Feeling anxious is a natural reaction you may have when faced with distressing or harmful situations. However, when this anxiety comes too frequently in the form of sustained and excessive worry that you cannot control, it may significantly hinder you from carrying out your daily activities. Recognising when your anxiety has become overwhelming can help you seek the support you need. Here is a guide to find the right support and therapy for anxiety, helping you manage your condition and face anxious times with a greater sense of calm.
Causes and Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety is actually an evolutionary “fight-or-flight” response to stress, danger, or uncertainty that we have, designed to stay alert and protected. It is usually temporary, and can be caused by various factors, such as:
- Stress from major life changes
- Pressure from work
- Relationship difficulties
- Unprocessed trauma or grief
- Toxic environments
- Imbalances in brain chemicals that affect the mood
While anxiety may be a helpful instinct, prolonged, uncontrollable anxiety may cause physical symptoms such as a fastened heartbeat, difficulty concentrating, shakiness, sweating, or difficulty eating and swallowing.
Mentally, anxiety can also feel like a sense of impending doom or helplessness which can make us feel tense, irritable, or impatient. You may space out or feel trapped when anxiety hinders you from carrying out your regular activities.
Types of Anxiety
Below are some of the commonly known types of anxiety that are usually addressed through counselling or therapy:
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
This type of anxiety is characterised by persistent and excessive worry, leading individuals to have an uneasy feeling about many things in their daily lives. Generalised anxiety disorder may cause individuals to overthink worst-case scenarios, even for the smallest things, finding it hard to relax or enjoy the present.
Social Anxiety
For individuals struggling with social anxiety, everyday interactions may cause them to feel overly self-conscious or tense. They may have an intense fear of being scrutinised or judged by others, which causes them to distance themselves from building meaningful relationships. In more severe cases, individuals with social anxiety may even fear using a public restroom, being seen in public, or having to perform in front of a crowd.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder is usually triggered by a traumatising or life-threatening event that results in significant anxiety and uncontrolled thoughts. This event may be the loss of a loved one, an accident, domestic violence, or other terrible events. While many people with PTSD can work through these experiences and cope with time, some may still live in a constant state of anxiety, experiencing intrusive memories, flashbacks, jumpiness, and emotional detachment.
Types of Support for Managing Anxiety
Anxiety may feel difficult to manage, but acknowledging your anxiety and how it impacts your behaviour is the first step to seek the treatments that can help you. Guided by a professional practitioner from a mental health service in Singapore, you can understand your emotions and process past traumas that may cause your anxiety, learning new skills to help you overcome them. Here are the different forms of counselling and therapy for anxiety.
Anxiety Counselling
If you are experiencing present challenges such as relationship problems, grief, or difficult life transitions, anxiety counselling is typically recommended to provide emotional support. It is relatively shorter compared to therapy, involving an initial assessment followed by regular sessions where you learn coping strategies and anxiety management skills. Your counsellor may also give nutritional guidance and lifestyle adjustment tips for a more holistic treatment.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
To address more complex and deeper cases of anxiety, various methods of therapy may be recommended. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most common approaches for anxiety. This therapy for anxiety focuses on identifying thought patterns that influence your emotions, helping individuals realise which of them are exaggerated and unrealistic. Your therapist will then guide you in finding ways to address unhelpful thoughts with cognitive restructuring and utilising positive self-statements.
Brainspotting Therapy
Brainspotting is another popular therapy for addressing anxiety, especially those related to trauma and PTSD. With this approach, individuals will be guided to locate, focus, process, and release their negative experiences which cause their anxiety, learning how to better regulate their emotions. Your therapist may also give a personalised follow-up plan to ensure that you reach your healing goals.
EMDR Therapy
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, or EMDR therapy, is a highly-structured approach that targets unprocessed traumatic memories that may manifest as anxiety and stress. Through specific memory reprocessing, individuals learn not to keep unconsciously returning to past events in search, breaking free of feeling “stuck”. This helps the memories that cause anxiety feel less intense, allowing you to manage your emotions more healthily.
Find the Right Support for You
Dealing with anxiety can be overwhelming, but you do not have to go through it alone. Realising that you need help is the first step toward healing, and a professional practitioner can help recommend a suitable approach for you.
Remember that there is no universal approach that works equally as effectively for everyone, which is why engaging with a professional practitioner is essential to get the most suitable recommendation for your needs. In addition to counselling and therapy for anxiety, having the support and comfort of your closest ones is also beneficial, encouraging you to move forward.
At New Leaf, our qualified practitioners are here to help you cope with anxiety. We provide anxiety counselling in Singapore with personalised treatment plans and exceptional care. Get in touch with us to book a counselling session today.
References
Adwas, A. A., Jbireal, J. M., & Azab, A. E. (2019). Anxiety: Insights into signs, symptoms, etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment. East African Scholars Journal of Medical Sciences, 2(10), 580-591.
Gupta, Diya & Varkey, Jobin & Torremocha, Virgel & Kethar, Jothsna. (2024). Contributing Factors to Anxiety Disorders: A Neural-Biological Perspective. Journal of Student Research. 13. 10.47611/jsrhs.v13i4.8030.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health. (2025) Generalized anxiety disorder: What you need to know. National Institute of Mental Health. Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
