Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders can be exhausting and unpredictable, affecting your ability to work, connect with others, or feel at ease in your own body.

Understanding what’s happening is the first step to taking back a sense of control.

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety is a normal response to stress, but when it becomes persistent, intense, or starts getting in the way of everyday activities, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. This can include generalised anxiety, social anxiety, or anxiety tied to specific situations or triggers.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalised Anxiety Disorder involves persistent, excessive worry about multiple areas of life – work, health, family, finances, or everyday situations. Unlike normal worry, GAD involves fears that are difficult to control and often out of proportion to the actual situation. The worry tends to jump from one concern to another and can feel constant.

Common signs of GAD include:

  • Persistent worry about multiple life areas
  • Feeling restless, keyed up, or on edge
  • Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
  • Muscle tension, headaches, or other physical symptoms
  • Difficulty controlling worrying thoughts
  • Becoming easily fatigued
  • Sleep difficulties (trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or restless sleep)

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder goes beyond ordinary shyness – it’s an intense fear of social situations where you might be judged, embarrassed, or scrutinised by others. This fear can be so overwhelming that it interferes with work, school, relationships, and daily activities. Some people fear specific social situations (like public speaking), whilst others experience anxiety in most social interactions.

Common signs of social anxiety include:

  • Intense fear of judgment or criticism from others
  • Fear of embarrassing yourself or appearing anxious to others
  • Difficulty making eye contact or speaking up in groups
  • Excessive worry before social events
  • Physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, trembling, or nausea in social situations
  • Avoiding social situations or enduring them with significant distress

Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder involves recurrent, unexpected panic attacks followed by persistent worry about having another attack or changing your behaviour to avoid them. Panic attacks are sudden episodes of intense fear or discomfort that typically peak within minutes. They can feel frightening or even life-threatening, despite being physically harmless.

Common signs of panic attacks include:

  • Racing heart or chest pain
  • Nausea or stomach upset
  • Shortness of breath or choking sensation
  • Intense fear of dying, losing control, or “going mad”
  • Feeling detached from reality or yourself (derealisation/depersonalisation)
  • Sweating, trembling, or dizziness

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is more than just fear of open spaces – it’s anxiety about being in situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms occur. This might include crowded places, public transport, shopping centres, or even leaving home. People with agoraphobia often worry about having a panic attack or other embarrassing symptoms in these situations.

Common signs of agoraphobia include:

  • Fear of using public transport or being in crowds
  • Needing a companion to feel safe in certain situations
  • Avoiding open spaces, enclosed spaces, or being outside the home alone
  • Avoiding situations due to fear of panic-like symptoms
  • Intense anxiety about being trapped or unable to escape

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is more than just being neat or liking things a certain way. It involves unwanted thoughts, images, or fears (obsessions) that cause distress, and repetitive behaviours or mental rituals (compulsions) carried out to try to relieve that distress or prevent something bad from happening.

OCD can present in many forms. For example, someone might fear germs and wash their hands repeatedly, or check doors and appliances over and over. Others might have mental compulsions, such as repeating phrases in their head or needing things to feel “just right.” These cycles can take up significant time and impact daily life.

Common signs of OCD include:

  • Repetitive checking, counting, or cleaning
  • Anxiety or distress when routines are interrupted
  • Spending considerable amounts of time on compulsive behaviours
  • Feeling driven to perform rituals in a specific way or “just right”
  • Intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images that feel disturbing

Phobias

A phobia is an intense, often overwhelming fear of a specific object, situation, or activity – even when it poses little or no actual danger. Common examples include fear of flying, heights, needles, animals, or enclosed spaces, but phobias can develop around virtually anything.

Simply thinking about the feared object or situation can trigger strong anxiety or even panic attacks. People with phobias often go to great lengths to avoid their triggers, which can significantly impact work, relationships, travel, and day-to-day activities. Although the fear may seem irrational to others, the distress experienced is very real and valid.

How I can help

Living with anxiety, panic, OCD, or phobias can be exhausting, but you don’t have to manage them alone. I offer compassionate, evidence-based therapy to help you understand what’s happening in your body and mind, and to develop effective strategies for facing fears and regaining a sense of control.

Treatment approaches may include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to identify and change unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviours, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to gradually and safely face fears, and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) to address underlying triggers or past experiences that may be contributing to your difficulties.

We’ll work together at your pace, tailoring the approach to your individual needs and preferences, with the goal of helping you respond to anxiety with greater confidence and calm. This is a safe, non-judgmental space where you can explore these challenges and develop the tools you need to move forward.