What is Anxiety?

Worry, stress, doubt, nerves, wobbles, unease, dread, twitchiness, nausea, disquiet, apprehension, concern, misgivings, woe, fear, angst, panic, foreboding, trepidation, butterflies, phobia, dismay, terror, alarm… 

I have no doubt that we are all very aware of all of the above feelings - it may be we’ve felt them personally or it may be that we’ve seen them in others; it may be that we feel them all of the time, once in a while or never

But what exactly is ‘anxiety’…

The New Penguin English Dictionary defines anxiety as “uneasiness of mind because of impending trouble or danger” so we could therefore say anxiety is an anticipation and fear of the unknown, there to protect us, to keep us on high alert for any unknown threat or danger

Ultimately it is difficult to pinpoint because it is so individual - we are all gloriously unique so how and to what extent we experience our emotions is also gloriously unique

For you it might be a persistent worry, for a friend it might be utter dread, for your child it might be a sore tummy or not sleeping

What we do know is that anxiety is normal, that we all experience it and that it is natural for it to go up and down

However it manifests, the amount of uncertainty we can individually manage varies from person to person and sometimes we need a helping hand in learning how to recognise and manage our feelings - this is where the STILL Method comes in

If we can learn to understand what it is we are feeling, we can then acknowledge it…           

  • If we can acknowledge it, we can then learn how to best deal with it

  • If we can deal with it, we will become more resilient

  • If we can be resilient, we will become more confident

  • If we can be confident, we will have greater self-esteem

Some common signs of anxiety clients have come to me with include:

  • Lack of concentration, struggling to focus, fidgeting

  • Shyness or separation problems, worries about sleepovers or residential

  • Tummy aches, gut issues (constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, IBS)

  • Sleep problems

  • Lack of confidence and self-belief

  • Pushing people away, isolating, friendship issues

  • Feeling constantly tense, being on permanent ‘high alert’

  • Nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling

  • Struggling with authority, fear of being reprimanded

  • Fear of failure, feeling not ‘good enough’

  • Feeling unable to say ‘no’

  • Scared of heights

I provide easy-to-use tools and techniques to help overcome (and not just manage) anxiety so you can reach your full potential - grow in confidence, control emotions, overcome fears, build happiness, increase resilience, improve self-esteem