What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is often misunderstood and it is more than feeling stressed or worried alone. While experiences of stress and anxious feelings are a common response to feeling under pressure, they usually pass once the stressful situation or ‘stressor’ has stopped.

In certain situations, feeling anxious can help us to avoid danger as our 'fight or flight' response is triggered. In fact, everyone feels anxious from time to time, and it is a natural part of how we’ve evolved to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

Sometimes we can become more worried than is warranted about perceived threats; that is, bad things that may or may not happen. When someone’s worries are out of proportion to the reality of the threat, they don’t go away, they get in the way of their life, and they seem to happen without any particular reason it may be the sign of an anxiety condition.

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia.

Treatment options – what can you do about anxiety?

Anxiety is physically and emotionally exhausting. There are many ways to treat and help someone manage anxiety, and the sooner people access support the quicker and more likely they are to recover.

Effective treatment helps the person experiencing anxiety learn how to control their anxiety so it doesn’t control them. The type of treatment will depend on the type of anxiety they are experiencing.

For example, for mild anxiety symptoms lifestyle changes, such as regular physical exercise, improving diet and nutrition, and reducing stress levels may have a big impact. Some of the online e-therapies, many of which are free, anonymous, and easily accessible for anyone with internet access can also be useful (see the beyondblue and black dog institute websites for more information). Where symptoms of anxiety are moderate to severe, in addition to these suggestions psychological and/or medical treatments are likely to be required.

What can you do next?

It is important that you find the right treatment and the right practitioner to meet your needs. At Tillver Counselling & Wellness we offer psychology and counselling services where our practitioners work in an inclusive manner and are judgement free. Drawing on a client centred approach, they will see you as an expert in your own life. Our practitioners are experienced in working with people experiencing anxiety.

If you’d like to talk to someone please review the details of our practitioners here and contact them directly, or send an email to our practice admin@tillvercounselling.com