Our increasingly fearful UK society is linked to rise in anxiety disorders,
according to new reports from the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) and the Office
for National Statistics [ONS]. These 2009 reports reveals a UK society that is
increasingly fearful and anxious, backing the latest national statistics that
show a long-term increase in the rate of anxiety disorders in the general
population.

* 37% of people (equivalent to 18 million UK adults) say they get frightened or
anxious more often than they used to. * 77% of people believe people in general
are more frightened and anxious than they used to be.
* 77% say that the world has become a more frightening place in the last 10
years.
* 29% say that fear and anxiety have stopped them from doing things they wish
they had done.
* 49% of people get anxious about money, 66% experiencing fear or anxiety about
the current financial situation.
* Over 7 million people are living with anxiety problems in the UK
* High levels of fear and anxiety linked to serious physical health problems
* MHF says rising levels of fear and anxiety are contributing to economic
problems
* Call for nationwide campaign to protect public's mental health

A 2009 ONS report shows that in England, the rate of anxiety disorders in the
population rose from 13.3 per cent to 15.0 per cent between 1993 and 2007.
Applied to the whole UK population this indicates that 7.2 million (1 in 7)
people have anxiety disorders in the UK - 800,000 more than in the early
nineties.

UK-wide research carried out for "In the Face of Fear" shows that more than a
third of people (37 per cent) feel more frightened than they used to and a
majority think the world has become more frightening in the last 10 years (77
per cent). According to the Mental Health Foundation, the more fearful people
feel in the general population, the more people will be tipped over into
diagnosable anxiety problems.

The MHF report reveals that high levels of fear and anxiety are strongly linked
to depression as well as a range of physical health problems including coronary
heart disease, gastrointestinal troubles, asthma and allergies. People with
anxiety problems are four times as likely to develop high blood pressure, and
studies show a link between anxiety and weakness of the immune system. Anxiety
is also associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking
too much alcohol and poor diet.

Fear and modern life
--------------------
Fear is an emotion that is recognised faster than conscious thought by the
brain, and triggers the `fight or flight' response.

"In the Face of Fear" explains that historically this enabled people to face
immediate threats to their safety as hunter gatherers. But in modern life it
causes people problems because abstract or unpredictable concerns such as
terrorism or economic problems demand more considered responses. People still
have the same strong physical and mental responses, yet cannot fight or flee
from current threats.

According to the charity, a `culture of fear' is one of the reasons for
increasing levels of anxiety. A constant news stream, widely available
information about threats, and `worst case scenario' language sometimes used by
politicians, pressure groups, businesses and public bodies around issues such as
knife-crime, MRSA, bird flu and terrorism can fuel the problem. The charity says
that public bodies and businesses should take steps to tackle
institutionally-driven fear.

The introduction of public policy measures such as the installation of CCTV
cameras to tackle fear of crime can also be counter-productive. The UK now has
4.2 million, more than in the rest of Europe put together. Such devices can
actually make some people feel more fearful, as they sense that high security
suggests risk. Fear of crime continues to rise even though crime rates have
fallen in the last decade.

A poll for "In the Face of Fear" revealed a number of reasons why people say
they feel more frightened or anxious than they used to, including a loss of
solidarity and community, the world becoming a more dangerous place, the threat
of terrorism, the risk of crime, a loss of certainty and security, and because
of an increase in the availability of information about threats to their safety.

Fear and the economy
----------------------
The current financial crisis is having an adverse effect on the nation's
wellbeing – two-thirds of those polled for the report (66 per cent) said they
are experiencing some fear and anxiety as a result. Anxiety UK, the country's
largest anxiety disorders charity, reported a doubling of calls to its telephone
helpline in the first two months of this year.

The MHF says that fear is partly driving the economic crisis because the emotion
is over-riding logical thinking. Individuals and institutions - keen to protect
themselves - are now too afraid to lend, spend and invest, despite the fact that
these actions could assist in ending the recession. Franklin D Roosevelt knew of
the major impact of fear on the economy when he gave his inaugural address in
the midst of economic crisis in 1933, declaring `The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself'.

Social groups particularly vulnerable to anxiety
--------------------------------------------------
Those with anxiety-related disorders are more likely to be single, divorced or
separated, earning less money, poorly educated, living in urban areas, living on
their own or as a lone parent. The report highlights that four times as many
people are living alone than 50 years ago – and consequently they are being
forced to cope with wider social and economic problems on their own.

