Anxiety and Stress

Do you wish you could cope better with situations?

Maybe you’re struggling to ‘switch off’ but everything you’ve tried just isn’t working…

Life IS stressful –

It can be busy, demanding and filled with a never ending to-do list. If it feels like there’s not enough hours in the day (and you’re slipping further down the list) now’s the time to take stock.

Periods of stress and anxiety have a negative effect on our thoughts, emotions, relationships and health. It can affect your ability to think straight; leaving you feeling overwhelmed, undervalued and not-quite-good-enough. If you’re less patient, less tolerant and more frustrated – that’s stress showing up in your life and relationships. When you’re stressed you can’t respond in the ways you want to and it feels pretty horrible. On top of this, when stress or anxiety last over time, physical health problems can be caused or worsened.

Under these conditions life is exhausting and becomes a treadmill. Other people might tell you to relax but that feels impossible when you’re worried you might miss something, concerned you can’t do something or feel guilty you haven’t done everything. Or maybe you just don’t know why you’re feeling so anxious but you can’t go on like this for much longer.

Busy train station

“I was hesitant as I don’t usually like speaking too openly and was worried I wouldn’t be able to convey my feelings. But I knew I needed to speak about my concerns rather than bottle them up. Now, I’m able to cope with my emotions better and have a positive outlook on the future again.

Female Client, Cardiff


Anxiety and Stress

What’s The Difference?


Stress and anxiety overlap but they are different things.

We can feel stressed when we’re to facing a difficult event (or series of events) like giving a presentation in work if you hate public speaking or dealing with the fallout of a family crisis. When one or more of these things are happening it can tip us into an anxiety response – where we’re less aware of the individual causes of stress and more stuck in the anxiety.


This can become a negative spiral that increasingly affects more areas of our lives.

As we struggle with (and feel bad about) another anxious episode that can tip us into more anxiety. It can sometimes lead to panic attacks (an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear) and in some cases, is triggered by memories of trauma. If you’re feeling caught up in this, it’s important to know that something can be done.


Anxious thoughts and stressful or traumatic events can trigger the ‘fight or flight’ response in our nervous system.

This has physical as well as emotional effects. You might notice your heart racing, shallow breathing, numbness, tension in your body and / or getting hot and breaking into a sweat. This wears down our energy as it feels impossible to relax. It also robs us of our enjoyment of the things we love and can stop us getting things done as the thinking part of our brain isn’t working as it should.


Woman Looking Out Of Window

How We’ll Work

1) Find The Cause(s)
First we’ll look at what’s causing the difficulty; the situation, thoughts, feelings and /or actions that are ‘triggering’ your ‘fight or flight’ response – and they might not be what you think.

2) Look At Your Responses
Then we’ll see what’s happening in your body – because understanding it is the first step to managing it. This might feel scary alone so working with me can help reduce the fear.

3) Work On The Solution
Finally we’ll look at strengthening your responses against anxiety by working with your body’s natural calming systems. Yes you do still have them, they’ve just become weakened during the period of anxiety and stress. We’ll use different techniques to help you bring them back ‘online’.

This process will help you build your own resilience and over time you’ll be able to use the techniques yourself, in whatever anxious or stressful situation you encounter. I have particular experience in working safely with clients who’ve experienced trauma and abuse, to read more click here.

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Photo Credits: Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash | Photo by José Martín Ramírez C on Unsplash | Photo by anna daniel on Unsplash