Anxiety Management
One of practitioner Mark Defreitas' areas of special interest is working with stress and anxiety disorders such as: panic attacks, general anxiety disorders, OCD, phobias, work related stress, sleep disorders, eating disorder, health issues, and addiction.
Stress is the bodies’ natural response too feeling under pressure. It is useful in motivating us to achieve what life requires off us at home, work and in the other areas of our lives. Unfortunately, in excess it can have the reverse affect making us feel anxious, which is harmful to our well-being.
Therapy will help you to understand the cause of your stress and how to manage your anxiety. You will develop practical skills with which you can reverse the damaging effects of your anxiety. This will enable you to live with greater peace of mind and restore balance to your body and mind.
Although anxiety is made up of the same component parts, we each experience it in our own unique way. The degree to which we experience the different recognisable components is often used as a guide to categorising types of anxiety, such as OCD, phobias or work related stress.
Anxiety affects our body while simultaneously affecting us emotionally, psychologically and behaviourally. When we feel anxious it affects all aspects of our being and our ability to function. If we experience frequent anxiety it can have a profound affect on the quality of our lives.
The physical affects of anxiety can disturb our sleep pattern and appetite, and in the long term may lead, to conditions like Insomnia and digestive problems, lack of appetite, sickness and IBS. The physical affects of anxiety can also make us feel tired or lethargic. Some people feel restless when they are anxious which can lead to exhaustion, which is a common feature of Work Related Stress.
The emotional aspects of anxiety can make us feel insecure, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or threatened. This can lead to changes in our behaviour, such as Social Anxiety, when we avoid anxiety provoking social situations. Or compulsive behaviours (OCD) were we repeat certain behaviours in a futile attempt to manage our anxiety. We can experience Health Anxiety, the persistent concerns about our or other people’s health, which can lead to excessive hygiene rituals, research about health conditions and unnecessary medical appointments.
The psychological affect or General Anxiety, can make us worry excessively, have intrusive thoughts, and find ourselves unable to let go. This can lead people to blame themselves for how they feel and can result in Low-Self-Esteem or Depression or Depressive Anxiety, which is a combination of feeling sad and anxious.
The behavioural aspect of anxiety can lead to us trying to avoid the unpleasant affects of anxiety through avoidant behaviours or Addiction to alcohol or drug misuse. Or engaging in other excessive avoidant behaviours like over eating, phone use, shopping or gambling.
