Generalised Anxiety

Generalised Anxiety refers to those experiences of Anxiety that appear to have no trigger at all unlike the Anxiety which is associated with very specific triggers (such as Phobias or other Fears).

The Psychiatric community have labelled this type of anxiety as a “disorder” (thus GAD) but this is highly unscientific and is often unhelpful to sufferers.

For the person suffering with Generalised Anxiety this can seem worse than “normal” Anxiety as it can “come-on” at any time and without warning.

GAD can leave a person feeling exhausted as they will tend to become hyper-vigilant (constantly waiting for Anxiety to appear) as they do not know what situations to avoid in order to minimise the chances of becoming anxious.

Anxiety is an absolutely normal reaction to any situation where we believe we are in “danger” (not necessarily that we ARE in danger).

Generalised Anxiety banner - anxious woman talking to therapist

Why Do I Experience Anxiety?

We are “hard-wired” to respond in this way and we do not have any conscious control over the reaction, however, it is crucial to be aware that we DO have control over what we believe is dangerous – it’s not this “Anxiety Reaction” which is “inappropriate”, but what we believe the danger is!

When our mind prepares to deal with danger it considers through three possible ways of solving the problem we are faced with:

(1) FREEZE and hope that the danger goes away,

(2) FLIGHT – escape from the danger, normally by running away, and

(3) FIGHT – confront and fight the danger.

Whichever option we choose our mind ensures that our body is physically ready for any of the solutions by flooding our bloodstream with Adrenalin, shutting down the non-essential bodily functions (rationale thinking, digestion etc) and generally preparing for survival.

These chemical changes in our bodies are experienced physically as the symptoms of Anxiety!

Common Symptoms of Generalised Anxiety

Feelings of living on the edge of your seat
Inability to rest well
An impending sense of fear or dread
Problems Concentrating
Being quick tempered with friends and family
Finding minor issues irritating
Feelings of dizziness
Difficulties in becoming motivated
Prickly sensations like pins and needles
Palpitations
Fatigued Muscles
Dry and Sticky mouth
Sweating excessively
Breathlessness
Cramps in the Stomach
Migraines and Headaches
Missing your period
Sleep patterns becoming interrupted

Generalised Anxiety sufferer in therapy session

Therapy & Counselling for Generalised Anxiety

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Generalised Anxiety and anxiety-related problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

How long you have had the problem.
Your personal preferences.
How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Generalised Anxiety on the following links:

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Furthermore, research also suggests that therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Free Initial Consultations for Generalised Anxiety

We offer all prospective clients an initial consultation to discuss your Generalised Anxiety prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At TranceForm Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss our change programmes BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.