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Mental and Behavioral Health

Anxiety in Adults: How to Manage

Anxiety in Adults: How to Manage

Anxiety is when you feel worried or scared. Everyone has anxiety at one time or another.

Learning ways to manage anxiety and its causes, like stress, can help make your daily life better.

How does anxiety affect me?

Anxiety can cause health problems. These may include:

  • Headaches.

  • Body pain.

  • High blood pressure.

  • Sleep problems.

  • Mental health symptoms.

How to recognize anxiety and stress

Anxiety and stress are connected to each other in many ways. For instance, having stress for a long time can lead to anxiety. But there are some differences.

  • Stress:

    • Is caused by something hard happening around you.

    • Goes away after the hard thing is over.

  • Anxiety:

    • Can happen for no clear reason.

    • Can stay after a stressful event is over.

How to manage lifestyle changes

To help manage your anxiety and stress, you could:

  • Do things that help you feel calm, such as:

    • Meditating.

    • Relaxing your muscles.

    • Deep breathing.

    • Coloring or drawing.

  • Move your body. You could:

    • Take a short walk each day.

    • Do yoga.

  • Do things you like or that are fun for you, such as:

    • Reading.

    • Listening to music.

  • Spend time in nature or watch nature videos.

  • Try to change negative thoughts to positive ones.

  • Spend time with friends and family.

Follow these instructions at home:

Lifestyle

  • Get enough good sleep each night.

  • Eat healthy.

  • Drink enough water.

General instructions

  • Take your medicines only as told.

  • Ask your health care provider about treatments that may help. You may need:

    • Medicine.

    • Talk therapy.

    • Both medicine and talk therapy.

Follow these instructions at home:

Where to find support

For support, you can reach out to:

  • Your provider.

  • A mental health specialist, such as a therapist or counselor.

Where to find more information

To learn more, go to:

  • The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at nami.org.

  • The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at nimh.nih.gov.

    1. Click on the magnifying glass and type "help for mental illness."

    2. Find the link you need.

Contact a health care provider if:

  • You have stress you can't handle.

  • Your anxiety stops you from doing daily tasks.

  • You avoid things out of fear, worry, or stress.

  • Your symptoms get worse.

  • You have new symptoms.

  • Your symptoms don't get better with treatment.

Get help right away if:

  • You feel like you may hurt yourself or others.

  • You have thoughts about taking your own life.

  • You have other thoughts or feelings that worry you.

These symptoms may be an emergency. Take one of these steps right away:

  • Go to your nearest emergency room.

  • Call 911.

  • Contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7, free and confidential):

  • For Veterans and their loved ones:

This information is not intended to replace advice given to you by your health care provider. Make sure you discuss any questions you have with your health care provider.

Document Revised: 10/13/2025 Document Reviewed: 10/13/2025

Elsevier Patient Education © 2025 Elsevier Inc.