Anxiety is a Bully: CBT Could Help

I have worked with manay people who experience Anxiety which can been caused or compunded by experiences of bullying or harrassment in the past. Anxiety it's self can talk to you like a bully which can compound symptoms and the impact.

Anxiety is sneaky.

It doesn’t walk into your life with a big clear name tag and a warning. It can catch you off guard or creep in quietly and build over time, chipping away at your enjoyment in life. Perhaps starting with a tense uneasy feeling, building in intensity to racing heart rate, difficulty concentrating, feeling hot and overwhelmed, Anxiety can thrive on uncertainty, doubt and isolation.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for Anxiety disorders. CBT can help you to understand the impact of previous bullying and feel you are able to move on past those experiences.

The Noise in Your Head Doubting and Criticising Everything:

I'm not good enough, you are weak, something bad is going to happen, you've said something wrong, you've made a mistake, everyone is judging you, you can't cope, you are a failure!

While this voice may be intending to protect you from failure, humiliation, fear or embarrassment, it can make you feel worse and impact you over time.

Here’s how CBT could help:

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of talking therapy which focuses on understanding your current difficulties in the context of past experiences. In CBT we look at the interactions between your thoughts, physcial sensations, emotions and behaviours. We look for themes and patterns, aiming to break down what's maintaining your current difficulties and to learn new skills to manage and respond differently.

You might find some of these exercises helpful:

To start understanding your self better and learn skills to respond differently to your thoughts you can start CBT by booking an online session here.