Anxiety Counselling in Ipswich
If you’re looking for anxiety counselling in Ipswich, you’re not alone. Many people are struggling with overwhelming thoughts and feelings in today’s world.
You don’t need me to tell you we are living in anxious times. Every day our TV screens and social media algorithms present us with one gloomy story after another – war, climate change, the cost of living crisis. It’s a lot to handle – and that doesn’t even take into account our own personal challenges.
What is anxiety?
Normal anxiety is a temporary response to something stressful – like an exam, job interview, or trip to the dentist, maybe. The key word here is ‘temporary’. Once the feared event is over, our anxiety should subside.
However, for some people, anxiety isn’t temporary but an ongoing state of being, where worry becomes catastrophising, and you find yourself unable to relax, or even sleep. You might even find yourself avoiding people or places because you’re so knotted up in dread.
What happens to our body when we’re anxious?
Back in our hunter-gatherer days, healthy anxiety could literally mean the difference between life and death. Luckily, our nervous system provided us with our very own ‘early warning system’ that would alert us to possible threats. When that happened, our fight or flight response would be triggered via our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), meaning our body would be flooded with adrenaline and cortisol, to prepare us to take action. When the threat had passed, our adrenaline levels would slowly return to normal and the body’s Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – which enables rest and relaxation – would take over.
Thankfully, in the modern day, we don’t generally need to worry about wild predators. But our nervous system still scans for and responds to potential threats – whether that’s avoiding someone behaving suspiciously late at night, or hurrying across the road when you spot a car coming. This is healthy anxiety that aims to keep us safe.
The problem is, when we constantly worry and catastrophise, or face continued stress at work or at home, our body can begin to perceive this as a threat, and react as if we were in danger – increasing the heart rate and flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol. We will then be propelled into fight or flight, with all the associated physical symptoms of that – legs trembling, heart thumping, dread churning, etc., without any actual physical danger being present.
How counselling can help
Counselling provides a safe space to explore, understand, and tackle your anxiety. Together, we will consider what may lie beneath your anxiety, and work to find ways to manage any uncomfortable thoughts or feelings. Anxiety thrives on feeling powerless. Together, we can help you feel back in control again.
If you’re ready to talk, I offer anxiety counselling in Ipswich in a safe, supportive environment. Get in touch to arrange an initial conversation.