Anxiety/Stress
Anxiety is a vital response for our survival. However, when it goes out of hand, it can lead to a range of problems in our daily life. Anxiety difficulties involve an excessive level of activation of our nervous system, which often impacts on our performance at work, relationships and leisure time.
Thankfully, both CBT and ACT offer principles and techniques that can be very effective to help you minimise the impact of anxiety in your life.
You’ll see below some of the difficulties I have helped other people with. You may identify with one or several of them. But your anxiety may manifest itself in a different way.
In any case, feel free to contact me to discuss it and see how therapy can help.
GENERALISED ANXIETY / WORRY
Uncontrollable worry about different aspects in your everyday life, making you feel ‘unable to switch-off’. Perceived need to control uncertain situations, usually leading to frustration, difficulty delegating and a perceived lack of control, changes in sleep and appetite, irritability, etc.
SOCIAL ANXIETY
Extreme fear or anxiety triggered by social situations (from parties, to public speaking or other situations in which you have to talk to someone else). You may experience excessive sweating, blushing or go blank. People may avoid such situations or learn ‘safe’ but unhelpful ways of managing them, which leads to keeping the problem going.
PHOBIAS
A phobia is an extreme and irrational fear or anxiety triggered by a particular activity (such as flying) or a particular object (such as spiders) or activities and procedures (such as injections). Avoiding anxiety may lead to isolation, inability to do things you’d like to do, embarrassment and even ill-health.
HEALTH ANXIETY
Recurrent obsessions and compulsions relating to illness, including researching symptoms, checking to see if you have them and seeking unnecessary medical attention. In order to not feeling anxious, people may stop exercising or other activities wrongly deemed dangerous. This can be present with or without a diagnosed health problem.
PANIC
Regular or frequent panic attacks without a clear cause or trigger. This leads to feeling constantly afraid of having another panic attack, to the point that this fear itself can trigger your panic attacks. It leads to avoiding such situations, which limits unnecessarily your life.
BODY DYSMORPHIA
Obsessions and compulsions relating to your physical appearance. This leads to a constant monitoring of specific features, an effort to avoid them being exposed, avoiding certain contact with people or activities, leading to isolation. In some cases, people seek unnecessary plastic surgery which leaves them dissatisfied.
OBSESSIONS AND COMPULSIONS (OCD)
Recurrent and intrusive thoughts about catastrophic events or one’s own behaviour, feelings or identity, linked to a sense of personal responsibility to prevent to oneself or others. People may fall into vicious circles of repeated checking, washing, tidying, seeking reassurance and ritualistic behavior that affects their lives and those around them.
STRESS
A range of situations (work, relationships, financial, health) can lead to a state of constant activation and difficulty disconnecting. This can be a punctual situation or something more long term. It affects our sleep, appetite, decision-making, focus and ability to relate to others.
You may identify with one or several of them. But maybe your problem is not quite reflected in the list above. In any case, feel free to contact me to discuss it and see how therapy can help.
Help with other difficulties…
Depression / Mood problems
Trauma
Couple relationships
Other