Jim O'Connor Counselling for all your relationship needs and concerns |
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Contact 9420 0788 Email / Web address info@jimoconnor.com.au Locations |
Anxiety In Relationships The effect of anxiety on sufferers and a the people who care for them can be great putting enormous pressures on relationships. Help for the sufferer and the people who care and support them is availlable. Read on to find out more about this condition and how I can help both the people with anxiety and the people who love and support them. What is Anxiety? Anxiety is a normal human emotion which is triggered when we perceive threats of harm. In the early stages of human evolution our ancestors needed a fear response to alert them to potential dangers such as being attacked by lions. Modern humans we still carry this fear response in our make up. It is called the flight or fight response. When the human mind perceives the possibility of harm our flight or fight (anxiety) response is triggered. What happens when the anxiety response is triggered? When the anxiety response is triggered a number of physiological reactions occur very quickly. Our brain secretes hormones that cause the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline makes our hearts pump faster, our lungs breath faster, our muscles to become tense, our bodies sweat and our minds to narrow their focus. All of this happens within a split second. Why this response happens is easy to understand. If we perceive the threat of harm we have to prepare to take action. As our body prepares to run away or fight we need our heart to pump more blood to the muscles. We need our lungs to breath faster to supply more oxygen to our blood. All of this generates heat which we need to expel through sweating. Finally we need our minds to focus on the needs at hand ie our survival. Anxiety in the modern world Under normal circumstances appropriate levels of anxiety are helpful. So how and when does anxiety become a problem? The reason is because in the modern world anxiety or flight or fight response can be triggered constantly and/or in abnormal ways. When this occurs we live in a constant state of anxiety, fear or aggitation where little things invoke unhelpful and distressing responses. The things that trigger our Anxiety can be real situations such as a car that is about to hit us while we cross the road. Or they can be imagined for example you might be worried that your boss is about to sack you. We can also create our own anxiety because of the types of thoughts we have about ourselves, for example I might believe I'm boring and when I go to parties I might worry that I wont be interesting enough and people wont speak to me. Panic attacks can also occur because our minds may misinterpret our bodily sensations such as rapid heart beat. Anxiety can also be triggered by normal experiences such as exercise, tiredness and fatigue, drugs, thoughts about changes in our life situations or memories of things that happened to us as children. The Harm of constant anxiety is considerable to people in both their personal and working lives. Anxiety can cause major distress in all relationships. Anxiety can cause poor performance at work it can even prevent people from attending social gatherings such as birthdays and parties, it can interfere with the communications processes within all relatinships and the list of potential harm goes on. What are some types of anxiety? There are many types of anxiety. The following is a list of the main types:
What are some of the symptoms of anxiety? The symptoms of Anxiety are many, they include mental, emotional, physical, behavioural and social. Some of the mental symptoms of anxiety include:
Some of the emotional symptoms of anxiety include:
In the case of phobias the anxiety is about a specific thing such as a spider. In General Anxiety Disorder the fear is about many things such as safety, security, the future, health, the future the world at large and much more. Some of the physical symptoms of anxiety include:
Some of the physiological symptoms of anxiety include:
Some of the behavioural symptoms of anxiety include: As in the case of depression people who suffer anxiety will tend to:
The key here is that the person will tend to avoid the experience of fear. These are just some of the possible symptoms of anxiety. If you believe you or someone you know may be sufferring with anxiety it is important that you or they get properly assessed by an appropriate health care professional. What is the best treatment for anxiety? As in the case of all mental health and wellbeing issues the best treatment for anxiety begins with an accurate assessment and treatment formulation. Because there are many forms of Anxiety each requiring different approaches it is absolutely critical that a correct assessment is made from the beginning. Once the correct assessment has been made the most appropriate treatment program can be implemented. The best treatments are comprehensive and cover the mind, emotions, physical and social and in some cases medical aspects of human wellbeingl. What should you do if you or a someone you know suffers with The effect of anxiety on you and your relationships can be great. If you care for someone suffering with anxiety it can be difficult to know what to do and how to support the person you love. If you are someone suffering from anxiety the effect on your relationships can be very distressing. If you or a friend suffer from several of the above symptoms call for an appointment and come in for an assessment. After the first session you will know how I can help and what is the best treatment approach for your situation. I have three offices in convenient locations throughout Sydney I have three offices in convenient locations through out Sydney, one in Macquarie Street Sydney, one in Crows Nest on Sydney's lower North Shore and one in Glebe in Sydney Inner West. For an appointment please call my head office on 02 9420 0788 |
About Jim'Connor Jim is highly qualified and experienced practitioner who is genuine, professional and at all times focused on you. Over the years Jim has helped many people overcome the challenges that confront them. Jim constantly pursues ongoing education and training to maintain a high standard of knowledge and skill. He currently holds a Masters degree in Applied Psychotherapy. You can be confident that the help he provides you is based on scientific research where ever possible. He is a full Clinical Member of P.A.C.F.A (Psychotherapist and Counsellors Association of Australia) the National body of Psychotherapists. C.A.P.A (the Counsellors and Psychotherapists association of NSW) and A.A.C.B.T (the Australian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapists). So you can be sure that he adheres to a high ethical and professional standard. |
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