SERVICE
anxiety disorders
Anxiety is a natural response to stress, fear, or uncertainty. It’s that feeling of nervousness or unease we get when facing an important decision, meeting a deadline, or encountering an unfamiliar situation.
What is Anxiety?
Our body’s Fight-or-Flight response system, which is responsible for this anxiety feeling, is an incredible system designed to keep us safe from perceived threats. Without having to think about it, our bodies will gear us up to fight or run from danger. However, because anxiety doesn’t feel comfortable, it is often misinterpreted as a bad thing, but the fact is, without it, we just wouldn’t survive. Think of anxiety like a misunderstood friend who has your best intentions at heart.
While everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, anxiety disorders occur when the level of anxiety goes from helpful to unhelpful; when it becomes overwhelming, persistent and starts to interfere with your daily life.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety manifests in various ways, with unique patterns of thoughts, perceived “threats”, physical symptoms, and behaviour patterns. Common anxiety disorders include:
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Characterized by excessive worry about “anything and everything”, such as health, work, or relationships, often without a clear cause. You may feel like you can’t turn your worrying mind “off”.
• Panic Disorder: Recurrent, sudden and intense episodes of fear or terror known as panic attacks, often without warning. You fear these panic attacks occurring again.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: Intense fear of social interactions or being judged, leading to avoidance of social situations.
• Phobias: Extreme fear of specific objects or situations, such as flying, heights, or animals.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Persistent, unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) followed by repetitive behaviours (compulsions) aimed at reducing the anxiety caused by the obsession.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Severe anxiety triggered by a traumatic event, leading to flashbacks, nightmares, mood disturbance, avoidance behaviours and heightened stress.
What Causes It?
Anxiety disorders can develop from a combination of factors:
• Genetics: A family history of anxiety or other mental health conditions.
• Brain Chemistry: There are suggestions that certain neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin may be involved. However, there is insufficient evidence for the commonly held belief that a “chemical imbalance” causes anxiety disorders, and this theory oversimplifies the complex nature of why anxiety disorders develop.
• Environmental Stress: Events such as trauma, major life changes, or prolonged stress can trigger anxiety.
• Medical Factors: Conditions like thyroid disorders or heart problems can exacerbate anxiety symptoms.
What Helps Reduce Anxiety?
A holistic approach is best when managing anxiety. Strategies that may help include:
• Psychological Therapy: Various psychological therapies have been shown to effectively reduce anxiety. One such therapy is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which helps identify and modify negative thought patterns, and improve tolerance to uncertainty and distress.
• Medication: Various medications can help reduce the physiological symptoms of anxiety. This may be helpful in cases of very heightened anxiety, where it has reached a point where daily functioning is significantly impaired. Medication alone is not as effective as also engaging in psychological therapy, as therapy helps someone learn new skills to break the old thinking and behavioural patterns, which are maintaining the anxiety. Medication options may include:
Antidepressants: These are often prescribed long-term to regulate mood and reduce anxiety.
Benzodiazepines: These medications provide short-term relief for acute anxiety, though they are used with caution due to dependency risks.
Beta Blockers: Primarily used for heart conditions, beta blockers can reduce physical symptoms like trembling or rapid heartbeat, particularly in performance-related anxiety.
• Lifestyle Changes: Regular physical activity, sufficient sleep, and a balanced diet can help regulate anxiety levels. Being overworked for long periods of time, with little rest, results in chronic stress and can lead to burnout. Creating work-life balance is essential in helping reduce anxiety long-term.
• Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Practices like mindful breathing, stretching, and meditation can calm the mind and reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety.
• Support Networks: Reaching out to friends, family, or support groups can ease feelings of isolation and help you cope.
Did You Know? (Further facts about anxiety):
• It’s more common than you think. According to studies, around 1 in 5 people will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life.
• Anxiety makes us perform better! In moderation, it acts as a protective mechanism, keeping us alert and focused during critical tasks.
• People often mistake anxiety-related body sensations as something far worse! Anxiety symptoms like chest pain or dizziness are often feared to be more severe conditions like heart disease. It’s a relief when you’re told by the hospital’s emergency department doctors that you are just having a panic attack and not a heart attack! Phew!
• It affects everyone differently. While some people may have panic attacks, others may experience constant, low-level worry.
