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Anxiety and OCD

Anxiety disorders can occur at any time in a person's life but usually starts in childhood. As an OCD and anxiety related disorders specialist, my aim is to assist the sufferer, increasing motivation towards health and well-being.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety can range from an intense feeling of unease to debilitating panic attacks. Small amounts of anxiety are perfectly normal and can act not only as an energy source but also as a powerful and internal communication tool to raise awareness.

However, sometimes anxiety actually can interfere with people's ability to live a normal life. In fact this counts for one in ten people living in the U.K.

When is anxiety considered not normal?

When it is prolonged or severe.
When it happens in the absence of a stressful event.
When it is interfering with your everyday activities.
When you feel it is ruining your life.

What are the symptoms and side effects of anxiety?

Physical symptoms can include...

Blushing.
Sweating.
Nausea.
Diarrhea.
Dry mouth.
Difficulty in concentrating.
Tremors.

Intense fear of social or performance situations for example...

Fear of speaking in public.
Fear of meeting new people.
Fear of speaking to strangers.
Fear of writing in public.
Fear of eating in public.
Using public bathrooms.
Being the center of attention.
Expressing opinions.
Making eye contact.

More extreme symptoms of anxiety can include...

Panic attacks.
Agoraphobia.
Insomnia.
Persistent negative memories that won't go away.
Obsessive thoughts or compulsive rituals.

OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The last one leads us onto the most pronounced of anxiety disorders: OCD. It affects more than 1.5 million people living in the UK.

What is OCD?

OCD is a two-part disorder, consisting of an obsession (a repetitive thought or thoughts) and a compulsion (behaviour also known as rituals). The obsessive compulsive can achieve relief through ritual behaviour but no pleasure.

It can be an extremely emotionally painful condition, whereby the obsessive individual is driven by negative thoughts that are uncontrollable, involuntary and exhausting.

Intense panic and anxiety can arise when the person tries to stop whatever ritual they engage in.

Most common OCD disorders:

Symmetry.
Repeating.
Hoarding and Collecting.
Counting.
Ordering Obsessions.
Contamination Obsessions.
Religious Obsessions.
Aggressive Obsessions.
Sexual Obsessions.
Cleaning and washing.
Touching.
Checking.

Therapy for anxiety and OCD

As a specialist in OCD and anxiety related disorders, I use an effective treatment program for Anxiety Disorders.

As a specialist in anxiety related disorders, I use an integrative approach to therapy, involving hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and some cognitive behavioural techniques, which helps belief modification, behaviour modification, stress, self-confidence and self-image. This involves re-labeling and re-valuing the thoughts and feelings of an anxiety sufferer, promoting a healthier life.