Worries, fears and anxieties can affect us all differently. People who experience anxiety problems often want to know why anxiety why me?
Research tells us that there are 3 main factors that anxiety related problems can be linked to;
• Environment, level of life stress and available support.
• Personality type and childhood experience (learning).
• Psychological coping style.
‘My job is really stressful, I’m sure that makes my anxiety worse’
This describes the world you live in. Some environments contribute to an anxiety problem.
For example, our environments can be continually stressful such as caring for a sick relative. “Alternatively they may be temporarily stressful such as covering for a colleague at work, but there are ways to cope with workplace stress”
Stressful environments can be positive or negative events. Other examples are things like weddings and house moves which can certainly be every bit as stressful as an illness or injury.
Importantly, remember that anxiety is cumulative. You only need a few stressful events back to back and you can really start to fill up your anxiety bucket quite quickly. Social support can be a protective factor in making stressful environments easier to cope with.
Above all, our vulnerability to anxiety decreases with the amount of time that others give to support us. This makes talking to people around us in times of stress, particularly important.
‘I always imagine the worst-case scenario’
Those who seem more vulnerable to anxiety and worry problems often cope with life problems by expecting the worst.
Consequently, some people feel that this strategy will help them deal with problems because they have prepared for the worst therefore anything else will be a better outcome.
This coping style is known as ‘catastrophizing.’
Walking around catastrophizing means that you become somebody who assumes the world is a negative place and this may lead to feeling that life is a constant struggle.
‘I’m from a family of worriers’
A result, research has shown that anxiety can run in families. For example, a mother who in her earlier life had been bitten by a dog, may now be afraid of dogs.
As a result, every time she is out with her child she may caution her child to avoid parks where there may be ‘dangerous’ dogs. Furthermore, she may go on to tell her child that dogs ‘will’ bite and should be avoided at all costs.
However, the good news is that these fears can be overcome. Despite being in a family for generations help is out there.
In short, think of it as growing up in a Spanish-speaking family and only being able to speak Spanish. You would always be able to learn to speak English, just as you can learn to undo a fear response.
Known as the best psychologist around, Wendy’s an obvious choice to be featured on the show’
Cheshire Housewives
As an ex-athlete I’ve always advocated the benefits of keeping in shape physically, but it’s just as important to look after your mental wellbeing. Book a session with Wendy, she’s the person to help you look after your brain just as you would your body.
Graham Bell
5 x Olympic Skier and presenter of BBC Ski Sunday.
Amazing!
Rachel Lugo
Cheshire Housewives
Dare to dream big and Wendy’s THE person to help get you there.
Sam Bailey
X Factor winner with a long list of sell out tour successes under her belt.
The most exciting thing in the world is getting a chance to tear it all up and start again. Keep all the things you want and throw out everything you don’t. Wendy will help you do just that!
Becky Sheeran
Beauty, lifestyle and fashion blogging sensation Becky Sheeran (TalkBeckyTalk)
It’s great to have a leading psychotherapist such as Wendy in the Cheshire area, outside of her Harley Street practice. After publicly raising awareness of mental health issues and myself recovering from depression, I know how immensely life-changing expert intervention can be.
Jason Jarrett
Retired ex-professional football who played for Bury, Wigan, Stoke, Preston, Norwich, Leicester and Brighton during a 14 year career. After leaving professional football, Jason battled depression and recovered with the help of therapy and family support.
Wendy is great at what she does; she made me feel at ease immediately and really helped me work through some issues.
Tara Costello
It’s funny but from the minute I met her I felt so relaxed and she was so easy to talk to. Thank you!
Stevie Brown
Wendy isn’t only really good at what she does, she’s also really easy to talk to.
Gabriel Wilson
I want to thank you Wendy from the bottom of my heart for guiding me through what must have been the most difficult time of my life.
Raza Syed
I was told she was the best and they were right.
Noelle Dray
Although I consider myself a confident person, I was really nervous when I met Wendy for the first time. I had only emailed her before so it was really nerve wracking walking up the stairs to her office. I can honestly say it’s one of the best things I have ever done. Wendy is really normal, no in fact she isn’t normal as she is unfailingly bright and smiley even when she has to listen to me moan on about how awful my life was. It feels like having a chat with somebody who just gets you and you can trust with things you have never trusted anybody else with before. The magic bit comes when things you have talked about just pop up into your head and you start to do things differently. Wendy once joked about not having a magic wand, but I think she has.
Paul Hendry
I came to Wendy with a set of problems I have never been able to fully explain to anyone, which included grief, many family issues and alcohol problems. Wendy truly has an active listening style and absorbs everything you are saying, whilst not making you feel analysed, it is an incredible skill. She astounded me at how she got to the crux of the issues so fast. So much so that we both agreed I only needed one session with her, obviously this may not be the case with everyone but I would confidently recommend her to anyone, regardless of your problems. There was no awkwardness or even clock watching, she is wonderful at what she does, take the plunge and make an appointment, you will not regret it. Life is a direction not a destination and she will get you on the path again.
JB
