Anxiety can be an obstacle to becoming our authentic selves. It acts as an obstacle to taking risks, branching away from what we see as safe and familiar alternatives. Anxiety and stress counselling in Hertfordshire can provide the support needed to overcome these barriers. More often than not, severe anxiety is a reflection of worry over anxiety itself rather than the underlying issue. Anxiety counselling can help address these concerns.
Anxiety’s primary function is to protect us from danger. It is a built-in warning system. These feelings and symptoms are a part of our innate way of dealing with stress. Known as the fight-or-flight response, anxiety is meant to protect us from danger and allow us to react faster to emergencies. When your stress hormones take over, they get your body ready to fight, run away or hide. But there is another component to anxiety’s way of protecting us and that is the ‘freeze’ response.
If your brain feels unsafe for any reason, including stress, overwhelm, burnout, or trauma, your autonomic nervous system may deploy the freeze response. This physiological survival response often gets mistaken for procrastination or laziness. When we are frozen in a non doing mode that can lead to heightened stress levels and asymptomatic low mood.
Anxiety levels can act as an obstacle to being our true authentic selves. The ways in which we might want and need to express who we truly are. We may struggle to be authentic due to lack of self-esteem, fear of judgement by others, and a strong desire for others to like us. Past experiences, perhaps from childhood, that led to being shut down when we spoke our truth, can mistakenly teach us that it isn’t safe to be genuine.
Anxiety and Stress Counselling in Hertfordshire will enable you to understand the roots of your overwhelm and procrastination that will allow you to become the best version of yourself. When we are not authentic to ourselves, we may suffer from depression, low self-worth, and lack of intimacy in our relationships. Others won’t be able to get to know who you really are if you are censoring and showing up as anyone other than you, with all your unique thoughts, beliefs and emotional desires.
These are some of the signs that you aren’t being true to yourself:
- You second guess your true feelings and the feelings of others
- You fear being judged by others if you were to trust your own feelings
- You say what you think the other person wants to hear for fear of being rejected or abandoned. Focusing on the other person’s needs versus your own
- You hide your light underneath a bushel for fear of judgement or criticism
- Distrust of others
- Procrastination and perfectionism
The above examples are not exhaustive. Everyone is unique and symptoms of anxiety may vary according to your childhood upbringing, personality type and current living/working environment.
As an experienced Anxiety and Stress Counsellor in Hertfordshire I can help you to identify the root causes of your anxiety and fear. Reframe distorted thinking patterns and shine a light on your true self.
Contact me now for an initial telephone consultation and start living an authentic life!
