Anxiety

Andrew's approach to anxiety is informed by: 

  • His training, including a working knowledge of what is happening in the brain, body and nervous system when we experience anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and so on; 
  • Extensive experience working with the issue; 
  • A healthy dose of common sense. As those experiencing anxiety symptoms will recognise, due to the action of stress hormones on brain function, we cannot 'learn' or 'understand' very much while we are experiencing the overwhelming symptoms of anxiety. The first task in therapy is therefore working together to reduce the symptoms to a more manageable level.  

A multi-faceted approach can be highly effective in simultaneously tackling both the symptoms and underlying causes of anxiety, including: 

  • learning how to understand and recognise symptoms and triggers;
  • exploring lifestyle changes to address both symptoms and causes (e.g. regular aerobic / cardio exercise, relaxation, breathing, mindfulness based practices, reducing caffeine intake, addressing alcohol / drug use);
  • identifying and talking about the issues underlying the anxiety
  • working with the symptoms that arise while talking about these issues in the sessions (e.g. simple but effective techniques, such as calming symptoms through correct (abdominal) breathing). [Read more]

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