Characteristic of most of these symptoms is an overproduction of adrenalin. The symptoms when experienced unfortunately promote further production of adrenalin, thus creating a vicious cycle. Anxiety can therefore become a long-term issue which significantly affects our lifestyle and relationships.

People with overwhelming feelings of anxiety may withdraw from social and work situations, their anxiety working hard to convince them that they are incapable and inadequate.

Relationships can become difficult to maintain as partners feel pushed out by what they perceive as the anxious person's rejection and often their chronic lack of self-confidence.

There is a cyclical nature to most anxiety disorders and therefore in many ways it feeds on fear and self-doubt. For many sufferers even imagining the situational trigger can inspire anxious feelings, let alone coming into contact with it.

For these reasons counselling is considered to be a good form of treatment for anxious feelings as a good counsellor can equip you with the tools to build constructive thought patterns. Several approaches are used to treat anxiety, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness. Medication may also be used, on both long- and short-term bases.

Therapist Jasminka Milena-Letzas talks to Welldoing founder Louise Chunn about panic and anxiety

Situational anxiety is often an acute reaction to stress. Symptoms may appear before or after the stressful situation. This can occur at times of severe life stress, such as a bereavement or following an accident, but also in more common situations such as an upcoming exam, presentation or interview. In these cases the symptoms and the accompanying feelings may linger for longer.

Anxiety can also be brought on in times of adjustment, such as the breakdown of relationships, being made redundant or starting a new job. In these situations, the symptoms are similar to the case of acute situations mentioned above, but the anxiety may occur much later than the event, as you adjust to a new way of life. (See Stress for more on this subject)

A panic attack is a sudden and intense experience of fear and anxiety which usually lasts between five and 10 minutes but can seem much longer for the sufferer. It can be triggered by something specific, but sometimes it seems to have no real season behind it. After a panic attack a person might feel physically weak, emotionally drained and vulnerable.

Counselling can help with anxiety by making it manageable, teaching tools to enable life to go back to normal. Regaining control over anxiety can greatly increase self-esteem and quality of life.

An anxiety therapist will work with you to define and reframe your common anxieties, helping you to understand the problem itself, your triggers and expectations and therefore help you to be firstly accepting of your limits and needs, and be better informed as to how to manage them.

Anxiety counselling can also be a helpful setting to re-expand one's perspective, as often with anxiety disorders the focus becomes very narrow and it becomes hard to understand the wider context.

CBT is considered to be an empirically supported treatment for generalised anxiety disorder (2). Cognitive behavioural therapy provides tools for reframing problems in a more helpful way, while longer-term psychotherapy is valuable for rooting out the cause of anxiety.

Last updated October 2024