You’re not alone. One in four people will
experience anxiety at some point in their life.

Anxiety refers to feelings of fear, excessive worry, nervousness, or a sense of apprehension. We feel anxious due to the presence of an actual threat or a perceived threat. Normal anxiety tends to be time limited, for example before and during a work presentation. Everyone feels anxious from time to time, but if you experience the following signs and symptoms, getting help sooner rather than later is important.

Feeling really stressed, worried, and having anxious thoughts are common symptoms. Anxious feelings are usually accompanied by physical sensations such as a racing heart, quick breathing, light headedness, upset stomach or nausea, excessive sweating, and feeling tense or being on edge. Sometimes people can experience all of these symptoms at once during a panic attack. Other symptoms include difficulty concentrating, procrastination, obsessive thinking, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, and avoidance behaviour. It is not uncommon to try and cope with anxiety by using alcohol or drugs, working a lot, becoming obsessive, perfectionistic and attempting to control your environment or others.

If symptoms of anxiety occur frequently and interfere with daily life functioning, it is likely that an anxiety disorder may be present. There are different types of anxiety disorders. These involve excessive worry, social phobia and other phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, illness anxiety, panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, and PTSD.

At MindFrame Psychology we offer you Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which is the most effective treatment for anxiety. This is based on decades of scientific research worldwide. CBT will help you change unhelpful anxious thoughts and behaviours, leading to a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms. You and your Psychologist will work together on your individualised treatment plan to achieve your goals. Your Psychologist will also work with you to help you stay well and happy.
Your GP can refer you to MindFrame Psychology, and you may be eligible to the Medicare rebate for ten sessions, per calendar year. For more information call on 02 9119 8777.

The following factors may play a role:

GENES: certain anxiety disorders appear to have a genetic component, with some anxiety disorders running in the family.

STRESS: stressful events such as a marriage breakdown, work deadlines, promotions, and/or financial hardship can act as a trigger for anxiety.

THINKING STYLE: patterns of thinking characterised by anticipating the worst, negative self-talk, and unhelpful coping strategies (e.g., avoidance) are linked to anxiety.