Understanding Anxiety: A Comprehensive Guide to its Causes, Symptoms & How Therapy Can Help
Written on Jun 24th 2025
Everyone feels anxious at some point in their lives. For many, it’s only when they face something stressful, worrying or unfamiliar – an exam, a job interview, maybe even a wedding! This kind of anxiety is a normal, natural response to pressure and usually disappears once the event is over.
But for others, anxiety is a constant, overwhelming feeling that’s difficult to control and hard to explain. It might start for no clear reason, linger long after a stressful situation has ended or even interfere with day-to-day life. When this happens, you may be dealing with an anxiety disorder.
The good news is that anxiety disorders are very treatable mental health conditions and much more common than you might think. That’s why it’s important to know precisely what anxiety is, its causes and symptoms, and how therapy can help you regain control and live a normal life.
How Therapy Can Help with Anxiety
When to Seek Support for Anxiety
Our Approach to Treating Anxiety
Anxiety is a noticeable feeling of unease, worry or fear – you feel tense and on edge, fearful of the present and nervous about what might happen next.
You’ve probably experienced this feeling before – most people have! The good news is that anxiety a very common human sensation, especially just before or during a stressful event. Your nervous system kicks into action as it tries to help you, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These increase your heart rate to make you feel more alert and move faster. Of course, this would be very useful in the wild when running away from something life-threatening, but in our modern day-to-day life, this can often be more of a hindrance than a help.
There are a range of relaxation techniques and grounding strategies to help with regular bouts of anxiety, but it’s a very different story for those with an anxiety disorder. With normal anxiety, you might feel this way occasionally, but it won’t be too intense, it only comes up in response to a worrying situation and it will soon pass. For those with an anxiety disorder, this feeling is chronic; it’s much more intense, persists for a long period of time and can begin at any moment without the usual triggers. If you experience intense anxiety that isn’t even in response to what’s happening around you, that’s when you may be dealing with a mental health problem.
Anxiety disorders can be debilitating. Once they start to severely impact your daily routine and quality of life, it’s time to act.
Remember – you are not alone. Anxiety disorders are actually surprisingly common, with around 6% of the population diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and 8% having a mix of anxiety and depression. In fact, anxiety disorders are even more common amongst younger people; in 2021, 16-29 year olds were the most likely age group to have anxiety with 28% reportedly struggling, and it’s even more common in women with over 37% reporting high levels of anxiety.
Anxiety disorders don’t usually come out of nowhere. There are several warning signs to look out for in yourself and others. If you ever notice any of these symptoms, it’s time to start considering professional help:
It can be a worrying moment when you realise you have a problem with anxiety, but fortunately, even anxiety disorders are treatable with medication and/or therapy.
Anxiety doesn’t spring out of nowhere. If it becomes problematic, it’s very likely down to any number of these common causes of anxiety:
While the cause of your anxiety could be down to any one of these factors, it’s often a result of a combination of causes.
The most obvious anxiety symptom is a general feeling of anxiety – being nervous, tense or on edge. However, there’s more nuance to anxiety symptoms than just this. When you feel anxious, this anxiety is usually exhibited in three ways: physical, emotional and behavioral.
| Physical | Emotional | Behavioural |
|
|
|
Although you might just hear people say they “suffer from anxiety,” there are actually several types of anxiety disorder you might experience. When seeking therapy or other treatments for anxiety, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what type of anxiety disorder you might have to ensure you get the most effective treatment possible.
If you’re not sure what type of anxiety you’re dealing with or what sort of help you need, a qualified therapist can help you find the support you need. Feel free to contact our Therapy Services Manager to point you in the right direction.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a mental health condition that is precisely what it sounds like. Feelings of overwhelm, worry and fear are frequent and persistent occurrences, not only caused by stressful events but by everyday things. This causes normal worries to become even more intense and harder to manage, disrupting daily life at work and home.
GAD is characterised by the physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms that are typical in anxiety. These can include insomnia despite being very tired, feeling tense and on edge, overthinking, frequent fear and worry, headaches, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating and more.
Although thought to be caused by genetics, how your brain is wired and various life experiences, this type of anxiety can affect everyone – men and women, children and adults alike. However, it’s more likely to affect certain groups of people, including:
Fortunately, there’s a range of treatment for anxiety available. Treatment for Generalised Anxiety Disorder usually includes psychotherapy and/or medication, with a combination of the two often being the best approach. Psychotherapy typically includes talk therapies like CBT, while prescribed medication tend to be anti-depressants (SSRIs).
