Anxiety, Overthinking & Fears
When it feels difficult to switch off
Patterns of Anxiety can leave you feeling as though your mind is always one step ahead; thinking about what might happen, replaying what has already happened or trying to anticipate every possible outcome.
You may know you're overthinking, yet still find it difficult to step away from it. You might spend a lot of time analysing, preparing, checking or trying to feel certain before you can relax.
For some people, anxiety is mostly experienced through worry and racing thoughts. For others, it is more physical. Fear may also become connected with particular situations or experiences, influencing what you do, what you avoid and the choices you make.
Therapy and counselling can help you understand these patterns and develop greater flexibility in how you respond.
What Anxiety and Overthinking Can Feel Like
Anxiety can show up differently for different people.
You may:
feel tense, restless or constantly on edge
find it difficult to switch off or relax
overthink decisions or worry about making the wrong choice
anticipate problems and mentally prepare for different possibilities
seek reassurance or repeatedly check things
avoid situations that make you anxious or uncomfortable
struggle to concentrate when your attention keeps returning to worry
Uncertainty can also feel difficult. You may find yourself thinking through the same situation repeatedly, looking for an answer that feels certain enough before you can move forward.
Anxiety Can Also Be Physical
Sometimes the body is where anxiety is noticed first.
You may experience a racing heart, changes in breathing, tightness in the chest, butterflies or nausea, shakiness, sweating, dizziness, muscle tension or a general sense of being physically on edge.
You do not need to experience all of these things, or know exactly what type of anxiety you are experiencing, to seek support.
New, severe or unexplained physical symptoms can have causes other than anxiety and should be appropriately medically assessed.
When Anxiety Starts Shaping Your Life
When you're feeling anxious, it can make sense to look for ways to feel safer, more certain or more prepared.
Avoiding something, checking again, seeking reassurance or thinking through every possibility may bring relief in the moment. Over time, however, these responses can become part of a pattern that gives anxiety more influence over your decisions and daily life.
This may begin affecting your relationships, work, social life, sleep or willingness to do things that matter to you.
Therapy can help you understand how your own patterns of anxiety, overthinking and fear work, what you anticipate, where your attention goes and what you tend to do in response.
Depending on your experience and goals, our work may involve recognising patterns of worry and avoidance, responding differently to anxious thoughts and physical sensations, becoming more comfortable with uncertainty, and reducing habits such as excessive checking, reassurance seeking or overpreparing.
The aim is to build practical skills and greater flexibility, so anxiety has less influence over the choices you make and the way you live your life.
How Therapy May Help
Explore Specific Concerns
Anxiety and fear can take different forms. If one of these feels particularly familiar, you can explore it in more detail.
Social Anxiety
Feeling highly self-conscious, worrying about judgement or replaying interactions afterwards.
Performance Anxiety & Public Speaking
Anxiety around speaking, presenting, performing or being evaluated by others.
Panic Attacks
Sudden and intense physical and emotional experiences that can feel difficult to understand or predict.
Phobias & Fears
Strong fear responses connected with particular situations, objects or experiences.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin.
Book an initial therapy session, or arrange a complimentary 15-minute introductory call if you would like to ask a few questions first.