Counselling For Anxiety
Anxiety in simple terms it is a normal natural and very helpful human response (yes that’s right its helpful!) that gets triggered when we feel we are in danger of being threatened in some way. If we didn’t have anxiety, we would have no conception about danger and safety, so without it we would be living very threatened lives or worse! For example, if we crossed the road when a large lorry was approaching, and our anxiety didn’t kick in then we would be in big trouble! Or if we went to stroke the large dog that was snarling and growling then the chances are we would get seriously hurt. So, our incredibly clever natural anxious response stops us from making dangerous decisions by triggering our fight/flight or freeze.
Thank you, Anxiety, 😊
Why Anxiety can feel Overwhelming
Anxiety will usually present for some people when they have future events, occasions or things that are going to happen. As our brains have evolved over the years, we are now able to ruminate (so clever aren’t we!) – so in caveman times, the caveman (or woman) would not be sitting around the fire thinking “what if a sabre tooth tiger comes tomorrow and I can’t fight it – and then my wife leaves me and my kids don’t talk to me ever again” or “what if I kill the tiger will my wife stop talking to me (go with this as she’s an animal lover) and what if she leaves me and goes with another cave man and I never see her or my kids again, and I end up living the rest of my life alone!” You can probably relate to this rumination in some way as your anxiety goes into what we call mind loops, this means it starts small (the initial thought) but then it grows and grows until we fear it so much that we AVOID AVOIID (this is the most common go to coping strategy, sound familiar?). The probs is if we avoid things, it will put a red flag in the brain that says that situation is dangerous and so it will alarm you again should something similar come up again, and it will feel bigger than ever.
Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks and Symptoms
Anxiety for many can escalate due to the rumination into intense feelings and thoughts creating physical and psychological symptoms.
Here are some of the symptoms that anxiety and panic can cause.
Psychological Symptoms
- Excessive worry
- Panic attacks
- Derealisation (feeling lucid but detached from surroundings)
- Depersonalisation (feeling detached from your personality)
- Feeling apprehensive
- Hypochondria
- Fear of panic
- Body scanning (searching for illness)
- Looping thoughts
- Obsessive thoughts
- Inability to relax
- Difficulty completing tasks
- Feeling hopeless or depressed
- Overactive imagination
- Agoraphobia
- Fear of other’s opinions
- Fear of embarrassment
- Deep level of focus about identity
- Loss of appetite or eating too much
- Loss of libido
- Loss of interest in things that used to be enjoyable
- Constantly feeling tired
- The inability to focus
Physical Symptoms
- Heart palpitations
- Headaches
- Lightheaded
- Exhaustion
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Irregular bowel movements
- Chest pains
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Perspiration
- Tortoise
- Stomach cramps
- Floaters
- Dry mouth
- Neck ache
- Pain behind eyes
- Jaw pain
- Erectile dysfunction
How Counselling with me will help
Counselling with me will help you to understand more about anxiety and
gradually lose the fear and grip that it can have on you. We will focus in-depth on your internal dialogue, your thinking styles, your inner critic and explore where anxiety first originated, what your go to coping strategy is and what might be more helpful for you now. We will reprogramme, rebuild new neuro pathways and beliefs and focus on understanding how your mind and body thinks and feels. You will learn how to ground yourself, to remain calm and in-control and to challenge your thinking to be more rational, as to create more helpful behaviours. You will be free to share your story and how anxiety has impacted your world and what you would like to be feeling instead of anxious. Together in a safe space we will work on you taking back control of your life!