Formerly known as “social phobia,” social anxiety is more than just being shy. It’s a medical condition that sparks anxiety when in social situations or surrounded by other people, causing an extreme fear of how others will perceive and judge you. This includes meeting new people (whether in your work life, social life or romantic life), making phone calls, asking for help, and even eating in public or using a bathroom.
Social anxiety ranges in severity. For those who have mild anxiety, it only appears in certain social situations; but for those with more severe social anxiety, every social interaction triggers extreme anxiety symptoms. Nevertheless, this is a more common mental health problem than you might think, with 5-10% of people likely to have social anxiety. This makes it the third most common mental health condition in the world.
Typical symptoms include many of the same ones as anxiety in general, but social anxiety comes with a few more specific symptoms, such as:
While some theories suggest social anxiety could be a hereditary issue, there’s likely a range of factors that can cause it. Like GAD, it can affect anyone of any age or gender, although it’s more common in women and more likely to develop before the age of 20.
Many are able to live normal lives even with mild social anxiety if they are still able to participate in everyday social situations. However, if it disrupts daily life, interferes with activities you would otherwise enjoy, hinders opportunities, or gets to the point where you avoid all social situations, then treatment for anxiety is highly recommended. This can include therapy like CBT along with a prescription of SSRIs.
Those with a panic disorder experience regular and unexpected panic attacks. These are feelings of extreme fear and dread that come on suddenly and without warning, sometimes even without a trigger. Panic disorders are common for those with other anxiety conditions, but it’s worth noting the differences between panic attacks and anxiety attacks: while panic attacks are sudden and severe, anxiety attacks come on more gradually and with less intense symptoms.
Isolated or one-off panic attacks do not automatically indicate a panic disorder. In fact, they’re relatively common, with 11% of the US population having a panic attack each year. However, if someone has panic attacks frequently and without any triggers, then it’s most likely a panic disorder.
There are numerous physical symptoms of a panic attack that can be easy to spot, including:
Panic attacks can last anywhere from five to twenty minutes, with effects feeling most intense after around ten minutes. Frequent panic attacks with symptoms such as these can take a toll on your physical health and impact your quality of life.
Although we don’t precisely know how someone develops a panic disorder, it likely involves how your brain and nervous system function (specifically how the amygdala in your brain processes fear) as well as chemical imbalances in the brain. Nevertheless, you have an increased risk if there is a family history of panic or anxiety disorders or you experienced trauma in your childhood.
Like other mental health conditions associated with anxiety, a combination of psychotherapy and medication is often the best treatment. CBT is the most common psychotherapy, but exposure therapy to try and get over any triggers can also be helpful.
Sometimes known as hypochondrasis or hypochondria, health anxiety is an extreme and specific anxiety about your health and becoming ill, even if you don’t display any physical symptoms of illness. Those with health anxiety leap to conclusions based on a minor trigger in the body, such as a small twinge or ache. A common fear is a headache is the early sign of a brain tumour. This anxiety can reach such high levels that any subsequent physical symptom they might find may be a symptom of distress, rather than the illness they think they have.
Even though they might not have severe enough physical symptoms to be diagnosed with a serious illness, those with health anxiety may display typical physical symptoms of anxiety. On top of these, they might also show behavioural symptoms, such as:
Any form of anxiety can lead to hypochondria, although having a serious illness earlier in your life can make you more hyperaware and focus on things others might not. Health anxiety might also be more likely for those whose parents fussed about their health as a child.
Health anxiety isn’t just being cautious or worried about your health. It’s an obsession that can promote severe anxiety and impact relationships, work performance and daily life. Like other forms of anxiety, it is treatable with a combination of SSRI medication and CBT to help you reframe your thoughts.
Phobias are intense and overwhelming fears of objects, situations or experiences. They can be rational, appropriate fears, or irrational fears that pose no obvious harm or aren’t even present. Common phobias include fears of heights, plane journeys, spiders, needles, enclosed spaces, blood and certain animals. However, there are some phobias that are more complex, such as agoraphobia or social phobia (see above). Depending on the phobia, they can become so severe that they interfere with all aspects of your life, including work and relationships.
Life with a phobia might be mostly fine and without issue, but when triggered by a specific phobia, a range of symptoms can occur, including:
Most phobias develop in early life or childhood, formed during a particularly frightening experience – even if that original trigger is later forgotten. For some, phobias come as a learned behaviour from a parent or carer who had a similar extreme reaction to that same trigger. Regardless of how they develop, phobias are even more likely if you already have an existing anxiety disorder and are only fuelled by avoidance over time.
