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Struggling With Anxiety?

We all experience times of anxiety. When this is brief and in proportion to the situation, it’s usually not a problem. However, it can be a challenge when it persists, causes distress or makes daily life harder. Healthy Mind Clinic in Sydney specialises in treating problematic anxiety. If you have difficulties with anxiety, we can teach you the skills you need to improve how you feel.

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What is anxiety

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a part of a survival response that humans have developed to stay safe when under threat. It’s driven by the release of adrenaline, which causes helpful bodily changes to motivate us to escape from danger or avoid situations that we think could be dangerous. These bodily changes include muscles tensing in preparation for use, faster heart rate to push blood to the limbs where it’s needed and attention focusing on the threat and the path of escape. (Click here for more information on the bodily changes that come with anxiety).

You may have heard this described as the fight-flight-freeze response. We feel a strong urge to avoid or escape danger during this response. It helped our ancestors survive when they lived amongst predators. When anxiety occurs like this at the right time, it’s typically not a problem (for example, if an out-of-control truck is coming towards you). In fact, some anxiety can be helpful to motivate good performance and problem-solving. An example of this might be having a job interview. It helps to have some anxiety in order to prepare and perform well.
So when does anxiety become a problem? Anxiety can be unhelpful if it continues when there is no real threat if it’s so intense that it interferes with performing well or it causes you to feel distressed, causes persistent sleep disruption or makes daily life harder. Anxiety at this level may suggest the presence of an anxiety disorder.


Almost 30% of Australians experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. You’re not alone.

Symptoms

Anxiety is made up of responses in our body (physical), behaviours and thoughts. These can include:

Thoughts

  • Anxiety-provoking thoughts that you wouldn’t usually believe or that you think most people wouldn’t usually think
  • Catastrophic thoughts, such as:
    • It will be a disaster
    • I can’t cope
    • They’ll think I’m incompetent
    • I’ll panic and have a breakdown
  • Excessive worry that is hard to stop
  • Excessive thoughts of dread

Bodily and Emotional

  • Muscle tension
  • Restlessness
  • Faster breathing rate and heart rate
  • Butterflies or stomach discomfort
  • Dry mouth
  • Sweating and feeling hot
  • Feeling nervous and on edge
  • Disrupted sleep and concentration

Behaviour

  • Withdrawing from people
  • Avoiding situations due to feeling anxious
  • Staying home more or staying in bed
  • Relying more on alcohol or substances to cope
  • Having difficulty keeping up with usual daily activities at home or work

Types of Anxiety

Anxiety is made up of responses in our body (physical), behaviours and thoughts. These can include:

Social anxiety

concern about being judged negatively by others in social situations.

Generalised anxiety

excessive worry that is hard to control.

Health anxiety

concern about having or developing a serious health condition.

Panic

concern about having a panic attack, losing control, having a heart attack or going crazy.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

intrusive, repetitive concerns that prompt people to use particular neutralising behaviours (often repetitive).

Specific phobia

anxiety about specific objects or situations (such as animals, needles and injections, heights, enclosed spaces among others).

Causes of Anxiety

Anxiety researchers have identified several factors that influence whether someone will develop an anxiety disorder. One influence is genetics. We find that people are more likely to have an anxiety disorder if an immediate family member has one. Another influence is a person’s temperament, which can guide how someone responds to life stress and to times of feeling anxious. Finally, a person’s life experiences also play a role. These can include experiences early in life, such as what they observed and learned from family members, right up to current experiences like work stress, life stress and significant societal events like the changes brought by the COVID19 pandemic and the Sydney lockdown. The important thing to know is that it’s not necessary to identify the causes of an anxiety disorder for it to be helpfully treated. Our clinical psychologists in Sydney have specialist expertise in treating a range of anxiety disorders to help you feel better from anxiety.

what we provide

What We Provide

We specialise in delivering evidence-based clinical psychological services. We use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and associated approaches.

Qualifications & Experience

Our clinicians hold doctoral qualifications in clinical psychology, are fully endorsed by AHPRA to practice as clinical psychologists and have over 15 years experience in both private practice and in major hospital specialty treatment units.

Flexibility

We offer appointments in person, by video call and by phone.

Treatment supported by science

We use interventions that have been shown as helpful in scientific research to help with anxiety, mood problems and other emotional difficulties.

faq

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety

How common are anxiety disorders?

Anxiety disorders are very common. 1 in 3 Australians experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime and nearly 1 in 5 people in any given year, according to recent statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Troubling anxiety is likely more common than that as we know that high anxiety can be troubling even when it’s not an anxiety disorder.

How does treatment for anxiety disorders work?

The gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This teaches people to master their anxiety by learning skills to handle the thinking and behaviours that unintentionally keep anxiety going. It’s a lot like working with a personal trainer at the gym -  you meet your therapist regularly (either in person, online or by phone) to learn the skills to master your anxiety, then apply those skills between meetings. Research shows that the most benefit from treatment comes from applying the skills between meetings. Our Sydney psychologists can also combine this with online treatment tools and programs to give you the most value from treatment.

How long does treatment take?

This varies between people. A lot of helpful work can be completed within approximately 10 to15 sessions, though it may be longer or shorter in some cases. We’ve found that people start to see the benefit during treatment.

Will treatment completely get rid of my anxiety?

Treatment can substantially reduce how troubling anxiety is for most people. Because anxiety has a survival function (for example, it helps us get away from actual danger), we still need it sometimes. Successful treatment teaches people to master their anxiety. This means it becomes more limited to the times that it’s useful, becomes more manageable and interferes much less in daily life.

What’s the difference between normal anxiety and an anxiety disorder?

It’s normal to feel anxious at times. The non-troubling type of anxiety typically happens occasionally, is short-lived and enables us to handle challenges. For example, feeling some nerves about an upcoming job interview alerts us to the need to prepare so we can perform well. In anxiety disorders, the anxiety is more intense, longer lasting, more troubling, causes distress and interferes with daily activities.

Healthy Mind Clinic @ 2025. All rights reserved.

(02) 9119 8778 Book Appointment

Healthy Mind Clinic @ 2025. All rights reserved.