Stress and worry can become constant companions that colour our view of real and imagined situations and influence our ability to take action. Anxiety also interferes with our ability to have a positive relationship with ourselves and others.

Avoidance is the most common strategy to relieve anxiety.

This has the impact of making our world smaller and isolated, which can lead to depression.

When our anxious feelings become overwhelming it can be difficult to form relationships and complete daily tasks. It can cause you to be distracted, agitated, self-conscious making it hard to be present and connect with those around you.

One way of thinking about anxiety is that we have too much energy (which we refer to as activation) in our nervous system. Our emergency system is on alert leading to behaviours that avoid, defend, shut down and even attack a perceived threat. You may find that you have a hard time relaxing or calming down the activation you are feeling. You may find that you are easily prone to angry outbursts or feeling bad and sorry for yourself.

The energy that builds up in your nervous system, how you see and interpret what is happening around you create your unique experience of anxiety.

In Counselling we can;

• Learn to calm the body's physical responses.
• Find more realistic and soothing ways to talk to yourself about your experiences.
• Take risks to overcome the avoidance of anxiety and build resilience.
• Work through the experiences/trauma that caused you to feel unsafe.