Anxiety is more than just feeling worried. Anxiety can affect how we think, feel, and behave, often leaving us feeling stuck. When functional and mild it is a feeling of unease; it tells us to be cautious, ‘watch your step’ and pay attention. When severe, it is an alarm calling our attention in a specific direction.
What is Anxiety?
While anxiety can occur in response to specific situations, if it becomes more persistent, anxiety that disrupts daily life may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. According to the NHS, anxiety disorders affect millions of people, with symptoms that include restlessness, constant worry, and difficulty concentrating, which interferes with daily activities and can impair a person’s family, social and working life.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t just a mental experience; it significantly impacts the body. The vagus nerve, one of the longest nerves in the body, plays a crucial role in the “fight or flight” response often often becomes over-sensitive in those with anxiety. The vagus nerve connects the brain to many organs, including the heart, lungs, and digestive system.
When anxiety occurs, the vagus nerve activates the stress response, leading to physical symptoms such as:
- Rapid heartbeat or palpitations
- Shallow breathing or hyperventilation
- High blood pressure
- Tension in the muscles, which often results in pain, including neck and back pain
- Stomach discomfort, nausea, or digestive issues
- Sweating and dizziness
These symptoms are your body’s natural response to perceived threats, even if no immediate danger exists. You can reduce these physical symptoms by calming the vagus nerve through deep breathing, mindfulness, and other techniques, including using a vagus nerve simulator. You can learn more about the vagus nerve and its role in anxiety in online talking therapy with me or any counsellor trained in Polyvagal theory from the PolyVagal Institute.
How Anxiety Affects Thinking
Living with anxiety often feels like being trapped in a cycle of “what if” scenarios, constantly expecting something to go wrong. Anxious thoughts can be overwhelming, making it difficult to focus on the present. People with anxiety often experience:
- Catastrophizing: Imagining the worst possible outcome in every situation.
- Overthinking: Constantly replaying past situations or worrying about future events that may never happen.
- Procrastination: Putting off tasks until they start to build up and the amount to do becomes overwhelming. This creates a cycle where anxiety grows as tasks pile up and up.
- Perfectionism: Feeling pressured to get everything right and fearing failure or judgment.
These thought patterns are often automatic and deeply ingrained, making it hard to think calmly at that moment. If you can relate, know that you’re not alone—these patterns can be addressed and changed with support.
How to Manage Anxiety with Therapy
Person-centred counselling for anxiety offers a non-judgemental, empathetic space for you to explore your anxious thoughts, behaviours and feelings. This approach views you as the expert in your experience, with the counsellor there to support you to find clarity, reframe your thoughts and find the right way forward for you.
As an experienced psychotherapeutic counsellor, I use a person-centred approach combined with experiential techniques to help you:
- Explore the root causes of your anxiety and how it affects your life.
- Challenge negative thought patterns in a supportive environment.
- Develop coping strategies tailored to you, such as relaxation techniques and grounding exercises.
- Build self-compassion and understanding towards yourself, helping to ease feelings of guilt or shame often associated with anxiety.
Online talking therapy is effective for treating anxiety, especially as it allows you to talk to a therapist like me in the comfort of your own home or even your car. I am a person-centred therapist, but I also use Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques. A particularly effective talking therapy for anxiety, which works by challenging negative thought patterns and learning healthier coping mechanisms.
How I Can Help You with Anxious Thoughts
I was lucky enough to have been trained by Deb Dana, a member of the research team involved in developing the polyvagal theory. So I can work with how anxiety influences not just your emotions, thoughts and behaviours, but also your physical body and breaking the negative feedback loop back to your emotions. As an online person-centred counsellor, I offer flexible and supportive sessions tailored to your needs. Whether you experience mild or severe anxiety, my approach focuses on creating a trusting relationship where you feel heard and understood.
Together, we can create a path toward healing and emotional well-being by:
- Understanding your anxiety triggers and breaking the cycle of negative thoughts.
- Managing the physical symptoms of anxiety by calming the vagus nerve through a variety of techniques.
- Reframing anxious thoughts into more balanced, rational perspectives.
- Building resilience so you can face life’s challenges without being overwhelmed by fear or worry.
If you’re ready to take that first step, then please reach out.
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Blog by Sarah Morrell 
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