Worry, Anxiety, Panic

What is Worry, Anxiety, and Panic?

Anxiety Treatment and Counselling in Sydney and Balmain

Worry, anxiety, and panic are very common reasons people come to see a psychologist. This is because anxiety is a natural human emotion that is designed to help us survive. However, sometimes anxiety can become excessive and interfere with our daily lives.

Anxiety can manifest in a variety of ways, including physical symptoms such as a racing heart, sweating, and shortness of breath. It can also lead to cognitive symptoms such as negative thoughts and intrusive worries. In some cases, anxiety can even lead to panic attacks, which are characterised by intense episodes of fear and physical discomfort.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition in Australia, affecting 1 in 4 Australians at some stage in their life. There are different types of anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Each of these disorders has its own specific symptoms and causes, but they all share a common feature of excessive and uncontrollable anxiety that impairs one’s quality of life.

Therapy for Anxiety

At Treat Yourself Well, we understand that anxiety can be a debilitating condition. We offer a variety of therapy approaches that can be tailored to your individual needs. Some of the most common therapy approaches for anxiety include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on helping you to identify and challenge the negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to your anxiety.
Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing yourself to the things that you fear in order to reduce your anxiety response.
Mindfulness-based therapy: Mindfulness-based therapy teaches you how to focus on the present moment and accept your thoughts and feelings without judgment.

If you are struggling with anxiety, stress or panic attacks, you don’t have to suffer alone. There are effective treatments available that can help you overcome your anxiety and regain your confidence and happiness. At Treat Yourself Well, we offer evidence-based psychological therapy for anxiety disorders, tailored to your individual needs and goals. Our registered psychologists are experienced and compassionate professionals who can help you understand the nature and causes of your anxiety, teach you coping skills and strategies to manage your symptoms, and guide you through the process of recovery. We also provide support and education for your family and friends who may be affected by your anxiety.

Types of Anxiety

Physical Anxiety

Any threats that occur in day to day life (e.g., being chased by a large dog; being involved in a car accident; being pulled over by the police when driving) cause a series of changes to occur automatically in the body. Once the brain becomes aware of danger, hormones are released. The involuntary nervous system then sends signals to various parts of the body to prepare the body to 'fight' or to flee ('flight').

This response is called the 'fight-or-flight' response and is associated with the following physical and mental changes:

Symptoms associated with the fight-or-flight response

The mind becomes alert
Blood clotting ability increases, preparing for possible injury
Heart rate speeds up and blood pressure rises
Sweating increases to help cool the body
Blood is diverted to the muscles which tense ready for action
Digestion slows down
Saliva production decreases causing a dry mouth
Breathing rate speeds up - nostrils and air passages in lungs open wider to get in air more quickly

Liver releases sugar to provide quick energy
Sphincter muscles contract to close the openings of the bowel and bladder
Immune responses decrease (which is useful in the short-term to allow massive response to immediate threat, but can become harmful over a long period)
Fear and apprehension
Trembling or shaking
Restlessness
Cold and clammy hands
Hot flushes or chills
Feeling sick or nauseous
Butterflies in the stomach

The anxiety response is very good in dealing with physical threat, but it's not so good when we are dealing with psychological threat.

Reversal of the response can be produced using breathing control. While anti-anxiety medication will reduce anxiety, breathing control is the preferred method since individuals can use breathing control all their lives without any of the risks associated with anti-anxiety medication. Another way that the cycle can be interrupted is by preventing activation of the fight-or-flight response. Prevention involves attempting to reduce the stressful nature of life experiences. Stresses can be reduced with relaxation, slow breathing, or by learning how to solve problems more effectively.

Anxious Thinking

As well as being a physical response, anxiety is also characterised by a style of thinking which is threat related. Remember that when the fight-flight response is activated, the person's mind begins to think in a threat related way, that is, the brain scans the environment to see where the danger is. During anxious periods, people do not think in the same way that they do when they are relaxed. How can they, when their body is telling them that they are in mortal danger?

Anxious people have thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes which support the anxiety. For example, a person who experiences anxiety in enclosed places may think of going to the theatre in the following way "It'll be full of people. I won't be able to get out. I'll be trapped!"

