries - Reading Well for Young People – Shelf Help
The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust book recommendations and book club

e-Resources

MindEd - MindEd is a free educational resource on children and young people's mental health for all adults working, volunteering or studying to work with children and young people
Mental Health First Aid England - Downloadable resources/leaflets, single page PDF posters that school can use and videos for training
Young Minds - Training courses, free downloadable booklets/leaflets and posters/resources/materials/lesson plans for teachers and school staff – also available to order at a cost
Royal College of Psychiatrists - Online advice, guidance and downloadable factsheets for staff, parents and CYP to use (good for parents’ evenings) with leaflets available to order at a cost
MIND - Information booklets and leaflets
Moodjuice - Self-help guides and tools for professionals
Time to Change - Resources for staff. Schools areas for staff to register
Playfield Institute - Hands On - Help and practical advice for supporting children and young people's mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Dragonfly - Free booklet about how to deal with anxiety, which can be given to students and/or parents/carers.
7 ways to support children and young people who are worried - Anna Freud Centre

CAMHS resources - This site was created for young people, carers and professionals to pool together lots of helpful resources from across the internet that are available to help support mental health and well-being.
Get Self Help - This website provides CBT self-help and therapy resources, including worksheets and information sheets and self-help mp3s
Centre for Clinical Interventions - Self-help resources for mental health problems
Psychology Tools - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Worksheets, Handouts, And Self-Help Resources.
Health and Social Care Board - Choice and Medication leaflets are designed to help service users, carers and family members understand their medicines better, and to make more informed decisions, best as part of a discussion with a healthcare professional
HeadMeds - Gives general information about medication. HeadMeds does not give medical advice
NHS Northumberland, Tyne & Wear - Self-help leaflets
onyourmindglos - Helpful guides about emotional health

Kooth - Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people, accredited counsellors for mental health needs
Anxiety UK - Covers advice and guidance about all different types of anxiety
The Mix - online group chat/discussion boards supporting children and young people with a variety of mental health issues
Childline - Information and advice
No Panic - National organisation with information about care and support for sufferers of panic attacks, phobias, anxiety, neurosis, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Stemming Teenage Mental Illness - Advice and guidance
Depression Alliance - Depression Alliance brings people together to end the loneliness and isolation of depression. They also campaign to end the stigma of depression and to raise awareness of what it means to live with it.

HeadSpace is a personal guide to health and happiness. Designed to help you focus, breathe, stay calm, perform at your best, and get a better night’s rest through the life-changing skills of relaxation, meditation and mindfulness
Calm is an app for meditation and sleep. Designed to help lower stress, lessen anxiety, and assist in a more restful sleep with guided meditations, Sleep Stories, breathing programs, masterclasses and relaxing music. Apple store download | Google Play store download
Calm Kids, Connected Parents gives you resources on all kinds of parenting dilemmas at your fingertips — including inspirational messages, audio tracks, videos and articles to help you create a calmer, happier home. Download from the Apple app store or Google Play store
7 cups Free anonymous emotional support and counselling from trained active listeners.
SAM – Self-help for Anxiety Management is an app that offers a range of self-help methods for people who are serious about learning to manage their anxiety
WellMind is a free NHS mental health and wellbeing app designed to help you with stress, anxiety and depression. The app includes advice, tips and tools to improve your mental health and boost your wellbeing.
MindShift uses strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety. Apple store download | Google Play store download
Insight Timer is guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more
Clear Fear is developed by a clinician co-collaboratively with young people, Clear Fear uses a Cognitive Behavioural framework to help you change anxious thoughts and emotions, alter anxious behaviours and calm fear responses
Stress Heads (The Mix) is an app to help deal with stress by getting advice and dealing with all kinds of life stress, from exam pressure to money problems
Chill Panda is an app designed to help with anxiety, managing worries and improving wellbeing for primary school-aged children
Smiling Mind is a web and app-based program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to people’s lives.

Watch videos in our anxiety and stress playlist on our YouTube channel.

Training

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Helen Capstick

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training – for professionals working with children and young people aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day and 1-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Bespoke anxiety training can be provided by your local Primary Mental Health Worker upon request.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Michelle Taylor

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training - for professionals working with CYP aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Bespoke anxiety training can be provided by PMHW upon request.
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our event section or the lehss website.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Workers: Liz Loftus, Joanne Collins (Wyre) and Lucy Fenucciu (Fylde).

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training – for professionals working with children and young people aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day and 1-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our training courses section or the lehss website.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Wendy Hart

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training - for professionals working with CYP aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our event section or the lehss website.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Dawn Meakin

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training - for professionals working with CYP aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Your Primary Mental Health Worker can also offer bespoke training for anxiety.
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our event section or the lehss website.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Other guidance

Guidance: Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults management
Guidance: Social anxiety disorder: recognition, assessment and treatment
Guidance: PTSD
Guidance: Depression in children and young people: identification and management
Quality standard: Anxiety Disorders
Pathway: Generalised anxiety disorder overview
Pathway: Social anxiety disorder overview
Pathway: Panic Disorder
Clinical Knowledge Summary: Generalised anxiety disorder
Clinical Knowledge Summary: Post-traumatic stress disorder
Clinical Knowledge Summary: Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Your Primary Mental Health Workers: Helen Smith, Bethanne Bullion and Stephanie Rowe

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training – for professionals working with children and young people aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day and 1-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Aliki Mavraki

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training - for professionals working with CYP aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Anxiety training can be provided by local Primary Mental Health Worker upon request.
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our event section or the lehss website.
Pendle Action for the Community.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Worker: Shamaila Iqbal

Introduction to Stress & Anxiety (1.5 hours). Contact your Primary Mental Health Worker with enquiries or to book a free place.
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training - for professionals working with CYP aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day courses. Find out when your Primary Mental Health Worker is running local courses.
Positive Action in the Community are commissioned by Lancashire County Council to deliver and facilitate free YMHFA training across Lancashire (2-day and 1-day courses).
Anxiety training is provided by the Lancashire Emotional Health in Schools Service. The training will be led by Dr. Richard Slinger, LEHSS Service Lead and his team within Lancaster University. These sessions are aimed at primary and secondary school, college staff, especially SENCOs, pastoral leads, mentors, or any other staff with specific responsibility for pupils’ emotional health. It is particularly relevant for schools developing a ‘Designated Lead for Mental Health’ role. Limited free places are available to staff employed by a primary, secondary or college within the Lancashire County Council area. For more information visit our event section or the lehss website.
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Your Primary Mental Health Workers: Annabel Nicholls and Chloe Powers

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training – for professionals working with children and young people aged 8-18. Focused on prevention, signposting and early recognition. 2-day and 1-day courses. Details of the courses in South Cumbria can be found at: http://www.cumbrialscb.com/LSCB/training/ymhfaschools.asp
MIND offer training on a variety of topics. Check their website for which courses are currently running.
MindEd provides online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. Check their website for which courses are currently running.

Further help or advice

If you cannot find the help or advice you are searching for or you need other support for a child or young person, please contact your local CAMHS team.

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