Cathy Stones Counselling, Anxiety Counselling, Lincoln and Louth

Counselling in Lincoln and Louth

Counselling For Anxiety - Lincoln

What is Anxiety And How Am I Going To Help?

Anxiety Counselling in Lincoln and Louth

What Anxiety is all about?

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be a normal reaction to stress. For example, you might feel anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. Counselling or therapy can really help with common anxiety based moods and feelings.

These feelings of anxiety and panic can and do interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. You may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood.

Common Anxiety Signs and Symptoms

Feeling nervous, restless or tense
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
Having an increased heart rate
Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
Sweating
Trembling
Feeling weak or tired
Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
Having trouble sleeping
Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
Having difficulty controlling worry
Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Anxiety - Lincoln & Louth

How Long Does Anxiety Last?

In my experience of Counselling those who suffer with Anxiety in Lincoln and Louth, general anxiety can last a few minutes, months to many years. I am not saying this to frighten you, but to be honest with what I have seen. It all depends on the individual and under what circumstances the anxiety is experienced. Most people will have symptoms of an anxiety disorder for a long time before seeking professional help, sometimes up to 15 years. My advice is to seek support, or seek professional counselling either with myself, Cathy Stones Counselling, or another professional service.

Panic Attacks

What is a Panic Attack?

Panic attacks are very simply a difficult type of fear response. Panic attacks can be disabling and are an exaggeration of the body's normal response to situations of stress, danger and even excitement.

What Does a Panic Attack Feel Like?

During a panic attack, physical symptoms can build up very quickly. These can include:

a pounding or racing heartbeat
feeling faint, dizzy or light-headed
feeling very hot or very cold
sweating, trembling or shaking
nausea (feeling sick)
pain in your chest or abdomen
struggling to breathe or feeling like you're choking
feeling like your legs are shaky or are turning to jelly
feeling disconnected from your mind, body or surroundings, which are types of dissociation.

During a panic attack you might feel very afraid that you're:

losing control
going to faint
having a heart attack
going to die.

Treating Anxiety and Panic With Counselling

Whether you’re suffering from panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, unrelenting worries, or an incapacitating phobia, it’s important to know that you don’t have to live with anxiety and fear. Counselling can help though, and for many anxiety problems, therapy is often the most effective option. That’s because anxiety therapy—unlike anxiety medication—treats more than just the symptoms of the problem. Therapy can help you uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears; learn how to relax; look at situations in new, less frightening ways; and develop better coping and problem-solving skills. Therapy gives you the tools to overcome anxiety and teaches you how to use them.

Anxiety disorders differ considerably, so therapy should be tailored to your specific symptoms and diagnosis. If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), for example, your treatment will be different from someone who needs help for anxiety attacks. The length of therapy will also depend on the type and severity of your anxiety disorder. However, many anxiety therapies are relatively short-term. According to the American Psychological Association, many people improve significantly within 8 to 10 therapy sessions.

While many different types of therapy are used to treat anxiety, the leading approaches are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy. Each anxiety therapy may be used alone, or combined with other types of therapy. Anxiety therapy may be conducted individually, or it may take place in a group of people with similar anxiety problems. But the goal is the same: to lower your anxiety levels, calm your mind, and overcome your fears.

Cathy Stones Counselling

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) For Anxiety

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most widely-used therapy for anxiety disorders. Research has shown it to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalised anxiety disorder, among many other conditions.

CBT addresses negative patterns and distortions in the way we look at the world and ourselves. As the name suggests, this involves two main components:

Cognitive therapy examines how negative thoughts, or cognitions, contribute to anxiety.
Behaviour therapy examines how you behave and react in situations that trigger anxiety.

The basic premise of CBT is that our thoughts—not external events—affect the way we feel. In other words, it’s not the situation you’re in that determines how you feel, but your perception of the situation.

For example, imagine that you’ve just been invited to a big party. Consider three different ways of thinking about the invitation, and how those thoughts would affect your emotions.

If you would like to know more, please do get in touch via phone or email. I work with clients who have anxiety in Lincoln and Louth.