Worry is such a destructive emotion. Although there may not be many signs from outside that someone is worried, worry can gnaw away at your sense of well being from the inside. We talk about dogs worrying sheep - that's when they grab then by the throat and shake them to death. That's what it can feel to be full of worries, that your joy and life are being squashed out of you.

Jesus hit the nail on the head when he said, ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?' in Matthew 6:27. Worry doesn't achieve anything; it doesn't change anything; it doesn't improve anything. Worry just leaves us with a head clogged up with thoughts that chase each other round in circles.

Young people could potentially worry about lots of things - friends, appearance, girlfriends or boyfriends or lack of them, family, schoolwork, exams, future. But because young people may feel they have less power to affect all these things, some of them may be more prone to worry than adults. Worry is not necessarily a rational thing; some worries can get completely out of proportion. Worrying thoughts feed into each other.

These are some of the symptoms of worry to look out for: disturbed sleep, lack of concentration, bitten fingernails, loss of appetite, worried looks. But you may not necessarily be able to tell from looking how much someone is in the grip of worry. That's why it's important to talk about it with young people and to help them get out of the cycle of worry.

Jesus' advice was simple. ‘Do not worry', he said in Luke 12:22-34, the parallel of the Matthew 6:25-34 passage. He tells us to look at the way God provides for the birds and the flowers. How much more will be look after us? People who don't know God rush around worrying about money, food, clothes; we need to rest in God's presence and trust him to provide for us. We need to chase after the Kingdom of God, and then everything else will fall into place.

God also promises to give us peace in place of anxiety. Philippians 4:6,7 says, ‘Do not be anxious about everything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.' Being thankful, even in the middle of worry, can help us get things into proportion.

It's really important to get people talking about their worries. The trouble is that people may think their worries sound really pathetic in the cold light of day even though they are very real. Encourage people to be honest and lead the way by talking about worries of your own, either current or ones that you had when you were their age. Bringing worries out in the open will disarm them; hearing that other people have similar worries to you can be very affirming.

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