As a result, if you have a debilitating phobia that you face often and can’t control, it’s best to get it treated as soon as possible. Fortunately, phobias are very treatable, especially with CBT and medication. Additionally, therapists may use exposure therapy to gradually and safely help you face your phobia, as well as mindfulness and relaxation techniques to help manage physical symptoms that cause you to spiral.
OCD and PTSD are very different conditions (both of which will be covered in future blog posts), but they both involve anxiety.
OCD is all about obsessions and compulsions – intrusive, unwanted thoughts that spark anxiety (for example, a fear of germs or something going wrong) and repetitive behaviours they need to do to reduce anxiety (like handwashing, counting or checking). It can be exhausting dealing with so many obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions each day, often interfering with relationships and daily life.
PTSD develops after a traumatic event, such as an accident, assault or natural disaster. Those who suffer from PTSD re-experience their trauma through flashbacks and nightmares, triggering anxiety over places, situations, conversations or even certain people. As a result, they tend to be constantly alert, easily triggered and may even be emotionally numb.
Though the symptoms of OCD and PTSD are different, they can both cause intense anxiety that leads to:
Along with SSRIs and other anti-anxiety medication, CBT works well for treating both PTSD and OCD, especially when combined with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, or trauma-focused CBT for PTSD. Additionally, there are other therapies available for PTSD that we offer at Dr Jo Gee Psychotherapy, including EMDR and DBR.
When seeking help for anxiety in the UK, there are numerous therapies available for all types of anxiety. It’s worth noting that different people respond to different therapies, so what works for one person may not work for another. As a result, it’s important to be open and honest with your therapist or therapy services manager to ensure you get the best treatment possible.
At Dr Jo Gee Psychotherapy, our team has a focus on evidence-based therapies, including CBT, DBT and EMDR, along with other psychotherapy and counselling techniques like mindfulness-based approaches. There’s no immediate cure or fix to anxiety, but it’s highly likely that one of the following therapies will help you manage your anxiety, helping you lead a better life.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is often the most common therapy for anxiety and usually the first one people try. CBT teaches you to identify any negative thought patterns and behaviours, before developing skills to challenge and change them.
Ultimately,the aim is to create a space between a situation that would cause anxiety and your response. This gives you space and time to alter the way you think and respond, alleviating usual thoughts that would provoke anxiety. This helps you regain control over your thoughts and responses; you can choose to ignore negative thoughts and let them go, replacing them with more positive thoughts or those rooted in fact and reality.
CBT therapists ask questions to help you understand your thought processes so you can identify negative patterns and reframe them. This is done by challenging anxious thoughts with evidence and multiple angles. Therapists also encourage patients to start journalling to help them become more aware of their thoughts and feelings. They will also teach you relaxation techniques to stop anxiety taking over, such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and meditation.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy was designed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but it’s becoming more widely used for other mental health conditions, including ADHD and anxiety.
DBT is an evidence-based psychotherapy that’s similar to CBT but more focused on controlling the social and emotional side of your struggles, with mindfulness strategies to reduce anxiety. This is achieved by helping you manage symptoms, rather than challenging and restructuring thoughts. In fact, one study found DBT helped emotional regulation and mindfulness even more than CBT, making it a great alternative to anyone who didn’t find CBT helpful.
Unlike normal talking therapies like CBT, DBT teaches coping skills and strategies specifically designed to reduce symptoms of anxiety and any thoughts that exacerbate it.
We offer a full DBT course at Dr Jo Gee Psychotherapy, including both 1:1 sessions with an experienced DBT therapist and group skills classes. While these are available individually, recovery is far more effective when you take part in the whole course.
It’s important to note that group skills classes are not the same as group therapy, but rather more like an online classroom. You will not be expected to talk much or share anything if you don’t feel comfortable; you can be as quiet and private as you like.
We’re DBT specialists at Dr Jo Gee Psychotherapy and provide in-person and fully online courses. Spots can fill up fast, so if you’re interested in using DBT to treat your anxiety, contact us now.
Although CBT and CBT fall under this umbrella, psychotherapy and counselling in general with a combination of approaches might be more useful to some than specific therapies. While often less focused on managing symptoms, sessions that are less structured allow you to explore emotional difficulties, life experiences and thought patterns. This builds self-awareness and helps you identify and understand the underlying causes of your anxiety, whether it’s due to attachment, trauma or a learned behaviour.
These sessions tend to be more open-ended and long-term compared to more structure therapies like CBT. However, they come with a range of benefits unique to more general psychotherapy, such as understanding the root causes of your anxiety, as well as your thoughts and feelings. If you think your anxiety may have been caused by early life experiences, relationships or possibly even trauma, then these less structured therapies can help you better understand and control your anxiety.
