Anxiety and Worry Therapy
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the world. They’re also the most treatable.
Anxiety can have a huge impact on daily life. It can lower our confidence and self-esteem, change how we experience the world, and creep into our relationships and work life in the long run.
Anxiety Disorders
An anxiety disorder occurs when anxiety starts to impact on a person’s life and prevents them from engaging with friends, family, work or school. Rather than feeling anxious in response to actual danger, someone with an anxiety disorder will experience the same symptoms in situations they perceive as dangerous (e.g. when meeting new people or taking public transportation).
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including:
- Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD): This condition causes fear, worry and a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. It’s characterised by excessive, frequent and unrealistic worry about everyday things, such as job responsibilities, health or chores.
- Specific phobias: A phobia is when something causes you to feel fear or anxiety that’s so severe it consistently and overwhelmingly disrupts your life. There are hundreds of different types of phobias, and there’s one diagnosis for almost all of them: specific phobia.
- Panic Disorder. People who have this condition experience extremely unpleasant symptoms in situations where other people would not be afraid. They feel that they may die or go crazy. They have chest pains, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, numbness, and/or trembling. In some cases, people avoid going out altogether because they are so scared of experiencing a panic attack in public.
- People with agoraphobia experience anxiety in places such as crowded places, supermarkets and shopping centres, public transport, lifts, and others. To avoid this happening, they often restrict the places that they will go, which inhibits their enjoyment of life.
- Social anxiety disorder. This condition (formerly known as social phobia) happens when you experience intense and ongoing fear of being judged negatively and/or watched by others.
What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders?
Symptoms of anxiety disorders vary depending on the type, they may include:
- Feeling panic, fear, dread and uneasiness
- Feeling on edge or irritable
- Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
- Difficulty concentrating
- Restlessness
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle tension
- Cold or sweaty hands
- Dry mouth
- Nausea
- Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Anxiety and Worries Treatment
Anxiety therapists give clients the tools to manage their symptoms and develop coping strategies to minimise the impact of their anxiety.
Many studies have shown that therapy can effectively reduce anxiety symptoms by developing therapeutic skills and strategies. Methods like exposure therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety are extremely effective.
- Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT): This is the most common type of psychotherapy to help manage anxiety disorders. CBT for anxiety teaches you to recognise and identify thought patterns and behaviours that lead to troublesome feelings. You then work on changing the thoughts and your reactions to triggering situations.
- Exposure therapy: This is a type of therapy in which a mental health provider creates a safe environment to expose you to your fears. Fears may be things, situations and/or activities. Exposure therapy helps show you that you’re capable of confronting your fears. You’ll learn to attach new, more realistic beliefs to the things you’re afraid of. You’ll become more comfortable with the experience of fear.
Online Psychologists & Therapists Australia | Anxiety Counselling Adelaide
We are at Sehat Psychology, Beck Institute CBT Certified Clinicians who demonstrate our expertise in the most evidence-based psychotherapy treatment. You can contact us on (08) 7079 9529 or email admin@sehatpsychology.com.au to book an appointment (telehealth or face to face) with our anxiety therapist.
Adelaide Psychologists & Therapists | Anxiety Psychologists & Therapists
Our experienced psychologists can help you understand your anxiety, identify problem areas and develop an action plan to change your thought processes and manage your anxiety. Learning to deal with anxiety can make a lasting difference to your quality of life.