Anxiety is the most common challenge people come to see me for.

It happens when your body’s natural defence system against a perceived threat is misread as another threat.

Think of it like this:

- A zebra running from a lion faces a threat to its life. Its body powers up like a turbo engine — heart racing, leg muscles primed, lungs full of oxygen — and as soon as it has outrun the threat, the zebra's engine switches off. Fear stops.

- Humans, experience perceived threats all the time: failing an exam, losing a job, or looking foolish in front of others. The exam itself isn’t life-threatening, but your body reacts as if survival depends on it: legs strengthen, heart races, chest tightens, stomach knots.

Unlike the zebra, whose fear matches the action needed, our bodies prepare us to sprint at full speed for a short distance — even though the perceived threat, like taking an exam, rarely requires it.

That strength, unused, is felt by a facet of our mind as weakness. So it ramps the system up even further.

Then we also notice our body’s sensations — “Why is my chest pounding? Why do my legs feel funny?” — and become afraid of those too.

So now there are two perceived threats:

- The original challenge (exam, job, social situation).

- The body’s own reactions to that challenge.

The mind interprets both as danger, intensifying the nervous system response even more. Racing heart, tight chest, butterflies, hyperventilation — all meant to give strength — now feed anxiety.

And to add insult to injury, human fear and anxiety can persist long after the ‘lion’ has disappeared. Our turbo engine doesn’t automatically switch off. Unlike any other living species, we can remain in "overdrive" because our primitive mind (where survival is the prime directive) and our more advanced mind (capable of logic and reasoning) aren’t synced. 

Finally, as an extra twist of irony, the human mind has a tendency to let each perceived threat pile onto the last in its memory — a memory that is called upon unconsciously — feeding the next one and creating a relentless vicious cycle.

How anxiety works in the body

Anxiety happens in three main ways:

1. Strengthening the Body

When your mind perceives a threat, it strengthens your body for action: racing heart, tense muscles, quick reflexes. If there’s nowhere to use that strength, it feels like weakness. The irony? Your body is actually stronger, but because it’s not “running,” it’s misinterpreted as a problem.

2. Breathing & Oxygen

To fuel strength, your body increases oxygen intake. But with no physical action, you exhale more carbon dioxide than you need. This can make you feel like you’re not getting enough air — even though your oxygen levels are fine. The body’s survival system interprets this as danger, and the mind says, “Breathe more!” Hyperventilation feeds anxiety.

3. Racing Thoughts / Gathering Intelligence

Humans try to “solve” perceived threats with thinking. We gather information, analyze, and anticipate outcomes. Normally, this helps us plan, but during anxiety it spirals: racing thoughts, overthinking, “what if” loops. Then you become threatened by your own thoughts, which ramps up the nervous system even more.

Common Symptoms of Anxiety

- Racing heart or palpitations

- Tightness in chest or throat

- Butterflies or knots in the stomach

- Sweating or trembling

- Dizziness or feeling faint

- Digestive and bladder issues: nausea, diarrhoea, urinary incontinence

- Racing thoughts or “what if” spirals

- Feeling detached, out of control, or unable to concentrate

- Sleep and appetite changes

The Good News

Anxiety isn’t a life sentence.

It’s a small glitch in the system — like a car window that stops working. It may feel like the whole car is broken, but really, it’s just one small mechanism misfiring.

I offer a range of tools to reset this system painlessly and stop anxiety from running the show.

From hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) techniques to practical strategies, there are ways to stop the turbo engine and bring your body and mind back to a place of calm — a space where you can think clearly, focus deeply, make strategic decisions, and access solutions and deep learning that anxiety usually blocks.

Take the first step. With online sessions available, you can book with me immediately and start finding relief, gaining clarity, and feeling free.