Written by Luisa Kos
Table of contents
Understanding anxiety and how it impacts your overall mental health
Anxiety is a natural response to stress, but when it becomes persistent or overwhelming, it can begin to affect your overall mental health. You may feel anxious without a clear reason, or find that everyday situations trigger a heightened sense of unease. Over time, this can develop into one of several mental health conditions that impact how you think, feel, and respond to the world around you.
When anxiety becomes more intense, it can move beyond occasional worry and develop into excessive anxiety or even severe anxiety. This can affect your ability to focus, make decisions, and feel in control. At The Therapist Finder, we understand that anxiety is more than just worry. It is a mental illness that can affect your confidence, relationships, and sense of wellbeing, especially when left unsupported.
Symptoms of anxiety
Anxiety can present in different ways, and your experience may not look the same as someone else’s. While the main symptom is often a persistent sense of worry, anxiety also includes a range of psychological symptoms and physical symptoms that can affect both your mind and body. Common symptoms include:
- Feeling tense or constantly on edge
- A rapid heartbeat or pounding heart
- A churning feeling in your stomach
- Feeling sick or experiencing digestive discomfort
- Trouble concentrating or feeling mentally overwhelmed
- Difficulty with sleeping habits
- Experiencing panic attacks that can last just a few minutes
- Avoiding social situations due to fear or discomfort
- Feeling trapped or unable to relax
- Persistent worry about everyday life or future events
If you recognise these other symptoms, it may indicate that anxiety is beginning to take a stronger hold. With the right support from a mental health provider, you can start to understand what is happening and take steps to reduce anxiety.
How anxiety symptoms can impact day-to-day life
Anxiety can affect your daily life in ways that feel subtle at first, but over time can become more disruptive. You may find it harder to complete routine tasks, manage responsibilities, or feel present in your everyday life. Even simple decisions can begin to feel overwhelming.
It can also affect your relationships. You might withdraw from social situations, struggle to communicate how you feel, or avoid interactions altogether. Conditions such as social phobia can make it difficult to engage with others, leading to isolation and reduced confidence.
In more severe cases, anxiety can worsen over time and can begin to impact your ability to work, maintain routines, or enjoy activities you once valued. Without support, anxiety can begin to shape your choices and limit your freedom, making it harder to feel in control of your life.
How can I benefit from therapy?
Therapy offers you a safe and structured space to explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours without judgement. Through talking therapies, you can begin to understand what may be contributing to your anxiety and how it is affecting your mental health. This process helps you gain clarity and build awareness around your experiences.
Working with a therapist through The Therapist Finder allows you to develop a personalised treatment plan that supports your needs. Therapy can help you manage overwhelming fear, improve coping strategies, and regain confidence in your ability to navigate life’s challenges. With the right guidance, you can experience anxiety in a more manageable way and start to feel more in control.
Therapeutic approaches for supporting your anxiety disorder
There are a range of effective treatments available for anxiety, and the right approach will depend on your individual needs. At The Therapist Finder, you can connect with professionals who use a variety of evidence-based treatment options to support your mental health.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. It helps you understand how your thoughts influence your feelings and actions, providing practical tools to reduce anxiety and manage triggers.
Psychodynamic Therapy
This approach explores past experiences and unconscious patterns that may contribute to anxiety. It is particularly helpful if your anxiety connects to stressful or traumatic experiences or a traumatic event in your life.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness helps you stay grounded in the present moment. It can support you in managing racing thoughts, improving awareness, and reducing the intensity of anxiety symptoms.
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
CFT helps you develop a kinder relationship with yourself. If you struggle with self-criticism or low self-worth, this approach supports emotional resilience and self-acceptance.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy focuses on the connection between mind and body. It can help address physical conditions linked to anxiety, such as muscle tension, fatigue, and other physical symptoms.
Integrative Approach
Many therapists use an integrative approach, combining different methods to suit your needs. This allows your therapy to adapt as you progress and ensures your support remains personalised.
What to expect in therapy
If you’re new to therapy, it’s natural to feel uncertain about what to expect. Here’s how the process typically unfolds:
- Initial session: This is an opportunity to explore your concerns, challenges, and goals in a safe and confidential space.
- Understanding your patterns: Together, we will identify patterns of thinking and behaviour that may be contributing to your anxiety.
- Developing strategies: You will learn practical tools and coping techniques tailored to your specific needs.
- Building emotional resilience: Over time, therapy will help you develop a healthier relationship with your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
- Sustained progress: The goal is not just symptom relief but lasting personal growth and well-being.
Therapy is a journey, and change takes time. However, even small shifts in mindset and behaviour can lead to significant improvements in your quality of life.
Anxiety can also impact your overall physical health
Anxiety does not only affect your thoughts and emotions. It can also have a direct impact on your physical health. Many people experience symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, fatigue, or tension that can feel like a physical health problem.
