Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal human emotion that we all experience at times when we feel stressed and overwhelmed by things that we have to deal with in life. Anxiety can range from mild uneasiness and worry to severe panic. Often mild anxiety can help motivate us or enable us to perform better, but at a severe level it can have a paralysing effect, stopping us doing things and generally spoiling our lives. People differ as to how vulnerable they feel in different situations – this can be influenced by past experiences as well as by the beliefs and attitudes they hold about these situations.

Anxiety can have a very healthy purpose – if we did not feel anxious about certain situations then we would risk falling over cliffs, stepping into fires and so on. Similarly if we had no anxiety in relation to others, we might well behave with great insensitivity.

Symptoms of Anxiety

A person experiencing anxiety may notice one or several of the following symptoms:-

Worrying a lot	Loss of confidence
Self-consciousness	Inability to relax
Constant feeling of dread	Irritability with others
Loss of concentration /focus	Forgetfulness
Fear of criticism / rejection	Nightmares
Fear of being alone	Fear of being with people
Sleeplessness	Loss of sexual interest
Always ‘wound up’	Afraid to face the day
Avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations

They may experience unpleasant body sensations such as heart pounding, sweating, tense muscles, dry throat, shaking, feeling or being sick and dizziness.

Anxiety may also be experienced as thoughts such as “I’m going to fail / make a fool of myself / lose control” and so on.

Coping with Anxiety

You can begin to relieve your anxiety levels by trying to live a balanced life. This means eating and sleeping well, getting exercise and socialising. Take time out to relax. Try not to focus on your failures and forget your successes. Find out information or get feedback on anything you may feel confused or unsure about.

At A Time To Talk Counselling and Coaching Service our counsellors can help you to see what is causing your anxiety and look at ways to change this. We can help you to explore your feelings, prioritise your time, make a realistic plan of action and help you to be prepared to say ”no” when it is appropriate for you. You can explore what your needs are and look at ways to ensure that they can be met. We can help you to face up to difficult situations rather than avoid them.

Don’t assume everyone else is doing fine or blame yourself for things you cannot control. You can learn to distract yourself from your frightening thoughts, perhaps by repeating a calming phrase such as “Stay calm and relaxed. I will feel better soon.” Or maybe by saying your tables or reciting the alphabet backwards – find what works for you.