Anxiety and stress

Feeling worried, nervous or anxious? Read on…

How anxiety and stress work

Everyone worries and feels nervous or anxious from time to time – this is a natural response to stressful situations. However, some people experience worry and fear almost constantly, or have episodes of acute anxiety, panic or stress. These worries can be about health, finances, relationships, social situations or an overwhelming sense that something bad is going to happen. Something about these situations can remind you of a previous difficult time of life and can manifest as physical sensations such as:

• A pounding and/or racing heart.
• Restlessness.
• Muscular tension.
• Sleep problems.
• Blushing/sweating.
• Nausea.
• Shortness of breath.

(It is always recommended that you consult with a GP to rule out any physical causes of these symptoms before engaging in counselling or therapy.)

It can feel like anxiety is hijacking your life. You can start to lose your confidence which begins to damage your ability to function and you may find it difficult to relax, enjoy work, social situations or everyday activities like driving a car or leaving the house. This could result in you avoiding certain environments and reduce the quality of your life.

How I work with anxiety

We can work together to get to the root cause of specific triggers of your anxiety. We can then develop effective ways for you to recognise and deal with these triggers so that you feel more able to cope with what life brings.

We will work on the thinking aspects and the physical elements of your anxiety, so that your body can learn not to feel fearful in safe situations.

Psychotherapy treatment has helped many people to reduce or even eliminate the acute anxiety they once felt. You could do the same.

Contact me to talk in confidence about how to move forward.