It can come at any time, to anyone. It presents itself in the most random form, a fear you never realised you had or a thought you can’t get out of your head. Anxiety is a disorder that, if you haven’t experienced for yourself (and I hope you never do), you almost certainly know someone who has.
In 2016, it was reported that four in every 100 people in the UK have an anxiety disorder, according to a study by Cambridge University. As a woman, you're twice as likely to be diagnosed with one than a man. Fear isn’t a gendered emotion, so why the hell are women at a higher risk than men?
Laura Mvula set out to answer that question in BBC Woman's Hour's latest documentary, Generation Anxiety. The online-only film, where Laura opens up about her own experiences of panic attacks and finds out why we, as Generation Y, are all so fucked in the head.
She talks to Eleanor Morgan, author of* Anxiety for Beginners: A Personal Investigatio*n, which combined with Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon served as a holy grail guide to anxiety. Bryony is another of her interviewees, who opens up further in the documentary about her seemingly perfect life that is far from what people think. Laura also chats to Marjorie Wallace, who founded Sane, a mental health charity.
The film has been met with an abundance of online praise, with many relating to the heart-breaking tales told.
Check it out on BBC iPlayer, it just might help.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.