Worry, anxiety and phobias
Anxiety is our body’s built-in fear response. It prepares us to deal with danger. It helps us stay alert, notice potential problems, and get things done to avoid negative consequences. In that sense, anxiety is normal and necessary. Everyone experiences it.
Anxiety becomes a problem when this response switches on in the absence of real threat. Sometimes it is triggered by anticipated danger, or a sense that something could go wrong, even when you are objectively safe. Your mind is trying to protect you, but it is doing so at the wrong time or with more intensity than the situation requires.
In everyday life, anxiety often shows up as excessive worry that feels hard to control.
You might lie awake at night running through everything that could go wrong. You might find yourself stuck at your desk, worried about making a mistake or letting someone down. You can be functioning well at work and in your relationships, while your mind is running constantly in the background.
For many people, anxiety is strongest in social situations.
You might worry about saying the wrong thing, not saying enough, appearing boring, or embarrassing yourself. Afterwards, you replay conversations over and over, analysing what you said and how it might have been received.
If you have spent years adjusting yourself to fit in, deciding how much of your life feels safe to share, or correcting assumptions about your partner or identity, it makes sense that social situations can feel loaded. Staying on guard like that can be exhausting.
Anxiety can also take the form of specific phobias, where a particular object, animal, situation, or place triggers intense fear. Panic attacks can occur, where your body reacts as though you are in danger, even when you are not.
You might also notice:
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A racing heart, sweating, tight chest, nausea, or restlessness
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Difficulty concentrating or feeling constantly on edge
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Avoiding situations that feel overwhelming
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A sense of dread that is hard to explain
For some people, anxiety sits alongside intrusive thoughts or obsessive-compulsive patterns. For others, it has developed in the context of bullying, rejection, or environments where you had to make yourself smaller to stay safe. What once helped you cope can later become a pattern that limits you. Avoiding situations, over-preparing, people pleasing, or trying to control every detail can reduce anxiety in the short term, but keep it going in the long term.
Anxiety is common and highly treatable.
In therapy, we work to understand how your anxiety developed and what keeps it going. We look at the patterns of thinking and behaviour that may once have protected you but are now getting in the way. My approach is evidence-based and collaborative. We agree on a way forward and work together towards goals that are important to you.
You do not need to have a perfect explanation or a clear label for what you are experiencing.
If you are tired of worrying, avoiding, or second-guessing yourself, we can start there.