While open-ended psychotherapy can still help trauma, EMDR is specifically designed to treat PTSD, making it particularly helpful for trauma-based anxiety, especially when it involves phobias and distressing memories.
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) works by a therapist guiding you as you recall traumatic memories while following their bilateral stimulation (usually side-to-side eye movements as they watch something moving in front of them. This process unlocks stuck memories and helps your brain to reprocess them in a more healthy way.
You don’t need to talk about your traumatic experiences in detail, so this is ideal for anyone who struggles to open up about the source of their anxiety. EMDR has been proved to be effective in reducing anxiety caused by a range of past experiences, even if they seem minor or unrelated to anxiety.
Mindfulness-Based approaches include practices like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). These practices use guided meditation, breathwork and body scans to make you focus on the present moment, observing your thoughts, emotions and physical responses without judgement.
Mindfulness strategies stop you from worrying and overthinking; once you become aware of anxious thoughts and can avoid getting caught up in them, you can reduce physical responses (like heart rate, tension and fast breathing) to calm the nervous system and stop anxiety from spiking.
Everyone feels anxious at times. It’s a normal part of life… But when it becomes frequent, intense and hard to control, it’s worth reaching out for help. In fact, the earlier you get support, the easier it is to manage and stop things getting worse.
There are several signs that anxiety requires professional help, including:
You don’t need to wait until your anxiety is “bad enough.” Even if it’s only starting to become a recurring issue, seeking help now can make it better and stop it from getting worse.
Anxiety for therapy has long waitlists on the NHS though, so if you want to address your anxiety sooner rather than later, it might be best to go to a private practice like us. Contact us today to book an appointment.
At Dr Jo Gee Psychotherapy, we don’t believe in a “one-size-fits-all therapy.” That’s why we have an experienced team with specialisms in a range of therapy styles, including CBT, DBT, EMDR and more. This means we can offer tailored, personalised support based specifically on your needs, no matter whether your anxiety is linked to trauma, perfectionism, low self-esteem or stress. All our therapists work collaboratively with each other too (so you don’t just get one experienced therapist – you get several helping you in the background too!).
Our therapists offer a calm, compassionate and non-judgemental space where they work with you to find and treat the root causes of your anxiety – not just your symptoms. We offer online and in-person appointments with flexible daytime and evening times, meaning you can get help wherever you are and whenever you need.
It only takes a few clicks to book an appointment. Before you know it you could be on the road to recovery! Ready to take the first step? Get in touch now to find an anxiety therapist!
There’s not always a single cause of anxiety. There’s usually a mix of several factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality traits like perfectionism and overthinking, trauma, stress, health issues, and lifestyle habits like lack of sleep or high caffeine intake.
You might know the trigger of your anxiety, but it’s okay if you don’t – for most people, it builds up gradually over time.
It’s okay if you feel anxious occasionally – it’s a very normal part of life. However, if your feelings of anxiety are persistent and extreme, then it’s an issue that should be treated. At this point, anxiety likely interferes with your daily life, along with physical symptoms that cause distress and a tendency to avoid opportunities out of worry.
These are all clear signs of an anxiety disorder. A therapist can assess your symptoms and give you the right support to regain control over your life.
Which therapy is best for anxiety depends on the type of anxiety you have, as well as your own individual needs and preferences. CBT is the most common therapy people first try as it’s effective in changing your thought patterns and behaviours that trigger anxiety.
Alternatively, DBT builds up emotional regulation and distress tolerance, while psychotherapy helps you uncover the root cause of your anxiety and EMDR helps anxiety linked to trauma or specific memories. Additionally, mindfulness-based approaches work well with all other therapies to teach you strategies that reduce stress and calm your nervous system to keep anxiety at bay.
Yes, mild anxiety can sometimes go away without treatment, provided you look after yourself, make a few lifestyle changes, get some rest and employ a few self-help techniques. However, if your anxiety is still persistent, intense and interferes with everyday life, then therapy will help you recover faster and more effectively.
If you’re having trouble with anxiety, it’s best to treat it straight away. If left untreated, anxiety can get even worse and lead to depression or burnout.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, then remember – you are not alone.
Anxiety is a very common mental health problem, but the good news is that it’s very treatable. Accepting you have a problem is the first step, and reaching out for therapy is an even more powerful step forward on the road to recovery.
Be gentle with yourself, and seek help if you need it. With the right therapy, you can regain control of your emotions and lead a happier, calmer life.
If you’re ready to take the next step, get in touch with our team today. We’re here to help you find the right support.