• Anxiety disorders are highly treatable. With the right combination of therapy and lifestyle adjustments, many individuals recover and lead fulfilling lives.
If you’re feeling anxious or have questions about managing anxiety, we’re here to help. Take that next step towards healing, and let’s work together to develop the tools you need to thrive.
Helpful apps
Smiling Mind
Headspace
e-couch
ACT Companion
Journal articles
What’s the Next Step?
• See your GP to talk about your concerns and rule out any potential underlying medical conditions that may be contributing to your symptoms. If you are eligible, your GP can write you a Mental Health Care Plan and referral letter to help link you in with a psychologist and give you access to ten Medicare rebates per calendar year.
• Book in with a psychologist to learn about anxiety and work together to help you better manage and reduce it.
• Stay connected. Connect with a trusted loved one to talk about how you feel. Sometimes our well-meaning friends and family need to be reminded that they don’t need to “fix it” - we just need them to listen and be there for support.
our team
you’re in good hands
Our team of psychologists are highly trained and qualified to support you on your well-being journey. Each psychologist holds at least a master’s degree and is committed to ongoing professional development, ensuring the highest standard of care. Beyond their professional skills, they are genuinely wonderful individuals who love what they do, creating a warm and welcoming environment for all.
Laura Scherman
Principal Clinical Psychologist
-
BPsychSc (Hons), MPsych(Clin), MAPS
Founder and Director of Full Life Psychology, Laura leads a unified, skilled team of compassionate therapists dedicated to helping people live a meaningful and FULL LIFE.
In her own clinical work, Laura values building strong therapeutic relationships with her clients and creates a warm, nurturing, and respectful space where people feel safe to freely talk through the challenges they are facing and to learn ways to better navigate them. Laura wants her clients to feel seen and heard and to know that they matter. Evidence-based therapies Laura uses include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, and more recently, Eye Movement Desentisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. Laura works with clients aged 16 and up and has supported people from diverse backgrounds, such as working professionals, students, pastors and leaders, retirees, police officers, new parents, and more, always respecting their personal values and goals.
Areas of interest include:
Anxiety
Self-worth
Burnout
Adjustment issues
Resolving historical behaviour patterns
Women’s mental health
Health in leadership
Faith and psychology
Laura has experience presenting to groups of people in various educational and church settings. She lives on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and two children, and in her free time enjoys conversations with loved ones, creativity, traveling, and new experiences.
Carmen Fourie
Provisional Psychologist
-
ba-psych(hons), MPROFPSYCH
Carmen is a warm and caring Provisional Psychologist committed to supporting individuals of all ages in navigating mental health challenges. She is particularly passionate about working with young people, helping them find their way forward and teaching them practical skills to overcome difficulties. Her creative approach includes explaining complex concepts visually and interactively. She also finds great joy in facilitating group programs.
Over the past two years, Carmen has developed the MiiND Platform, a free interactive mental health resource for young people, and has been leading the Hot Chocolate Circle group therapy program for teenage girls. Through these initiatives, she has gained valuable insights and a deep understanding of the best evidence-based practices for guiding individuals on their mental health journey.
Her areas of interest include:
Anxiety disorders (e.g. Social Anxiety, Generalised Anxiety)
Stress
Depression
Building psychological resilience
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Managing interpersonal relationships (e.g. resolving friendship conflicts).
Faith and psychology
Diana Trim
Provisional Psychologist
-
BSc, bed, gdippsych, bpsychsc(hons), mpp, assoc maps
Diana brings a wealth of life and professional experience to her role as a Provisional Psychologist, having worked extensively in education, business and ministry. Her past leadership roles as a School Principal, business owner, team leader, manager, educator and pastor, have helped hone her unique set of skills, and enables her to connect well with a range of people of different ages and backgrounds.
Diana loves to help people better understand how their mind works and to work with it, not against it, so that they can better navigate whatever obstacles they are facing and to cultivate their best life. Diana creates a safe and supportive environment for people to be able to open up and more comfortably discuss their experiences and challenges.
Diana is integrative and collaborative in her approach, and uses evidence-based therapies, customised to the individual situation. She is able to provide services in English, Afrikaans and Dutch.
Her areas of interest include:
Anxiety and panic
Depression
Life transitions
Immigration challenges
Grief and loss
Workplace stress
Working in education
Psychological assessment
Faith and psychology
