Anxiety & Panic Counselling in Hertford
When anxiety starts taking over
Everyone experiences anxiety at times. It is a normal human response to uncertainty, pressure and situations that feel threatening.
But sometimes anxiety stops being temporary.
You may find yourself worrying constantly, analysing conversations, imagining everything that could go wrong or struggling to switch your mind off. Your body may feel permanently tense or alert, even when there appears to be no obvious reason to feel anxious.
For some people, anxiety can become overwhelming enough to lead to panic attacks, avoidance or a growing fear of situations that previously felt manageable.
I provide anxiety counselling in Hertford, Hertfordshire and online, supporting adults experiencing anxiety, panic, stress, overthinking and related difficulties.
Counselling can help us understand not only what you are feeling, but what may be maintaining it and what needs to change.
What does anxiety feel like?
Anxiety can affect your thoughts, emotions, body and behaviour.
You might experience:
- constant worrying or overthinking
- expecting something bad to happen
- difficulty concentrating
- feeling restless or unable to relax
- irritability
- difficulty sleeping
- repeatedly seeking reassurance
- avoiding situations that make you anxious
- feeling uncomfortable in social situations
- worrying about your health
- feeling overwhelmed by decisions
- becoming increasingly self-critical.
Anxiety can also be intensely physical.
You may notice:
- a racing or pounding heart
- tightness in your chest
- feeling short of breath
- dizziness or feeling light-headed
- sweating or trembling
- nausea or stomach problems
- tingling or numbness
- headaches
- muscular tension
- feeling detached or unreal.
Sometimes these physical sensations become frightening in themselves.
Panic attacks
A panic attack can feel terrifying.
Your heart may race. Your breathing changes. You may feel dizzy, shaky, disconnected or unable to think clearly.
People sometimes fear they are having a heart attack, going to collapse, losing control or even dying.
Although panic attacks can feel as though they appear from nowhere, the body’s alarm system has essentially become highly activated.
The experience can then create another problem:
fear of having another panic attack.
You may begin monitoring your body for signs that another attack is starting or avoiding places where you previously experienced panic.
Over time, life can become smaller.
Counselling can help us understand this cycle and begin reducing the power that panic has over your choices.
New or unexplained physical symptoms should always be appropriately medically assessed rather than automatically assumed to be anxiety.
The anxiety cycle
Anxiety can become self-reinforcing.
Something happens.
You notice a threat → your mind predicts what could happen → your body responds → the physical sensations feel threatening → anxiety increases → you try to escape or regain control.
Avoiding the situation may provide immediate relief.
Unfortunately, that relief can teach the brain:
“I was right to avoid that. It wasn’t safe.”
The next time the situation occurs, anxiety can return even more strongly.
This is one reason why simply telling yourself “there’s nothing to worry about” often doesn’t work.
The anxiety response involves more than rational thought.
Overthinking and the need for certainty
Many people I work with do not initially describe themselves as anxious.
Instead they tell me:
“I can’t switch my brain off.”
You might repeatedly replay conversations, question decisions or mentally rehearse things that haven’t happened yet.
You may spend considerable time asking:
What if I’ve made the wrong decision?
What if something happens?
What if they are upset with me?
What if I can’t cope?
Thinking about a problem can feel productive because it creates a temporary sense of control.
But there is an important difference between problem-solving and worrying.
Problem-solving moves towards an action.
Worry often moves towards another what if?
Counselling can help you recognise these patterns and develop a different relationship with uncertainty.
Why am I anxious when nothing is wrong?
Sometimes there is an obvious reason for anxiety.
At other times, life may appear relatively stable and you cannot understand why you feel the way you do.
Anxiety can be influenced by many things, including:
current stress • relationships • work • loss • health worries • previous experiences • self-esteem • perfectionism • uncertainty • major life changes • difficult childhood experiences • trauma
We do not need to assume that every experience of anxiety has a hidden cause.
But understanding your particular anxiety can be more useful than simply trying to suppress the symptoms.
Anxiety and the nervous system
When the brain perceives potential danger, the body prepares us to respond.
Heart rate and breathing can change. Muscles tense. Attention becomes focused on potential threats.
This system is extremely useful when genuine danger exists.
The difficulty comes when the alarm system becomes activated by situations, thoughts, memories or sensations that do not require the same level of response.
