Anxiety is a normal emotion which occurs as a reaction to a stressful situation.  The experience of anxiety varies from person to person however it is usually associated with feeling stressed, worried or apprehensive, along with physical sensations such as a churning stomach, increased heart rate, sweating, or feeling light-headed.

Anxiety disorders

For some people anxious thoughts, feelings, or physical symptoms can become problematic as the anxiety symptoms occur frequently over a period of time and interfere with their ability to function in their daily lives.

Anxiety disorders are common and include:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is characterised by excessive and persistent worry about everyday situations and activities such as work, relationships, family or health. People with GAD find it difficult to control their worry to the point where it interferes with their daily life and relationships.

Psychological therapy for GAD will help you to develop coping strategies to reduce worrying, managed the associated anxiety symptoms, and help you improve your confidence and sense of wellbeing.

Specific phobia

People with a specific phobia experience extreme anxiety, fear and avoidance of particular objects or situations. Common phobias include unreasonable and excessive fear of heights, small spaces, spiders and snakes, blood, and injections.

Psychological therapy for phobias will help you to manage irrational thoughts about the feared object or situation, manage anxiety symptoms and gradually become more comfortable being around the feared object or in the feared situation.

Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder occurs when a person has recurrent panic attacks – the sudden onset of overwhelming fear and anxiety and physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, chest pain or tightness, dizziness and shortness of breath.  These panic attacks can occur without any obvious trigger. People with Panic Disorder frequently worry that they will have another panic attack, a heart attack or stroke, or that they will lose control.

Psychological therapy for Panic Disorder will enable you to manage the panic symptoms and prevent further episodes.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia occurs when a person feels so anxious about being in places or situations where they might have a panic attack that they either avoid those situations, or only go places accompanied by another trusted person. People with agoraphobia avoid going to places where they believe it will be difficult to escape quickly if they were to have a panic attack.  Agoraphobia is a debilitating disorder which limits the person’s quality of life.

Psychological treatment can help you manage your fears and panic symptoms and develop better coping skills to enable you to live a more fulfilling life

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Individuals with OCD have recurring unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or impulses (obsessions) or feel compelled to carry out certain repetitive behavioural or mental rituals (compulsions).  These obsessive thoughts and rituals can be debilitating and make it difficult for the person to function normally in their daily life.

Treatment for OCD can help to reduce the impact of the intrusive thoughts, enable you to manage the anxiety caused by the thoughts, and disengage from the rituals that are maintaining the problem.

Social Anxiety Disorder

People with Social Anxiety Disorder experience excessive worry about being embarrassed, criticised or negatively evaluated by others. Social Anxiety Disorder can be debilitating as people who suffer from this problem tend to avoid social situations in which there is interaction with others and it can negatively affect the life choices the person makes.

Psychological therapy for social anxiety will enable you to manage the symptoms of anxiety, build social skills, increase confidence, and be able to gradually face the situations you previously avoided.