I have been using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to treat anxiety for around two decades with excellent success. Anxiety typically responds quite well to CBT. My approach is more holistic than the typical CBT approach in that I also work with clients to discover the roots of their anxiety and not just deal with the symptoms today.
Anxiety problems are very common
Approximately one out of every ten people suffer from an anxiety disorder at any given time, and approximately one out of every four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Anxiety problems often include physical symptoms (like muscle tension, shakiness, abdominal distress and nausea, sweating, flushing, pounding heart, and shortness of breath) as well as psychological symptoms (like general feeling of nervousness, impending doom, or constant worrying thoughts). It can be easy to confuse anxiety with physical problems, and the last thing you need if you are an anxiety sufferer is to worry whether or not you have a serious medical condition.
Typical causes of anxiety:
The roots of anxiety typically start in early childhood. Most anxiety sufferers have at least one parent who has also struggled with anxiety in their life. Most of the time anxiety is created when we have an anxiety provoking thought or belief. For example, anyone who thinks they are in danger would be anxious. Some people report anxiety “out of the blue”, apparently with no conscious thoughts preceding it. That’s when looking at underlying beliefs can help.
My program involves:
- A comprehensive assessment to identify the type of anxiety problem and it’s roots
- Identifying typical thinking problems (or errors) that make anxiety worse, such as overestimating the likelihood of a problem occurring or exaggerating the consequences of that problem occurring
- Identifying typical behavioural habits that anxiety sufferers develop that often make their problem worse. Anxiety wants to make you avoid the anxiety-provoking scenario, and that leads to isolation.
- Teaching techniques to avoid and combat the thought and behavioural problems that maintain and make anxiety worse.
- My goal is to help you gain a sense of control and even mastery over your anxiety rather than allowing your anxiety to control you.