Counselling for Anxiety

How Anxiety Can Affect You

Anxiety affects people in different ways. It may be connected to a particular situation, or it might feel like a constant presence in your everyday life.

You may experience:

• Persistent worry or a feeling that something bad is going to happen
• Overthinking situations and conversations
• Difficulty making decisions
• Restlessness or an inability to relax
• Feeling tense, irritable or easily overwhelmed
• Difficulty sleeping or waking with anxious thoughts
• Problems concentrating
• Avoiding people, places or situations
• Frequently needing reassurance
• Feeling self-conscious or worried about what other people think
• Physical sensations such as a racing heart, breathlessness, trembling, nausea or tightness in your chest

Anxiety can be exhausting. You might appear to be coping to those around you while using a great deal of energy trying to manage what is happening internally.

Different Experiences of Anxiety

You do not need to have a diagnosis or fit into a particular category to seek counselling. However, anxiety can sometimes show itself through:

• General worry that moves from one concern to another
• Social anxiety and fear of being judged, embarrassed or rejected
• Health anxiety and frequent concern about symptoms or illness
• Panic attacks or fear of experiencing another panic attack
• Anxiety connected to work, relationships or difficult life events
• Perfectionism and fear of making mistakes
• Low self-confidence and self-doubt
• Avoidance of situations that feel uncertain or uncomfortable

You may know where your anxiety began, or it may be difficult to identify a clear cause. Counselling gives you the opportunity to explore it at your own pace.

How Counselling Can Help with Anxiety

When you are anxious, thoughts can quickly become caught in repetitive cycles. You may find yourself imagining the worst, doubting your ability to cope or avoiding situations that might make you uncomfortable. Avoidance may bring temporary relief, but it can also make anxiety feel more powerful over time.

Counselling can help you understand these patterns and the experiences that may be contributing to them.

Together, we can explore:

• What tends to trigger your anxiety
• The thoughts, feelings and physical reactions you experience
• How anxiety affects your choices, relationships and everyday life
• Behaviours that provide short-term reassurance but keep the cycle going
• Past experiences or beliefs that may influence how safe or confident you feel
• More helpful ways to respond to anxious thoughts and feelings
• Changes that could help you feel more secure and in control

The aim is not to tell you that you “shouldn’t worry.” It is to understand why the anxiety is there, reduce the power it holds over you and help you develop ways of coping that work for you.

A Counselling Approach Tailored to You

As an integrative counsellor, I draw on different therapeutic approaches according to your individual needs.

This may include exploring the origins of your anxiety, noticing patterns in your thoughts and behaviour, or using practical strategies to help you respond differently when anxiety arises. We may also look at relationships, boundaries, self-confidence or earlier experiences if these are connected to how you feel today.

You will not be expected to discuss anything before you feel ready. Sessions move at your pace and focus on what feels most important to you.

My aim is to provide a warm, supportive and non-judgemental space where you can talk openly, feel understood and begin to make sense of what you are experiencing.

Social Anxiety

Social anxiety can make everyday interactions feel uncomfortable or exhausting. You may worry about saying the wrong thing, being judged or appearing anxious. Afterwards, you might replay conversations and criticise yourself for what you said or did.

This can lead to avoiding social situations, speaking up less or hiding parts of yourself around other people.

Counselling can help you explore where these fears come from, understand the beliefs you hold about yourself and gradually develop greater confidence in your relationships and interactions.

Health Anxiety

Health anxiety can involve persistent worries about your health, paying close attention to bodily sensations or fearing that symptoms may indicate something serious. Reassurance may help briefly, but the worry often returns.

Counselling offers a space to explore what lies beneath these fears and understand the cycle of anxious thoughts, checking and reassurance. It can help you develop a different relationship with uncertainty and feel less controlled by health-related worries.

Face-to-Face and Online Counselling

Face-to-face counselling appointments are available at Plymouth Wellbeing Centre in Estover. Online counselling is also available if you would prefer to attend from home or require greater flexibility.

Sessions last 60 minutes

Ready to Talk?

If anxiety is affecting your everyday life, relationships or confidence, you are welcome to contact me to ask a question or arrange an appointment.

You do not need to understand exactly why you feel anxious before coming to counselling. We can begin with what you are experiencing now.

You can also view my available counselling appointments or read more about my general approach to counselling.