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Anxiety:
Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future. It can be used to as a word to explain frequently feeling overwhelmed.
Anxiety is a natural human response when we feel that we are under threat. It can be experienced through our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.
Everyone experiences anxiety from time-to-time, as it is a needed part of the human experience. Anxiety, and other emotions that can feel difficult to experience such as anger and sadness, is our brain's ways of communicating to us that we need something. This can be something that we are lacking, or something that we need to be changed. However, much of the time in our culture, we live in a way that doesn't view anxiety in this way, and we seek to distract ourselves from feeling these emotions.
Sometimes we can experience anxiety intensely and it can endure throughout daily living. When it is experienced this way, it is often expressed as feeling on edge, panicky and overwhelmed. People can experience having difficulty sleeping, a change in appetite, racing thoughts, stomach cramps and GI issues, feeling faint, breathing changes and an increased heart rate alongside feeling generally unwell and worn out.
It is possible to have a diagnosis of anxiety from a medical professional. This indicates that your experience of anxiety is of an intensity and longevity that it is impacting your daily living. It is possible for some medications to be prescribed to lessen this intensity so that daily functioning can feel more manageable. But as feeling anxiety is a needed part of the human experience, there is no way to erase it entirely.
Events in our childhood or past experiences, your current life situation, trauma or stress can cause this enduring feeling of anxiety.
How Can Therapy Help?
Therapy offers you a safe space to make sense of your anxiety, identify what your anxiety is telling you about what you need, and possibly identify the root cause of your anxiety. Together we can find ways of adapting your lifestyle, helping you cope and regulate- remain grounded and find calmness when you begin to feel anxious.
Depending what your hopes are for your therapy journey, short-term or long-term therapy can be offered. Many clients find it helpful to engage in therapy weekly for a period of time, and also have follow-up sessions to check-in every few weeks. This is a service that we offer should you feel a need for on-going support.