When anxiety continues over time, it can contribute to physical conditions such as headaches, digestive issues, and disrupted sleep. These symptoms can make it harder to maintain your wellbeing and can increase stress levels further.
If left untreated, anxiety may begin to affect your immune system, energy levels, and overall health. At The Therapist Finder, we recognise the importance of addressing both the emotional and physical impact of anxiety to support your recovery.
Most common types of anxiety disorder
Anxiety can take many forms, and understanding the different mental disorders can help you recognise what you may be experiencing.
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
GAD involves persistent and excessive worry about a range of everyday situations. You may feel worried most of the time without a clear cause.
Panic disorder
Panic disorder involves recurring panic attacks, often accompanied by intense physical symptoms. These episodes can feel sudden and overwhelming.
Social anxiety disorder
This condition, often referred to as social phobia, involves fear of social situations where you may feel judged or embarrassed. It can lead to avoidance and isolation.
Phobias
Phobias include specific phobias, where you experience strong fear of particular objects or situations. These fears can interfere with daily activities.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia involves fear of being in places where escape may feel difficult. You may avoid environments that feel unsafe or unpredictable.
Separation anxiety disorder
This involves intense fear of being separated from people you feel close to. It can affect both adults and children.
Understanding these conditions can help you identify your experience and explore suitable treatment options with support from The Therapist Finder.
What causes anxiety?
Anxiety can develop for many different reasons, and often a combination of factors plays a role. Some of the more common ways for anxiety to develop include:
- Genetics and family history of mental health conditions
- Stressful or traumatic experiences, including domestic violence or child abuse
- A significant traumatic event or ongoing life stress
- Environmental factors and lifestyle pressures
- Physical conditions or underlying health concerns
- Other mental health conditions such as depression
- Exposure to dangerous situations or prolonged stress
Understanding what may trigger anxiety disorders is an important step towards managing them. With the right support, you can begin to make sense of your experiences and move forward with confidence.
Take the first step with The Therapist Finder
If anxiety is making life feel overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone. Therapy can help you break free from unhelpful patterns, build emotional strength, and move towards a life with greater peace, clarity, and connection.
Finding the right therapist for you
Not every therapist is the right fit for everyone. Here are some things to consider when choosing a therapist:
- Experience & specialisms: Do they have experience working with anxiety or related concerns such as trauma, depression or burnout?
- Therapeutic style: Do they take a structured, practical approach or a more exploratory, reflective one?
- Comfort & connection: Do you feel safe, understood, and comfortable sharing with them?
- Evidence-based approaches: Do they use scientifically supported methods like CBT, mindfulness, or psychodynamic therapy?
A good therapist will support you without judgment and help you gain insight, confidence, and tools to manage life’s challenges more effectively.
Find a specialist
Finding the right therapist for anxiety is a crucial step towards healing and personal growth. A good therapist should provide a safe, non-judgmental space where you feel understood and supported. Look for someone with experience in treating anxiety, ideally using evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy, or Mindfulness-Based techniques. Consider their therapeutic style – whether you prefer a structured, goal-oriented approach or a more open, exploratory process. It’s also important to feel a genuine connection with your therapist, as trust and rapport play a key role in effective therapy. Many therapists offer an initial consultation, which can help you determine if their approach aligns with your needs. The right therapist will not only help you manage symptoms but also empower you to develop healthier coping strategies and create lasting change. Back to The Therapist Finder.
Farah Chowdhury
BACP-registered integrative counsellor and psychotherapist, and the founder of A Space for You Counselling. She works from locations in Kings Cross and West Hampstead in London, and offers outdoor therapy in Mill Hill and online sessions via Zoom. Farah is a South Asian Muslim therapist with a background in publishing, mental health research, and communications, and is a member of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN). Her practice is culturally attuned, anti-oppressive in its foundation, and particularly focused on supporting Global Majority adults with intergenerational trauma, cultural identity, imposter syndrome, complex relationship patterns, burnout, and the psychological impact of racism and discrimination. She brings a relational, integrative approach that treats the therapeutic relationship itself as central to the healing process.
Graham Allen
Whilst Self Help is where most people start, it doesn’t always address what subtley stops us from making change in our lives. This is where therapy can help, life as we currently live it may be holding us back, but we cannot see where the blocks are. We are limited to what we can achieve on our own, Counselling and Psychotherapy places therapeutic relationship at the centre of change. To heal best we need interpersonal interventions , whilst tech can be really useful , most find it is not enough . My focus is attuning to you .
