After suffering with anxiety for nearly 5 years, I never thought I would be able to live free from worry and panic. However, after starting Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions with Anna, my life and holistic well-being has significantly changed for the better.
As I am currently pursuing a career in Social Work, the demands of my Masters Degree and the profession I am entering really pushed me to seek help. To be able to help others and their holistic well-being, I wanted to ensure that I would be well and emotionally resilient to cope with the profession.
Leaving the house and visiting new places or environments, especially ones that were crowded and busy, used to be a challenge for me and filled me with dread. I would try and avoid going out of my comfort zone and would struggle to overcome anything outside of my normal realms. Instead of having fun, visiting new and exciting places would be a stressful experience, tarred with negative memories of anxiety. I also suffer with IBS which heightened my anxiety and made me panic when leaving the safety and comfort of my home. I always felt like a “hamster on a wheel” with regards to my university work in that I could not take time out because I would be wasting time which should be spent on educational work. Every day was filled with worry, panic, stress and I was living my life feeling very tense and negative.
However, with Anna’s help my thought patterns have changed and I now feel a lot more comfortable when out of my comfort zone. I am so grateful for Anna’s help and guidance. She is patient, empowering and motivating; qualities which have really helped me on my journey. I look forward to the CBT sessions with Anna and the tools provided during the sessions are tailored to me which I find fun and engaging, all of which have provided me with a toolbox of coping mechanisms to overcome my anxiety. I leave the sessions feeling motivated, determined but most of all relaxed. Anna’s calm and friendly approach puts me at ease and using elements of Mindfulness within the sessions really help me to take a step back and release any tensions I have.
I am 21 years old and am so glad I sought help when I did; I suffered long enough and did not want my anxiety to continue to rule my life forever. My outlook has now changed dramatically, and I now feel I can lead a fun life of a 21-year old. I can go shopping in busy places without having a panic attack and I have now started a dance class; something I used to take part in when I was younger but stopped due to my anxiety. I feel a lot more in control now and I look forward to visiting new places; something I used to dread. I feel so much more relaxed, especially with regards to university work and take time out for me which I do not feel guilty about. I am less stressed which enables me to complete my educational work to a better standard; I no longer feel like that hamster on the wheel and taking breaks mean I can achieve more. I am so proud of how far I have come in such a short space of time. I have already achieved so much which I never thought would be possible. Thank you Anna.