Anxiety Counselling
Take the first step to feeling better
Kylie Lepri Counselling is here to provide you with the support and guidance you need to work through any anxiety or negative thought patterns you may be experiencing.
Emotionally heightened thoughts can hinder or even debilitate day-to-day activities for those who struggle with anxiety. And due to the nature of anxiety, it can be particularly difficult to overcome anxious thoughts and feelings on your own. You may be experiencing fear, doubt or negative thoughts. These feelings can make it difficult to reach out for support.
Seeking support from mental health professionals is a great first step to rising above those negative, anxious thoughts and better understanding what you are experiencing.
But we recognise that reaching out for help and diving into a new experience can sometimes be anxiety inducing in itself. So we want to provide you with as much helpful information as possible and a clear view of how anxiety counselling can support your wellbeing.
Contact us for a FREE 15-minute phone call to discuss your situation and find out how we can help. Call us now on 0404 032 636 or book your free phone call online
It’s important to understand, you are not alone in your struggle with anxiety.
Actually, anxiety is one of the most common mental health struggles, affecting 1 in 6 Australians.
No matter the age of the person, it’s fair to say that most people have experienced some degree of anxiety in their lives. Stress and worry are normal responses to challenging or threatening situations. However, if your anxious feelings are intense, persistent or excessive, and it feels too hard to deal with on your own, then you may benefit from professional support.
Anxiety counselling provides a safe and understanding environment for you to explore your feelings and thoughts. In-depth counselling sessions will help you understand the root cause of your anxiety and develop strategies to manage it.
It’s a great start on a journey towards a healthier long-term wellbeing, as well as a happier day to day experience.
What is anxiety?
Anxious feelings are a natural human response when we feel stressed or nervous. You may feel an intensity of worry and doubt in response to certain things you feel are stressful. This is because the brain releases a stress hormone that kicks your emotions into overdrive. Your mind may begin to wonder, or even panic, about the possibilities and outcomes of stressful situations. You may also notice your breathing and heart rate quicken as a response to these feelings.
Anxiety becomes a hurdle when these heightened feelings of worry and stress are more prevalent in our everyday lives. For some people, physical and emotional responses to stress subside as the obstacle passes. However, if your anxious feelings don’t seem to have a cause, and don’t subside after stressful situations, then you may be experiencing anxiety.
Symptoms of Anxiety
The symptoms of anxiety are vast, and while you may experience some of them, it does not mean you will experience all. Anxiety presents itself both physically and emotionally.
Some common signs and symptoms of anxiety include:
- Fast heart rate
- Rapid breathing
- Feeling restless, nervous or tense.
- Sweating
- Easily fatigued
- Trouble sleeping
- Catastrophic thinking (‘what if’ thoughts)
- Easily distracted
- Difficulty concentrating
- Isolating the self
- Teary, flustered or overwhelmed
Due to the differences in how people may be impacted by anxiety we have provided some other common types of anxiety below for you to consider.
Types of Anxiety
Social Anxiety
The most common type of anxiety is social anxiety. Social anxiety is personified with the same physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, but are associated with social interactions or events. This means that a person may experience those feelings or worry, panic, stress or fear when presented with social situations.
When these feelings overwhelm us, we can begin to withdraw from friends, family or the workplace. Often this anxiety is rooted in the fear of being embarrassed, humiliated or put on the spot publicly. This can result in a strong sense of self-consciousness and hypersensitivity to our surroundings.
Generalised anxiety disorder also known as GAD is a condition of anxiety that influences the emotions of a person for the majority of the time. As its name states, this is a state of general anxiety experienced regularly in a period of time. Symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder include worry and panic, as well as the physical symptoms synonymous with anxiety.
Phobias are a type of anxiety that can cause excessive distress to a person when confronted with a particular fear. This sense of fear is usually assigned to a certain object or situation. Certain fears are identified as phobias if the feelings persist for more than 6 months. This type of anxiety inflicts heightened emotions of intense fear or terror towards the subject of the phobia, as well as the common physical symptoms of anxiety.
Panic disorder is a subtype of anxiety that involves more turbulent emotions than generalised anxiety. While the causes and feelings may be similar, those who suffer from a panic disorder may experience ups and downs in their anxious feelings. This usually results in unexpected panic attacks, as these feelings fluctuate. Panic attacks may feel like an overwhelming sense of fear washing over you, causing intensified physical symptoms like shortness of breath.
When should I seek professional help?
Seeking professional help can be a big step, and often associated with some questions. A question that may be on your mind is when to get professional help. If you’re unsure of the right time to reach out for anxiety counselling, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I avoiding places, people or situations because of my anxiety?
- Are my feelings of worry or panic regularly interrupting my work or tasks?
- Am I struggling to regulate my emotions by myself?
- Am I distracted by my anxiety, unable to concentrate?
- Is my anxiety keeping me awake or troubling my sleep?
What can anxiety counselling do to help me?
Discover yourself in a safe, understanding environment
Anxiety counselling is a safe and supportive environment to explore your anxious thoughts and feelings on a deeper level with a mental health professional. You have the opportunity to discuss your anxieties, and discover how these anxieties affect you physically and emotionally.
Gain insight into anxiety
With this understanding, anxiety counselling can be a great opportunity to gain deeper knowledge about the cause and triggers of your anxious feelings. Your therapist can identify helpful coping strategies, to rationalise thinking patterns, and help reduce physical symptoms. Through learning these strategies from a professional, you’ll be able to apply this knowledge and build resilience in everyday life, when those worrying thoughts begin to take over.
Take back control of your life
With Kylie Lepri Counselling, you can take back control of your life and feel empowered to make positive changes. Our counsellors will help you build resilience and confidence, so that you can create healthier coping strategies for dealing with stress and worry.
What anxiety counselling does Kylie Lepri Counselling and Psychotherapy offer?
Kylie Lepri Counselling and Psychotherapy offers anxiety counselling services to adolescents and adults. Our counsellors are experienced in using evidence-based approaches to help you find relief from your anxiety. Our individual counselling structures offer:
- standard 60 minute sessions to clients
- extended 90 minute consultations as needed.
What is the next step?
The next step is to know you CAN experience relief from anxiety. Start your journey now with a FREE 15-minute phone consultation. During this call, we can discuss your situation and find out how we can help. This session is completely free and 100% confidential. It’s an opportunity to discuss your concerns and the best way forward. As well as which one of our counsellors would be the best match for you and your needs.
To make a FREE 15-minute phone consultation, call us now on 0404 032 636 or book your free phone call online.
Other Anxiety Related Resources:
People seek Anxiety counselling for a wide variety of reasons:
- Excessive Worry & Fear
- Panic attacks
- Social Anxiety
- Generalised Anxiety
- Trauma & PTSD
- OCD
- Phobias
- Health Anxiety
- Performance Anxiety
- Life transitions
“Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace”
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING
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