Too few seek help for treatable anxiety problems
-----------------------------------------------------
Another contribution to rising levels of anxiety is that people do not seek help
from their GP when it becomes problematic, or do not realise that they have a
problem, according to the charity. While anxiety problems are usually treatable,
they are massively under-treated, placing unnecessary suffering on individuals
and families. Only 1 in 7 people with mixed anxiety and depression - the most
common mental health disorder - are currently receiving treatment.

Call for nationwide mental health awareness campaign
-------------------------------------------------------
The MHF is calling for attention to be paid to the general population's mental
health, and asserts that a campaign is needed to raise awareness about how
people can better understand their emotions and protect themselves against
anxiety and depression.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
"This report shows that fear is having a serious negative impact on the mental
and physical health of the nation. The modern world will test our resilience
again and again, and people need to know how to process their emotions better to
prevent harm to their mental and physical health. A mental health promotion
campaign that shows individuals how to look after their own mental health would
be of immense public benefit, and help prevent common mental health problems
like anxiety and depression.

"Prevention campaigns about physical illnesses like heart disease and cancer are
often mounted but we have seen little investment in educating people about how
they can look after their mental health. Currently less than 0.1% of adult
mental health investment is allocated to mental health promotion. The UK needs
to follow the example of countries like Australia that take the mental health of
their whole populations seriously and invest in promotion more readily."

Minister for Care Services, Department of Health, Phil Hope, comments:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This report confirms just how important it is to tackle mental health problems
and promote public mental health and wellbeing. During the last ten years, we've
seen major improvements in the mental health services available for people, but
now we need to develop a dynamic new approach, which actively helps create more
mentally healthy and resilient communities. We're developing a strategy called
New Horizons to be published in summer to do that. This report gives us some
valuable ideas on how to get there."

Carolyn Chew-Graham, Royal College of GPs Clinical Champion (Mental Health), and
co-chair of Primary Care Mental Health Forum, said:
"This report highlights fear and anxiety as increasing problems and describes
possible causes. While there have been campaigns to increase public and health
professional awareness about depression, much less has been done to raise
awareness of anxiety.

"The Royal College of GPs would be supportive of a campaign that shows
individuals how to look after their own mental health and explains that fear and
anxiety can be experienced in the course of day-to-day living. But the campaign
would need to be accompanied by the development of community and health service
resources to enable professionals to meet the needs of those people who seek
help for anxiety related problems."

Cathy Ross, a British Heart Foundation senior cardiac nurse, said:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Intense emotional stress has long been associated with triggering heart
attacks in people who already have coronary heart disease. The British Heart
Foundation is currently funding research to further understand the mechanisms of
how this may happen. Feeling very stressed often leads to unhealthy behaviours
such as smoking, eating a poor diet, drinking too much alcohol and not getting
enough exercise – adding to the risk of developing heart problems. Identifying
the circumstances that lead people to adopting unhealthy lifestyles and choosing
options such as physical activity to help relieve stress can reduce the risk of
developing heart disease."



MORE REPORT KEY FINDINGS**
-------------------------------------
Women consistently report experiencing more fear and anxiety than men. They are
more than twice as likely as men to say they feel frightened or anxious a lot of
the time (11%, compared to 5% of men). They are also more likely to report
increasing fear (43% compared to 30% of men). And 20% of women compared with
14% of men say they wish they could be less fearful or anxious in their everyday
life.

Younger people also consistently report greater fear than older people. 77% of
18-34 year-olds say they feel frightened or anxious at least some of the time,
compared to 65% of over 55s, and more than twice as many in the younger age
group would describe themselves as a `generally anxious or fearful person' (13%
compared to 6%).

66% of those who say people are more frightened or anxious than they used to be
say it is because of the current economic situation, 61% say because of a loss
of solidarity and community, 60% say because the media makes people frightened,
60% say because the world has become a more dangerous place, 60% say because of
fear of terrorism, 59% say because of the risk of crime, 54% say because of a
loss of certainty and security, and 54% say because of an increase in the
availability of information about threats to safety.

14% of Londoners are likely to feel anxious a lot of the time compared to 8%
nationally.

USEFUL ONLINE RESOURCES
-------------------------
MHF Report:
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/mental-health-resilience-and-inequal\
ities-report/
Manage Your Fears & Worries:
http://www.stress-counselling.co.uk/management/anxiety.htm
"Beyond Fear" by Psychotherapist Dorothy Rowe
http://www.stress-counselling.co.uk/BOOKS/fear.htm
Vulnerability to Fear:
http://www.stress-counselling.co.uk/sunflower/STRESS/shame.htm
How to deal with a Stress Crisis
http://www.stress-counselling.co.uk/management/emergency.htm