You can logically know:
“I’m safe.”
while another part of you continues to respond:
“Something isn’t right.”
Counselling can help you become more aware of these responses and develop ways of regulating them rather than becoming frightened by them.
Anxiety, trauma and the window of tolerance
For some people, anxiety is connected with previous overwhelming or traumatic experiences.
You may have learned to remain highly alert to changes in people’s behaviour, potential conflict or signs that something is about to go wrong.
This can be understood through the window of tolerance.
When we are within our window, we can generally think, feel and respond while remaining sufficiently regulated.
When anxiety pushes us above that window, we may experience panic, agitation, racing thoughts, anger or hypervigilance.
Where past trauma appears to be an important part of what is happening, we can consider this carefully rather than treating anxiety as an isolated symptom.
You can also read about my specialist Trauma Counselling in Hertford.
→ Link “Trauma Counselling in Hertford” to the trauma page.
Anxiety and alcohol or drugs
Some people discover that alcohol or drugs temporarily reduce anxiety.
Alcohol might make social situations feel easier. Cannabis may appear to slow racing thoughts. Other substances might provide temporary escape from difficult emotions.
The problem is that short-term relief can gradually become part of the anxiety cycle itself.
Substance use can also increase anxiety for some people and create additional difficulties involving sleep, mood, relationships or dependence.
If alcohol or drug use has become part of how you manage anxiety, we can discuss this without judgement.
I also provide specialist Addiction Counselling in Hertford.
→ Link “Addiction Counselling in Hertford” to your addiction page.
How I work with anxiety
I do not believe that everyone experiencing anxiety needs exactly the same type of therapy.
My approach is integrative, drawing on my counselling training, CBT-informed understanding and humanistic practice.
Initially, we will try to understand your experience of anxiety.
That can include what triggers it, what happens in your thoughts and body, what you do when anxiety appears and what may be maintaining the cycle.
Our work might involve:
- understanding triggers and patterns
- recognising anxious thinking
- exploring avoidance and safety behaviours
- developing emotional regulation
- increasing tolerance of uncertainty
- understanding physical anxiety responses
- exploring relationships or experiences contributing to anxiety
- developing different ways of responding to difficult thoughts
- rebuilding confidence in situations anxiety has caused you to avoid.
Counselling is not about somebody repeatedly telling you to “think positively.”
It is about developing a deeper understanding of your responses and finding changes that are meaningful and sustainable for you.
You do not have to get rid of every anxious feeling
A useful goal of therapy is not necessarily to ensure that you never experience anxiety again.
Anxiety is part of being human.
Instead, we can work towards anxiety becoming something you can recognise, understand and respond to without it controlling your decisions.
That might mean attending something despite feeling nervous.
Allowing uncertainty without spending hours trying to resolve it.
Experiencing physical anxiety without immediately assuming something terrible is happening.
Or recognising an anxious thought without automatically treating it as a fact.
Over time, the relationship you have with anxiety can change.
What happens in the first session?
You do not need to arrive knowing exactly why you feel anxious.
Our first session gives us an opportunity to understand what has been happening and what you would like help with.
We might discuss:
your current anxiety, when you first noticed it, situations that make it better or worse, physical symptoms, relationships, work, significant experiences and the ways you currently cope.
We can then begin thinking together about what might be helpful.
There is no expectation that you disclose everything immediately.
You can read more about my counselling experience, qualifications and therapeutic approach on my About ACS page.
→ Link “counselling experience, qualifications and therapeutic approach” to About ACS.
When should I seek counselling for anxiety?
You don’t have to wait until anxiety becomes unbearable.
It may be worth seeking support if anxiety is beginning to affect:
your sleep • relationships • work • confidence • social life • decision-making • physical wellbeing • ability to relax • things you are willing to do
You may also simply be tired of spending so much time worrying.
Sometimes people have lived with anxiety for so long that they have begun to think:
“This is just who I am.”
It doesn’t necessarily have to remain that way.
Free 15-minute introductory call
I offer a free 15-minute confidential introductory telephone call.
This gives you an opportunity to briefly explain what has been happening, ask questions about counselling and decide whether working together feels right for you.
There is no obligation to book a counselling session afterwards.
Anxiety and panic counselling is available face-to-face in Hertford, Hertfordshire, and online throughout the UK.
Ready to talk?
Get in touch to arrange your free 15-minute introductory call.