Understand a bit about
Anxiety
Anxiety is like the jittery feeling you get when you encounter something stressful or frightening. It's a perfectly natural response in small amounts, but when it overstays its welcome, it can be challenging. Anxiety has a way of influencing both your mind and body, leading to excessive worrying, restlessness, and disruptions to your much-needed sleep.
Common Signs & Symptoms
You know you're dealing with anxiety when you're often on edge, can't concentrate, or your muscles are constantly tense. It might also show up as irritability or a racing heart. Recognizing these signs can help you and those around you understand what's going on and therefore seek help to alleviate it.
The 4 'F's
Fight, Flight, Fawn, or Freeze: Think of anxiety like your brain's superhero alarm system. When it senses danger, it triggers a response – you might want to fight, run away, try to please everyone, or feel stuck like a deer in headlights. Knowing your go-to response helps you figure out how to deal with anxiety in a way that works for you.
Common Causes
Anxiety can be caused by your family history, the way your brain is wired, or tough things that happened in your life. Stressful situations, big changes, or past traumas can also stir up anxiety. Figuring out what's behind it helps you tackle the root issues.
Common types of anxiety
There are different forms of anxiety. You might have the kind that makes you worry about everything, or the one that makes social situations feel like a nightmare. Other types include panic attacks, and specific fears or phobias.
Trauma/PTSD
Sometimes, anxiety isn't just from everyday stress – it's rooted in tough experiences. Trauma, like accidents, abuse, or witnessing something scary, can stick with you and cause what many people commonly call PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and what I prefer to call post-traumatic adaptation - I don't believe it is a 'disorder' at all.
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Experiences include flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance. Understanding trauma helps you connect the dots between your experiences and your anxiety.
How therapy can help
Therapy can help you tackle all forms of anxiety or trauma. We'll use various approaches, tools and techniques to best suit your unique needs; this may include techniques like mindfulness, journaling, exploring your thoughts and behaviours, as well as helping you develop practical coping strategies, improve sleep hygiene, and physical exercise.
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Life can be tough, but therapy can certainly help you to make the changes and shifts you need for a happier, less anxious, and more resilient you.
