Anxiety and Stress often feel so overwhelming that it can seem impossible to know where to start or how to even approach healing.
Counselling and talking therapies can help you discover the root causes of your issues which can be incredibly empowering and enlightening. Being able to acknowledge and have awareness of why our thoughts or behaviour have become unhealthy can then allow us to come to terms with and release what has become stuck.
Counselling can enable us to find healthier ways to proceed forward and build resilience.
ANXIETY
Anyone can suffer from anxiety and/or panic attacks, it is a rapidly increasing Mental Health issue. Anxiety is actually an entirely natural and healthy response to feeling threatened or in danger, a mechanism designed to keep us safe, to protect us. It is often experienced when we are worried or afraid about things or situations that feel out of our control. We can use a healthy level of anxiety to help us decide on the correct action to take in response to the perceived threat we are facing. It is normal, and even useful, for us all to experience a certain or ‘healthy’ level of anxiety at times. However, problems can arise when our anxiety response becomes ‘unhealthy’, in some cases it can begin to negatively impact our lives and this is when we may require additional support.
The symptoms of Unhealthy Anxiety, can vary from person to person and can manifest themselves in many different ways.
They can have effects both emotionally and physically which can vary from mild to severe:
Often there are a number of factors which contribute to anxiety problems.
These can include.
- An event in your past or present
- Your situation at present
- Your physical and mental health
- Medication, drugs or alcohol
STRESS
What actually is Stress?
Like Anxiety, it is a common term which we hear frequently that is often used as an ‘umbrella’ term to encompass many different emotions and reactions when we are under pressure. Stress isn’t technically a mental health problem with a diagnosis but can cause mental health issues and be caused by them. Much like Anxiety, Stress can manifest itself in Emotional and Physical ways:
Often there are a number of factors which contribute to people feeling stressed.
These can include:
- Lack of control and feelings of uncertainty and change
- An accumulation of small things or a large event that feels overwhelming
- Feeling under pressure and feelings of responsibility
- Life events such as bereavement, weddings, divorces, health issues
- Becoming a parent, family issues, being a carer
- ‘Life admin’ and everyday tasks
- Employment, housing and financial
COVID AND ANXIETY
The outbreak of Covid-19 has created great changes for us all.
Feeling a level of anxiety in this unpredictable situation is natural and to be expected. There are many unknowns at present and this can cause a number of different fears, concerns and adjustments which you may be struggling to cope with. For some the situation may be exacerbating your existing feelings of stress and anxiety. For others you may have never experienced stress and anxiety prior to the outbreak but find yourselves affected now. Common feelings triggered are: - Loneliness and feelings of isolation or being trapped - Worries about the future and what that looks like - Loss of employment, or changes to your work place or job role - Fear of becoming ill or those around you becoming ill - Lack of motivation and drive - Anxiety regarding misinformation and the changing of information and guidelines - Struggling with your feelings and emotions - Mask anxiety - Struggling to cope as a key worker If you need support during this time, please reach out, counselling and professional support can make a real difference to your wellbeing.