ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety can affect thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, behaviour, sleep, relationships and confidence. It also activates the body’s stress response, including the autonomic nervous system and stress hormone systems, which can contribute to physical symptoms such as a racing heart, muscle tension, sweating, shaking, nausea and changes in breathing.
This hub brings together psychology services and educational articles about generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, health anxiety, grounding and mindful breathing.
Anxiety disorders involve more than feeling stressed or worried from time to time. They can influence how people think, feel, respond physically and behave, and may interfere with work, study, relationships, sleep and everyday activities.
While anxiety is a normal human response to perceived threat, anxiety disorders involve patterns of fear, worry or avoidance that become persistent, distressing or difficult to manage.
This hub provides a clear pathway to service pages for people seeking psychological support and educational articles for people wanting to understand anxiety-related experiences and practical strategies.
These service pages explain psychological support for specific anxiety-related difficulties. Each page has a distinct service focus so that it complements, rather than competes with, this broader hub page.
Learn about psychological support for anxiety, including assessment, formulation and evidence-based strategies tailored to individual needs.
Explore psychology support for persistent worry, tension, overthinking and the day-to-day effects of generalised anxiety.
Learn about psychological support for fear of judgement, avoidance and distress in social or performance situations.
Explore psychology support for intrusive thoughts, compulsions, reassurance seeking and patterns that can maintain OCD.
Learn about psychological support for intense fear and avoidance associated with specific situations, objects or experiences.
These educational articles answer specific questions about anxiety-related experiences and practical psychological strategies. They support the service pages without duplicating their treatment-focused purpose.
Learn how generalised anxiety may affect thoughts, physical sensations, sleep, behaviour and daily functioning.
Explore common experiences of social anxiety, including self-consciousness, fear of judgement and avoidance.
Learn about intrusive thoughts, compulsions, doubt, distress and the lived experience of OCD.
Try four simple grounding exercises that may help orient attention to the present moment and support regulation of the body’s stress response during periods of anxiety.
Follow a brief mindful breathing exercise that may help regulate the body’s stress response, support present-moment awareness and encourage steadier breathing during periods of anxiety.
Psychological support is not based only on a diagnostic label.
Assessment and formulation help clarify the difficulties a person is experiencing, factors that may be contributing to or maintaining them, their strengths, circumstances, preferences and goals.
Support may include psychoeducation, gradual behaviour change, exposure-based strategies, work with worry and avoidance, mindfulness or acceptance-based skills, and practical approaches to improving day-to-day functioning.
Psychological support may also include learning skills to understand and respond to the body’s stress response, helping people reduce avoidance, increase flexibility and develop more effective ways of managing anxiety.
This Anxiety Disorders hub provides an overview and helps you navigate the anxiety-related resources on this website.
Psychology service pages explain support for particular anxiety presentations and are intended for people considering psychological care.
Educational articles provide general information about symptoms, patterns and practical psychological strategies.
You can begin with the resource that most closely matches your current concern and move between related pages as needed.
Anxiety can overlap with trauma responses, sleep difficulties and emotional regulation. These related hubs provide separate pathways without duplicating the purpose of the Anxiety Disorders hub.
Explore psychological support and educational resources related to trauma, PTSD, complex PTSD and recovery after difficult experiences.
Explore psychology services and educational information related to insomnia, sleep difficulties and factors affecting healthy sleep.
Explore resources about managing strong emotions, distress, behaviour patterns and practical strategies for change.
Common questions about anxiety disorders and accessing psychological support.
This page brings together psychology services and educational articles so you can find anxiety-related information in one place and choose the resource most relevant to your needs.
No. Many people seek psychological support because worry, fear, panic, avoidance, intrusive thoughts or physical anxiety symptoms are affecting their wellbeing or daily functioning.
This hub organises the broader anxiety cluster. Individual service pages provide more specific information about psychological support for particular anxiety presentations.
Yes. Anxiety activates the body’s stress response, including the autonomic nervous system and stress hormone systems. This may contribute to symptoms such as a racing heart, muscle tension, sweating, shaking, nausea, dizziness or changes in breathing. These symptoms are real, even when they are not caused by an underlying physical illness.
No. Grounding and breathing exercises may be useful supportive strategies, but they do not replace individual psychological assessment or treatment when anxiety is persistent, severe or significantly affecting daily life.
Yes. Therapy is available in person at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast or via secure telehealth anywhere in Australia.
Psychology appointments are available for adolescents and adults in person at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast and via secure telehealth across Australia.
For current availability, appointment types and funding information, visit the Appointment Availability page, or book online when you are ready.
This practice is not a crisis service.
If you require immediate assistance, call 000. For crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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