Almost one in five young people lives with high levels of anxiety, according to figures on wellbeing published by the Office for National Statistics.
The study looked at the wellbeing and mental health of 7.5 million young people in the UK aged 16 to 24.
The figures from the ONS show a picture of a growing number of young people who are satisfied with their lives – but with a persistent minority reporting unhappiness or suffering from anxiety.
Almost 83% of young people report high or very high levels of satisfaction – a slight improvement on previous years.
But in terms of anxiety, 18% report high levels of anxiety and almost 16% have ‘medium’ levels of anxiety, the BBC said.
The figures also show a rising proportion of young people who felt dissatisfied with their health.
In a separate measure, there are almost 21% of young people with “evidence indicating depression or anxiety”.
And young people’s perceptions of their own physical health seemed to be progressively more negative, with more expressing dissatisfaction and fewer feeling satisfied.
The ONS also published figures for the wellbeing of younger children which showed about one in eight youngsters between the ages of 10 and 15 reported symptoms of mental ill-health.
At the beginning of the university term there were particular warnings about the need to respond to mental health problems on campus. Sir Anthony Seldon, University of Buckingham vice-chancellor, has been calling for universities to take a more active role in promoting students’ wellbeing.
“We have a crisis, which is growing each year, in student mental health in our universities. I am not blaming the universities, but things must now change quickly before more avoidable misery is spread, and more lives lost.”
Anxiety UK, a charity which helps people with stress and anxiety, is publishing a support guide to help students.
The charity says that overstretched health and counselling services could mean that students do not always get access to the help they need.
But help for anxiety, stress and depression is readily available from the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) which holds the largest directory of hypnotherapists in the UK.
According to the NCH, anxiety is a fear or concern that is exaggerated, and is out of proportion to the situation, although sometimes it may not feel like this.
“The symptoms of anxiety correlate with the stress response or ‘fight-or-flight’. This is primal response that protects you against threats in your environment, so if danger is present your body triggers a rush of blood to your arms and legs so that you can fight or run away.
“It is an adrenaline response that causes your heart to beat faster, pumping oxygen around your body to those parts that need it to protect you. You may feel as if you are on high alert as well, unable to calm down or relax, your mind may race unable to focus or quieten down,” says the NCH.
However, it is important to reduce anxiety as prolonged exposure to cortisol and other stress related hormones can lead to memory problems, a weakened immune system, increased blood pressure ands reduced fertility, research has shown.
Hypnotherapy is the application of hypnotic techniques in such a way as to bring about therapeutic changes. If this is what you need to sort your life out, contact a hypnotherapist near you by using the NCH directory.