Anxiety Counselling Melbourne’s Northern Suburbs

Career counselling and psychological counselling available online and in person in inner Melbourne and Eltham surrounds.

What is counselling?

Counselling is an opportunity to explore concerns and feelings with a trusting professional and to gain further insight into difficulties. This can then enable people to see things differently. Change may be a resulting factor. Confidentiality is a crucial part of the process.

Benefits of Counselling

Enhanced self awareness
Increased emotional support
Support in making changes
Develop skills/tools to deal with life challenges

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is:

a feeling of worry
nervousness
fear
sense of apprehension

It is normal to experience mild anxiety before an exam or prior to a sporting match. It is our body’s way to prepare and help us perform better. Anxiety becomes problematic when it is intense, occurs frequently and interferes with work, relationships or study.

Anxiety affects 1 in 7 people in Australia each year.

12% of women and 7.1% of men experience anxiety during a twelve month period.

Counselling for anxiety

Acknowledging that you need help and taking that first step to reach out for help is a sign of strength. Life can be tough and may have various challenges. Increasing support is a wise choice.

Counselling for anxiety focuses on:

Increasing your knowledge about anxiety and what is means
How it affects your body and what changes occur in the brain
Learning about what triggers the anxiety response
Helping you make the connection between your body and mind
Acquiring skills to reduce anxiety such as:
- relaxation techniques
- mindfulness skills
- cognitive therapy
- problem solving strategies
- exercise/restorative movement
- acceptance and commitment therapy
- Journey Therapy
- Interpersonal Skills Training
- Sleep Management Strategies

Signs that you may be experiencing anxiety:

Constantly worrying and excessive fear
Difficulties with relaxing
Fast heart rate
Upset tummy or nausea
Sweating
Tingling sensations
Numbness
Trembling or shaking
Feeling lightheaded or faint

Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating
Avoiding challenging situations
Perfectionism
Problems with work, social or family life
Strong avoidance behaviours
Sleep difficulties
Experiencing high stress

Anxiety Conditions:

Generalised Anxiety is characterised by persistent and excessive worry in daily situations like money, school/work, family or health.
Perinatal Anxiety is when there is persistent worrying during pregnancy and after birth
Separation Anxiety occurs when a baby or a child fears/gets upset when separated from a parent or carer.
Adjustment Disorder is a group of symptoms such as stress, feeling sad or hopeless and physical symptoms that can occur after a stressful life event.
Performance Anxiety is when one experiences persistent worrying in response to performing (playing sport, dancing, or playing music) in front of others.
Social Anxiety refers to when a person has severe anxiety about being criticized or negatively evaluated by others. Often this leads to avoidance of social situations due to fear of doing something embarrassing.
Panic Disorder – is characterised by the experience of repeat panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden urges of overwhelming fear and anxiety and physical symptoms such as chest pain, heart palpitations, dizziness and breathlessness.

Agoraphobia often involves intense anxiety following exposure to, or anticipation, of situations such as public transportation, open spaces, crowds or being outside the family home
Specific Phobia is when a person experiences extreme fear and anxiety of particular objects or situations. Common phobias include: fear of flying, fear of spiders and other animals and fear of injections.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs after exposure to a traumatic and frightening event. Symptoms include:
a sense of reliving the experience via nightmares of flashback
avoidance of places/people/activities which remind the person of the event
negative thoughts about oneself and the world
feeling irritable, angry or wound up
trouble sleeping
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – is when an individual has recurring, persistent and distressing thoughts, images or impulses (obsessions) or feels compelled to perform certain repetitive behaviours, rituals or mental acts known as compulsions.

How counselling can help you with anxiety…

When planning for baby