Anxiety

Created: 03.08.2023

Updated 19.12.2023

Approved by: General Practitioner, Dr Binita Parmar

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses people come to treatment for. Many people will experience periods of anxiety or depression during their lifetime.

Talking therapy has a particularly good effect on mild and moderate variants of anxiety and depression, which many of us will experience.

Panic attack

Anxiety can be described as getting so scared or worried that it starts to go beyond how you feel. It can be specific things, such as phobias or social anxiety, more general anxiety and uncontrollable worry, or frightening panic attacks.

Social anxiety

Social anxiety is marked by overwhelming fear and discomfort in social settings. It can lead to avoidance of social interactions, affecting daily life and relationships.

When does anxiety become problematic?

Anxiety begins to become problematic when it prevents you from living the way you want. If your anxiety leads you to consistently avoid situations like public speaking, conflicts, or daily activities due to overwhelming fear, it's a sign that the anxiety has become problematic.

Treatment

Fortunately, there is an effective treatment for anxiety. Usually, we start with an initial mapping of how anxiety affects you and your life so that we can understand you and your anxiety.

After the mapping, it is common to start the treatment with some form of exposure - where we expose you to the anxiety under controlled conditions that you help to determine.

Treatment for anxiety can sometimes also involve exploring underlying feelings or past experiences that may contribute to the anxiety. Regardless, it will always be a collaboration between you and the psychologist, ensuring that the treatment is tailored to you and your needs. The most important outcome of the treatment will always be that you can live your life the way you want to, without being hindered by anxiety.