Britons are becoming increasingly fearful and anxious, which is making the economic crisis worse, mental health experts said.
A new report from the Mental Health Foundation found levels of anxiety are on the rise, with people feeling the world is a more frightening place than it used to be.
Even measures aimed at tackling crime and terrorism - such as a rise in the use of CCTV cameras - are failing to quell fears and could be adding to them, it said.
Official figures show around 800,000 more people in the UK now suffer from anxiety disorders than in 1993.
Overall, 1.7% more of the population in England had an anxiety-related mental health disorder in 2007 (15%), compared with 1993 (13.3%).
Estimates suggest that more than seven million people in the UK suffer anxiety problems.
A poll of 2,246 adults for the report - In the Face of Fear - found 77% believed the world had become a more frightening place in the last 10 years.
More than 37% felt frightened or anxious more often than they used to while 77% thought people generally were more scared than they used to be.
Asked specifically about the economic crisis, 49% of people said they were anxious about money, with 66% experiencing fear or anxiety about the current financial situation.
The study said: "New research carried out for this report suggests that we are becoming more fearful as a nation."
