Let me start this blog with addressing one important point when it comes to anxiety and levels of anxiety. There is no such thing as normal.

I appreciate that might feel challenging to read, and I will do a separate post all about how problematic the word ‘normal’ can be.

But I think it’s important to note that there are levels of anxiety, and these can change regularly. Yes, there is clinical anxiety, and there is also very low level anxiety, and everything in between.

This is why it can feel painful when we compare ourselves to friends and family, or those we see on social media. They might appear to not be anxious at all, or not have anxiety as bad as we feel we do, but the reality is often different.

Exploring our anxiety levels, our triggers, and our history with anxiety in the safe environment of therapy can help us to better understand what our brain is trying to tell us and why.

This isn’t always easy, and it can painful at times to look back at particularly challenging periods of anxiety. Doing this, however, enables us to gain some insight and perspective, which in turn leads us to coping strategies.

Again, exploring coping strategies and ways of coping with anxiety can feel frustrating at first, especially if you feel you have tried everything. Working through this with the compassion for ourselves that counseling provides, can help us to view it with a fresh outlook, and be open to the possibility of either new strategies, or re-trying previous ones.

I’m a big believer in celebrating our strengths, especially when often our brain can be quick to point out our perceived failures, and forget about our achievements each day. This is why when working with me in therapy, we will look at those achievements, no matter how small they might appear, because every act of resilience helps to boost our strength and shift our mindset.

I appreciate this might all sound easier said than done, and if it was easy, no one would ever feel overwhelmed with their anxiety. Therapy is often hard, and can feel emotionally exhausting at times – it isn’t a straight path to happiness. Often it can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions, but all with the aim of ultimately feeling better than you do now.

Because you deserve to. You deserve to feel calmer. You deserve to feel understood. And you deserve to not have to carry it all on your own.

The right environment can really help with this – if driving feels triggering for your anxiety, seek support online. If thinking about technology feels overwhelming, seek support in-person. If the thought of someone seeing you fills you with dread, seek telephone counselling. If nighttime frightens you, have a morning appointment. If your week days feel hectic, have a weekend appointment.

I believe the right session mode and time can help to take away some of the barriers that anxiety has us believe will stand in the way. Once we start to break those barriers down, others will follow.

If you would like to book an initial free consultation to see if I’m the right therapist to support you with your anxiety, book an appointment via my website today.