If you are aged 21 or under and have left school, and you are experiencing anxiety at a level that is impacting on your day to day life, then please do not feel alone. Reaching out to ask for help is a first step.

Through our Young People’s services you can become a member of No Panic for just £10. As a member, you are then able to access No Panic’s Youth One-to-One Mentoring Recovery Programme. This is a 6 week course, for up to one hour a week, providing one to one confidential support over the phone with a trained volunteer. The cost of the complete programme of 6 sessions is £10. We use basic cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to help young people change their responses to fear. We explore tools and skills to help with anxiety management and explore interventions that young people can make in order to regain control over their anxiety. For more info see https://nopanic.org.uk/youth-recovery-program/.

Your GP can offer medical advice over diagnosis, and also advice over treatment if applicable. If you are at college or Uni and spend term time away from your family home, then it is advisable to get registered with any local GP as soon as you can. The health centre attached to your university is likely to be the most convenient, and the doctors working there will be experienced in the health needs of students.

Quite often there may be a wait for specialist medical support, but it is good to get on the waiting list, and in the meantime No Panic’s Youth Recovery Programme may be able to provide you a means of support.

If you are at University, then help may also be through any of the following:

• Your own University’s counselling service
• Your University Residential Support Team
• The Wellbeing Advisor at your University
• Your Personal Tutor

In England and Wales Student Space offers text message, email and webchat support for students https://studentspace.org.uk/support-services

Some people worry about getting help, feeling that their own needs are not as significant as those of other people. But, if the anxiety is impacting on your daily life, then reaching out for help is a good first step, and support services are intended to help a range of needs which vary in terms of severity – Preventing the anxiety from increasing and impacting further on your life is important.

After leaving school it can be an exciting time of big change. However, you may be feeling anxiety due to living away from home, finding new social networks and groups, and dealing with the academic workload. You may have financial anxieties and also struggle with being in an environment where there may be social pressures. Getting enough sleep and looking after yourself generally may be challenging.

The kind of anxiety affecting students and older teenagers includes:

• General Anxiety Disorder
• Social Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Phobias – (specific)

Some of the most common causes of stress include course workload and keeping up with this, the difficulties of combining paid employment and study, time management, financial stress, and performance in exams and coursework… (Student Minds 2023)

Symptoms of anxiety in students and school leavers typically include some of the following (not all symptoms are mentioned here):

• churning feeling in your stomach,
• feeling light-headed,
• headaches,
• fast breathing,
• fast heartbeat,
• sweating,
• sleep issues,
• nausea,
• panic attacks
• feeling tense or nervous,
• a sense of dread,
• feeling stressed about when your anxiety may flare up,
• worrying about things that may happen in the future,