Tom Laverton
Therapy for people who feel the pressure to hold everything together, but are starting to feel the strain of doing it alone. You might look like you’re coping on the outside, but inside feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or stuck in a way that’s hard to explain. I work particularly with people — often men — who carry responsibility and find it hard to share what’s going on. I offer a steady, confidential space to talk honestly, without pressure or judgement. In-person in Petersfield and online across the UK. I support adults experiencing anxiety, burnout, grief, and life transitions, as well as those seeking deeper self-understanding. Therapy offers space to make sense of patterns, emotions, and experiences shaping your present. My work is integrative, drawing on humanistic, psychodynamic and transpersonal approaches. In practice, this means a relational, grounded way of working that explores both what’s happening now and the deeper patterns beneath the surface.
Adetoun Adams
I support adults navigating the emotional impact of serious illness, life transitions, and relationship challenges. My work is particularly focused on those facing or recovering from cancer, as well as individuals and couples seeking deeper emotional clarity, resilience, and change.
Richard Mann
I have experience working in both the NHS and private practice, supporting clients with anxiety, depression and trauma. I specialise in addiction, relationship difficulties, including infidelity, intimacy and compulsive sexual behaviour, and offer LGBTQIA+ affirming and neurodiverse-affirming therapy for autistic and ADHD clients. My approach is collaborative and tailored to you, creating a safe, confidential space where you can speak openly without judgement. I work both short and long term, drawing on an integrative range of approaches, including creative techniques, mindfulness and an understanding of neuroscience, to help you make sense of your experiences and find ways to manage them.
Evelina Rimgailaite
I can help you better understand the patterns in your thoughts, emotions, and relationships, particularly those shaped by past experiences that may no longer be serving you. Together, we can explore the underlying causes of anxiety, stress, self-doubt, or emotional difficulties while also developing practical tools to help you cope more effectively in daily life. My approach is integrative, combining psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural (CBT), and humanistic therapies, which means I tailor our work to your individual needs rather than using a one way approach. Therapy is a collaborative process, and I aim to provide a safe, supportive space where you can reflect, heal, and reconnect with your authentic self. I work with values of inner freedom, balance, and authenticity, supporting you in building resilience, gaining self-awareness, and moving toward a life that feels more meaningful and aligned with who you are.
Tatjana Strbac
15+ experience supporting individuals and couples gain deeper understanding of their life stories and relationships. My approach is integrative and tailored to individual needs. I have a particular interest in relationships, as building blocks of our lives. I offer a safe and collaborative space to explore your challenges, dilemmas, past and present sufferings, and move towards realising your desires, dreams and goals.
Ekua Edufuah
Counselling provides a safe and confidential space for you to talk to a skilled professional about your worries and concerns. My role is to help you to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to develop a better understanding of yourself and others. Counselling can provide an opportunity to look at things through a different lens, learn healthier coping skills and build resilience. Deciding on a counsellor that is right for you is really important. I offer a free initial 15-20 minute phone consultation to discuss how I work, what you may like to talk about and to see how we can best work together. We can arrange to meet for regular sessions at a mutually convenient time. We can work together on an open-ended basis or for a specific time-limited number of sessions. My goal is to understand clients through a holistic, cultural and non pathologising perspective. There is no right or wrong way of thinking. We all develop coping mechanisms or survival strategies that may have served us in the past but may have kept stuck or trapped.
Karis Hanson
Hello, I’m Karis, an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist. I work collaboratively with each client to tailor my approach to your needs. I specialise in working with trauma, but I am experienced in working with clients with a wide range of concerns and experiences. I look forward to hearing what brings you here and what you hope to gain from your sessions.
Maloney ‘Mel’ Liu
Many of us grew up before people talked much about mental, emotional and relational fitness (in some cultures, it’s still not talked about). We’ve had caregivers and authority figures with their own unhealed wounds, limiting their ability to support our development and model healthy life skills. Add in societal norms that overvalue intellectual and economic achievements, various forms of systemic and culturally sanctioned oppression, lack of awareness of neurodiversity … Is it any wonder that many of us are left with a kind of psychological malnutrition, some wonky beliefs, and a lot of shame and guilt and mean voices in our head? Many of us grew up before people talked much about mental, emotional and relational fitness (in some cultures, it’s still not talked about). We’ve had caregivers and authority figures with their own unhealed wounds, limiting their ability to support our development and model healthy life skills. Add in societal norms that overvalue intellectual and economic achievements, various forms of systemic and culturally sanctioned oppression, lack of awareness of neurodiversity … Is it any wonder that many of us are left with a kind of psychological malnutrition, some wonky beliefs, and a lot of shame and guilt and mean voices in our head? I’m Mel, an English-Chinese bilingual therapist and coach with a trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+-affirming (including asexuality) and neuro-affirming practice. It’s never too late to reap the benefits of a consistently safe, growth-fostering environment, address unmet psychological needs, and develop the core human skills we all need to thrive. We can review and edit the stories you tell yourself and distinguish between values you inherited and values that are truly yours. We can work with the brain you’ve got, not against it. We can break generational cycles and survival strategies that have outlived their usefulness and build a better future. Where would you like to start?
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