Anxiety
Understanding when anxiety has a significant impact
Although a natural response, clinical anxiety is different from typical fears, worries and concerns that are a natural part of everyday life.
At Clear Sky Therapies, we aim to help you to better understand when anxiety becomes a problem and what underpins this.
What is significant anxiety?
There are a number of different anxiety conditions, including:
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) - including persistent and excessive worry
- Panic Disorder - consisting of panic attacks and physiological changes
- Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) - including intense fear of social situations
- Specific Phobias - experiencing an overwhelming fear of something specific
Common symptoms of anxiety
- Thoughts - Negative thinking patterns, rules and beliefs. Thoughts that you cannot cope.
- Emotional - Feelings of worry, agitation, fear and panic.
- Physical - Increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, headaches, nausea.
- Behavioural - Avoiding places and people that may trigger anxiety. Struggling to manage with daily tasks and activities.
Taking control of your anxiety
Helping you to understand where your anxiety issues originated, where this may have originated, how it has developed, and been maintained.
Through psychological therapy and workable strategies, we aim to work together in helping you to make sense of your challenges with anxiety and to develop more effective ways to manage.
CST therapeutic approach
- ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Systemic Psychotherapy
Wellbeing strategies:
- Mindfulness and meditation
- Relaxation and breathing techniques
- Exposure therapy
- Lifestyle factors including exercise, diet, sleep hygiene etc.
- Health considerations including alcohol and substances
- Social support network
Benefits of Therapy
Change starts with understanding and acceptance
It is important to first understand the nature of your difficulties and to accept current strategies may not be working. To strive to drop this struggle, and to focus on what is most important. To find a more positive life direction, and consider your life values, and the person you most want to be.
Therapy is a collaborative and explorative process
This involves a period of assessment and various steps:
- Initial contact discussion to identify areas of difficulty and if these may be appropriate for therapy through CST
- To consider whether CST would be the best fit for you and what you are currently struggling with. The therapeutic relationship is a key factor in positive and helpful therapy
- Assessment phase to evaluate your history and understand specific symptoms and their impact on your life
Once therapy has started, sessions will include:
- To collaboratively set goals and consider a plan for therapy
- To meet for regular sessions and where appropriate, include exercises to do outside of therapy sessions to build skills and strategies
- To regularly check-in and maintain a fully collaborative, safe, supportive and confidential therapeutic alliance throughout the process
- To think about a positive ending to sessions, and work towards a helpful conclusion, though the door is never fully ‘closed,’ and at times follow-up appointments, therapeutic breaks and recommencement of therapy may be indicated