Understanding Anxiety: When Worry Becomes Overwhelming — and How Counselling Can Help

Feeling anxious is part of being a human. We all experience worry or nerves from time to time — before a big meeting, an exam, a first date, an interview or just general uncertainty. But when anxiety starts to take over, affecting how you think, feel, and live, it can become exhausting. I know my own times of being in a highly anxious state left me feeling completely depleted, especially when I was trying desperately to show everyone else that I was feeling calm and in control.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress or perceived danger. It’s part of our built-in survival system, designed to protect and keep us safe When the brain senses a threat — real or imagined — it activates the fight, flight, freeze, fawn response, flooding the body with stress hormones to prepare for action.

For some people, this alarm system becomes overactive, staying switched on even when there’s no real danger. This can lead to ongoing feelings of fear, tension, or unease that are difficult to control. I tend to think of it as having an internal faulty smoke alarm, that whilst trying protect us, is going off constantly.

Common Signs of Anxiety

Anxiety can show up in different ways for different people and can feel like:

• Physical symptoms: racing heart, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a pain/unease in the stomach
• Emotional symptoms: constant worry, irritability, fear of losing control, or feeling on edge.
• Cognitive symptoms: overthinking, difficulty concentrating, replaying scenarios, or imagining the worst-case scenario.
• Behavioural signs: avoiding situations, seeking reassurance, or feeling unable to relax.

I wonder if any of these resonate with you? Anxiety can be linked to many factors — life stress, past trauma, fear of failure or even a long-standing habit of staying in “alert” mode. Whatever is underneath, living with it can feel draining and limiting.

When Anxiety Becomes a Problem

Occasional anxiety is normal, but when it starts to affect your relationships, work, sleep, or overall well-being, it could be time to seek support.

How Counselling Can Help With Anxiety

In counselling, you can explore your anxiety in a safe, understanding space — without judgement or expectations. Together, we can:

• Understand your anxiety patterns — what triggers them, and what keeps them going.
• Learn practical techniques to calm your body and regulate your nervous system.
• Challenge unhelpful thinking patterns that fuel anxiety and self-doubt.
• Develop coping strategies that work for you in real-life situations.
• Build confidence and resilience so you can face challenges with more ease and self-trust.

Over time, counselling can help you reconnect with a sense of calm and control and learn to manage anxiety rather than it managing you

If anxiety is showing up in your life to the point that it may feel it’s taking over, please do reach out to me and see if together we can help you work towards gaining control, developing your understanding and looking at tools and strategies to help with grounding in the anxious moments*

October 2025

*Please look out for my next blog on grounding ideas – coming soon!