Anxiety

Anxiety Disorders
Symptoms & Treatments

What is Anxiety?

Everyone has anxiety from time to time and it can be a very adaptive emotion. However chronic anxiety disorders can negatively impact your quality of life. It can take many forms such as panic attacks, compulsive behaviours, trauma related, generalised worry or a specific phobia


Day to day feelings of anxiety could be about feeling worried or anxious about a social situation, physical health, our ability to cope or fearing the worst will happen


So, what is anxiety? In the short term, anxiety increases your breathing rate and heart rate, concentrating the blood flow to your brain, where you need it. This very physical response is preparing you to face an intense situation. However, some people find it hard to control their worries with such feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily lives.


Anxiety is the main symptom of several similar conditions, including;

Consultant psychiatrist Lynne Drummond explains the symptoms of anxiety, why it becomes a problem for some people, and the psychological and drug treatments for it.

"Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace."

Treatments for Anxiety

What we know through cognitive models of anxiety is that there are common processes that keep your anxiety going:. It is often phsyical signs such as tension and rapid heartbeat along with negative predictions about the future. People with anxiety often over estimate the chances of something bad happening and underestimate their ability to deal with these problems. As such, behaviours which feel like they are helping can often make the problem worse.

For example, if you are worried about being on a crowded bus you may decide to walk instead, bury your head in a book or stand just by the doors just in case. Although this helps to manage in the moment, it actually keep the anxiety going in the long run.

There are various evidence-based treatments that have been found to help with anxiety problems and panic disorder. The best treatment for anxiety is dependent on the individual, the severity off the issues and the triggers. 

CBT helps you challenge these habits that have developed and help identify and change thinking patterns that keep the anxiety going. People usually discover with support that their fears don't come true and that they are able to cope much better than they predicted.

Therapy for Anxiety

Therapy for anxiety takes the form of trying out new situations to test out your beliefs about the fear. This is done gradually and your own pace so that the situations can be faced with greater skill and confidence. For example we would construct a hierarchy or ladder of the situations that make you anxious and slowly work our way through these until the anxiety subsides. Therapy then helps manage anxious thoughts by challenging predictions made or the negative feared outcome.

CBT for anxiety is often very successful and can help you recover your life and reduce the habits that keep the anxiety going. 

Anxiety Medication

If anxiety medication or supplements for anxiety are required then this can also be arranged through your GP. I can discuss directly with your GP to decide what the best medication for anxiety would be best suited for you. The types of medications for anxiety that could be prescribed are Antidepressants, Beta-blockers or Benzodiazepines. 

Next steps for overcoming your Anxiety

I offer a free confidential 15 minute telephone consultation before any commitments where we can discuss if therapy is the right approach. Only if you are comfortable to proceed we will arrange an initial meeting and start work on your plan to recovery.

Give me a call today or use the online booking form to setup a free 15 minute telephone consultation and I can discuss how I can help with working through your anxiety.

All calls are completely confidential.


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