Common Types of Anxiety Issues

Panic Attacks

A panic attack is defined as a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in which 4 or more of the following symptoms develop abruptly and peak within 10 minutes

Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
Feeling of choking
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea or abdominal distress
Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light headed, or faint
Derealisation (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself)
Fear of losing control or going crazy
Fear of dying
Parasthesias (numbness or tingling sensation)
Chills or hot flushes

Phobias

A phobia is defined as:

A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he/she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be humiliating or embarrassing.
Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response, which may take the form of a panic attack.
The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable.
The feared social or performance situations are avoided, or else endured with marked distress.
The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational or academic function, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having the phobia.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD occurs when a person experiences either obsession or compulsions:

Obsessions, defined as:

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses or images are not simply excessive worries about everyday problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his/her own mind (not imposed from without)

Compulsions, as defined by:

Repetitive behaviours (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviours or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviours or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive.
At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.
The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD occurs when a person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which the following were present:

The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others.
The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

As a result of the above, the person re-experiences the traumatic event in one or more of the following ways:

Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions.
Recurrent distressing dreams about the event.
Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated).
Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
Physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma) as indicated by three or more of the following:

Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations associated with the trauma.
Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.
Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma.
Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities.
Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others.
Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings).
Sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span).

Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:

Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Irritability or outbursts of anger.
Difficulty concentrating.
Hypervigilance.
Exaggerated startle response.

The duration of the above is more than one month, and the disturbance causes clinically significant distress in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is defined as anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing), or in which help might not be available in the event of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms.

Agoraphobic fears usually involve characteristic clusters of situations that include:

being outside the home alone
being in a crowd or standing in a line
being on a bridge
traveling in a bus, train, or car.

These situations are avoided (e.g., travel is restricted), or else are endured with marked distress or with anxiety about having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms or require travel with a companion.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is characterised by:

Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).
The person finds it difficult to control the worry.

The anxiety and worry are associated with three or more of the following six symptoms, with at least some symptoms present for more days than not for the past six months:

Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge.
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Worry, Anxiety & Panic

Anxiety can feel like an unwelcome guest, tightening its grip on your thoughts and breath. But you don't have to be its prisoner. At Treat Yourself Well Sydney, we offer a personalized approach to untangling anxiety's web and reclaiming inner calm.

Our therapeutic journey begins with understanding your unique experience. We explore the thoughts and patterns that fuel anxiety, not with judgment, but with gentle curiosity. Through collaborative exploration, we identify triggers and cultivate coping mechanisms that empower you.

Forget about a one-size-fits-all approach. We tailor our sessions to your specific needs, drawing on a range of therapeutic tools.

We believe avoidance only strengthens anxiety's hold. So, we guide you in facing your fears, step by step, in a safe and supportive environment. With each step, you reclaim control, rewrite your narrative, and rediscover the joy of living fully.

You deserve a life free from anxiety's grip.

Take the first step today. Contact Treat Yourself Well Sydney and embark on your journey towards inner peace and lasting calm.

Want to find out more?

To learn more or to enquire about our Anxiety assessments, contact us at: info@treatyourselfwell.com.au, or give us a call on (02) 9555 4810.

Services

Assessments

General Areas

Special Interest Areas

Talk to us about

Worry, Anxiety, Panic

What is Worry, Anxiety, and Panic?

Anxiety Treatment and Counselling in Sydney and Balmain

Types of Anxiety

Common Types of Anxiety Issues

Panic Attacks

Phobias

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Agoraphobia

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Worry, Anxiety & Panic

Want to find out more?

Read More on Anxiety

Read more about our treatment approaches.

Treat Yourself Well Sydney
Psychology Practice

Services

Assessments

General Areas

Special Interest Areas

Talk to us about

Worry, Anxiety, Panic

What is Worry, Anxiety, and Panic?

Anxiety Treatment and Counselling in Sydney and Balmain

Types of Anxiety

Common Types of Anxiety Issues

Panic Attacks

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Worry, Anxiety & Panic

Want to find out more?

Read More on Anxiety

Read more about our treatment approaches.

Treat Yourself Well Sydney Psychology Practice

Treat Yourself Well Sydney
Psychology Practice