By Muneeza Khimji, CBT and EMDR expert

Anxiety is the fear of a particular outcome and the feeling that you will be unable to cope with this outcome. It is a symptom that we all experience at some point in our lives and, when it becomes overwhelming, it can be crippling and limit all your activities.

When anxiety takes over, the fear is at its highest and, at this point, the brain shuts down as a protective mechanism and thus it is harder to think clearly. The inescapable nature of anxiety means that it is constantly present and can often leave you feeling like you are unable to enjoy anything in your life.

Anxiety does not have to rule your life and often talking about your fears can help. The key is to have a variety of tools you can draw on while you identify the causes. While therapeutic support is important, the reality is that you are still living with your symptoms and, having a variety of resources you can access, can help you manage your world on a daily basis.

Looking at certain thought patterns and beliefs of the world you associate with can help you shift perspective and in turn loosen or remove the fear. So if you suffer from anxiety, regardless of its severity, creating a resource list that is readily available can help you cope between your therapy sessions.

  1. Some suggestions include:
    Grounding
  2. Practising acceptance
  3. Having a non-judgemental attitude towards self
  4. Anchoring to sounds or smells like music

Muneeza is an integrative therapist who uses methodologies such as CBT and EMDR. She works with a variety of areas such as stress, depression and trauma and has been practising for 18 years. She is also an author of two books, both of which are available on Amazon.

Muneeza

Muneeza Khimji
Psychotherapist & Psychologist
CBT & EMDR Therapist
MBPsS MBACP(reg) Member of EMDR Kenya Trust