Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal emotion experienced by everyone and is a valuable survival response as it allows us to feel sharp and alert.

Anxiety is often referred to as nervousness, worry, fear and phobias.

Every person is different with the level of anxiety they feel when faced with a stressful situation and this response usually disappears once the stressful situation has passed.

If an individual’s level of anxiety is heightened for an extended period of time it can have a negative impact that interferes with their daily functioning and enjoyment of life.

At this point counselling will be extremely beneficial. A Psychologist can teach valuable and effective management tools to control anxiety producing thoughts and emotional reactions.

Anxiety is one of the most common emotional problems experienced by people across all ages.

Symptoms of Anxiety:

  • Difficulty Breathing

  • Upset Stomach or Nausea

  • Restlessness

  • Avoidance Behaviour

  • Irritability

  • Confusion

  • Trembling

  • Sweating

  • Faintness/dizziness

  • Rapid Heartbeat

Anxiety disorders can take the form of:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder – Symptoms may include: excessive, uncontrollable worry about events or activities, restlessness, fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, muscle tension, disrupted sleep patterns, impaired social and work performance.

Separation Anxiety – repeated excessive distress when anticipating or experiencing separation from home or major attachment figures.

Selective Mutism – Consistent failure to speak in specific social situation.

Specific Phobias – Marked fear about a specific object or situation.

Social Anxiety – Marked fear about one or more social situations.

Agoraphobia –  Marked fear involving places or situations that might cause panic and make an individual feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed. This can cause people to avoid such situations and at times become completely home bound.

Medication/Substance-Induced Anxiety - Anxiety caused by substance/medication exposure, intoxication or withdrawal.

Panic Disorder – Recurrent unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack is an abrupt surge of intense fear that reaches a peak within minutes.