Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people come to see us, and one of the most misunderstood. Here is what you need to know.
Feeling anxious is a completely normal human experience. It is your nervous system doing exactly what it is designed to do: alerting you to potential threats and helping you respond. Before a job interview, a difficult conversation, or a medical appointment, anxiety is appropriate and expected.
But for many people, anxiety does not switch off when the threat has passed. It becomes a constant, exhausting presence that shapes how they live their lives.
Anxiety does not present the same way for everyone. Some of the most common experiences include:
– A persistent sense of dread or worry that is hard to trace to a specific cause
– A racing heart, tight chest, or difficulty breathing, even when nothing obvious is happening
– A mind that will not switch off, particularly at night
– Avoiding situations, places, or people because of the fear they provoke
– Feeling irritable, on edge, or easily overwhelmed
– Physical symptoms including headaches, digestive problems, and fatigue
For some people, anxiety shows up as panic attacks: sudden, intense episodes of fear that can feel terrifying in the moment. For others, it is more of a persistent background hum that colours everything.
Anxiety becomes a clinical concern when it is persistent, disproportionate, or starts to interfere significantly with daily life. If anxiety is affecting your sleep, your work, your relationships, or your ability to do the things you want to do, it is time to seek support.
It is also worth noting that anxiety which has been present for a long time does not tend to resolve on its own. Avoidance, one of anxiety’s most common symptoms, actually feeds the problem rather than solving it.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is one of the most well-researched treatments for anxiety, with strong evidence across anxiety disorders including generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, health anxiety, and OCD.
CBT helps you identify the thinking patterns and behaviours that are maintaining your anxiety, and gives you practical tools to change them. Most people notice a significant improvement within a relatively small number of sessions.
At Embrace, we take an integrative approach, meaning we tailor treatment to you, drawing on CBT alongside other evidence-based methods as appropriate. We will always take the time to understand your particular experience of anxiety before agreeing on an approach.
One thing we hear a lot from people who come to us with anxiety is that they have spent years just coping with it: managing around it, working harder to compensate, or accepting that this is just how they are.
It is not. Anxiety is highly treatable. The right support, at the right time, can make a profound difference to how you feel day to day.