top of page

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.

~ Somers Roche

Counselling for Anxiety

Anxiety can present itself in a wide variety of ways and can range from mild to severe. Some people describe it as a sense of constant unease or foreboding, leaving sufferers constantly on the look-out for potential danger.

Everyone can feel anxious at times (for instance before a job interview), but for 1 in 10 people, anxiety can be constant, overwhelming or out of proportion to the situation and this can affect daily life.

​

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

​

Ongoing stress or anxiety issues can have physical, emotional and psychological consequences including:​

  • Feeling worried or uneasy all the time

  • Feeling tired

  • Feeling irritable or quick to anger

  • An inability to concentrate

  • A fear that you are going "mad"

  • Feeling unreal and out of control

  • Shaking

  • Panic attacks

  • Wanting to keep busy all the time

  • Avoiding social situations

  • Abdominal discomfort

  • Diarrhoea

  • Dry mouth

  • Rapid heartbeat or palpitations

  • Tightness or pain in chest

  • Shortness of breath

  • Dizziness

  • Frequent urination

  • Difficulty swallowing

  • Insomnia

Behaviours such as hoarding, obsessive compulsiveness, agoraphobia and phobias are also derived from anxiety.

​​

How can counselling help with anxiety?

​

If you suffer from anxiety, you see the world or certain situations as fearful rather than safe. This perception may have arisen from certain life events such as an illness or bereavement, or perhaps in childhood from anxious parents or through neglect or abuse. This has resulted in the part of the brain that looks out for potential danger always being on hyper alert. It doesn't rest. So it constantly projects worse case scenarios of day to day situations (which rarely ever happen) in order to keep you safe.

​

This is both exhausting and keeps you away from living your best life. Anxiety can make your life feel smaller and smaller.

​

Counselling can help you understand the causes of your anxiety in a calm, non-judgemental environment. Initially, offloading your fears and thoughts can help reduce overwhelm. Then you can really start becoming familiar with your fears and concerns and recognise them for what they are – just your brain trying to keep you safe. By facing and talking about what’s on your mind rather than avoiding it, enables you to start feeling more in control. And once you feel more in control, you can implement a variety of techniques to reduce and alleviate your anxiety.

bottom of page