Anxiety affects more people in Ireland than almost any other mental health concern. According to Aware’s 2024 national survey, three in four Irish adults have experienced anxiety at some point, with nearly half of those affected saying they experience it frequently. If you’re reading this because worry, dread or unease has become a regular part of your life, you are not alone.
Recognising Anxiety in Your Own Life
Anxiety doesn’t always announce itself clearly. You might not even use the word “anxiety” to describe what you’re experiencing. Perhaps you’d call it stress, or nerves, or just feeling on edge. Maybe you’ve noticed that your mind races through worst-case scenarios, or that physical sensations like a tight chest, churning stomach or racing heart have become uncomfortably familiar.
Some people experience anxiety as a constant background hum, others encounter it in sudden, overwhelming waves that feel almost physical in their intensity. You might find yourself avoiding situations that trigger these feelings, or pushing through them with gritted teeth while internally it feels like you are falling apart.
One in five people experiencing anxiety say that most days it’s so severe they struggle to function. If that resonates with you, therapy can offer genuine relief.
How Anxiety Differs from Everyday Worry
Everyone worries sometimes. That’s entirely normal. The difference between ordinary worry and anxiety lies in proportion, persistence and impact.
With everyday worry, you identify a specific concern, think it through, perhaps take action, and then move on. The worry serves a purpose and then releases its grip. With anxiety, the worry often attaches itself to multiple concerns at once, or to concerns that feel vague and hard to pin down. It persists even when logic says there’s no real threat. It can interfere with sleep, concentration, relationships and overall enjoyment of life.
Generalised anxiety disorder affects approximately 7% of Irish adults, according to research from Maynooth University and Trinity College Dublin. But many more people experience significant anxiety without meeting formal diagnostic criteria. You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy.
What Happens in Therapy for Anxiety
Therapy provides a structured space to understand your anxiety, develop practical strategies for managing it, and address underlying patterns that may be keeping it in place.
Your therapist won’t simply tell you to “stop worrying” or think positively. They’ll work with you to understand how your particular anxiety operates: what triggers it, what thoughts accompany it, how it manifests in your body, and what you typically do in response. This understanding forms the foundation for meaningful change.
Different therapeutic approaches tackle anxiety from different angles. Some focus primarily on thoughts and behaviours. Others explore emotional patterns or early experiences that may have shaped your relationship with fear and safety. Many therapists integrate multiple approaches depending on what seems most helpful for you.
Accessing Support at Mind and Body Works
Mind and Body Works has therapists experienced in treating anxiety across all our locations. You can attend in person at our Dublin centres in Dundrum, Donnybrook or Wicklow Street, in our Galway centres on Dominick Street and Woodquay or access online therapy from anywhere.
Sessions are available from 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on Saturdays. All our therapists hold accreditation with recognised professional bodies including the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP), or the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI).
A low-cost counselling service is available for students, those on reduced incomes, and people working part-time.
Therapeutic Approaches That Help with Anxiety
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most extensively researched treatments for anxiety. Meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals consistently demonstrate its effectiveness across various anxiety presentations. CBT examines the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, helping you identify and challenge unhelpful thinking patterns while gradually facing situations you’ve been avoiding.
Psychotherapy takes a broader view, exploring how your anxiety connects to your life history, relationships and sense of self. This approach can be particularly valuable if your anxiety seems rooted in past experiences or if you want to understand yourself more deeply rather than simply managing symptoms.
Mindfulness-based approaches teach you to observe anxious thoughts and physical sensations without being swept away by them. Learning to stay present, rather than spiralling into future worries, can fundamentally change your relationship with anxiety.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) may be helpful if your anxiety connects to specific traumatic experiences that remain distressing.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t just in your head. Your body responds to perceived threats in very real ways, and these physical symptoms can be deeply distressing in themselves.
Common physical manifestations include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, excessive sweating, muscle tension, headaches, digestive problems, difficulty sleeping, fatigue and trembling. Some people experience panic attacks: sudden, intense episodes of fear accompanied by physical symptoms so severe they can mimic heart attacks.
These physical responses make sense from an evolutionary perspective. Your nervous system is doing what it evolved to do: preparing you for danger. The problem is that the danger it’s responding to often isn’t real, or is far less threatening than your body believes.
Therapy can help you understand these physical responses and develop techniques to calm your nervous system. Many people find that once they understand why their body reacts as it does, the physical symptoms become less frightening.
Common Triggers and Patterns
Anxiety often shows up most intensely around particular themes. Work and career concerns feature prominently for many people, especially those in demanding professional roles. Relationship worries, health anxiety, financial concerns, and social situations are all common triggers.
Sometimes anxiety attaches itself to whatever is most important to you. If you care deeply about being a good parent, anxiety might fixate on your children’s safety or your parenting decisions. If your career matters enormously, work anxiety may dominate.
Perfectionism frequently accompanies anxiety. The fear of making mistakes, disappointing others or falling short of standards can keep anxiety simmering constantly. Therapy can help you examine whether these standards are realistic and explore what lies beneath the fear of imperfection.
When to Seek Help
There’s no threshold of suffering you need to reach before therapy becomes appropriate. If anxiety is affecting your relationships, interfering with work or simply making you unhappy, that’s reason enough to seek support.
That said, some signs suggest it’s particularly important to get help if you’re avoiding more and more situations, if physical symptoms are worsening, if you’re using alcohol or other substances to cope, if you’re having thoughts of self-harm or if anxiety has been present for months without improvement.
What to Expect from Your First Session
Initial sessions focus on understanding your situation. Your therapist will want to know what brought you to therapy now, how long anxiety has been affecting you, what tends to trigger it, and what you’ve already tried. They’ll also want to understand you as a whole person, not just your symptoms.
You won’t be expected to have everything figured out before you arrive. Many people feel uncertain about how to describe what they’re experiencing or worry they won’t explain themselves properly. Therapists are trained to help you articulate what’s going on, even when words feel inadequate.
The first session is also your opportunity to assess whether this therapist feels like a good fit. The quality of the therapeutic relationship matters enormously for outcomes. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s perfectly acceptable to try someone else.
How Long Does Therapy Take?
This varies considerably. Some people find that eight to twelve sessions of focused CBT provides the tools they need. Others benefit from longer-term work, particularly if anxiety is intertwined with deeper patterns or past experiences.
You and your therapist will regularly review progress and discuss what makes sense. Therapy isn’t something that happens to you; it’s a collaborative process where you remain in control of direction and duration.
How do I Arrange An Appointment to Work on this Issue?
You can select a therapist below or contact our team directly for guidance.
You can book online, call us at 01 677 1021, or email enquiries@mindandbodyworks.com. Let us know your availability and briefly what you’re hoping to address. Therapists are available 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on Saturdays, with both in-person and online options available.
FAQ
Yes. Decades of research demonstrate that therapy, particularly CBT, is effective for anxiety disorders. Many people experience significant improvement, with gains that persist after therapy ends. The specific approach matters less than finding a therapist you connect with and engaging actively in the process.
Some people notice shifts within the first few sessions, particularly as they begin to understand their anxiety differently. Others find change happens more gradually. Therapy typically requires consistent effort over weeks or months rather than producing overnight transformation.
Not necessarily. Many people manage anxiety effectively through therapy alone. However, some find medication helpful, particularly when anxiety is severe or when they need support to engage with therapeutic work. Your therapist can discuss this with you and, if appropriate, suggest you speak with your GP.
This is a common concern. In practice, avoiding discussion of anxiety tends to maintain it, while bringing it into the open often begins to reduce its power. Your therapist will pace the work appropriately and won’t push you into territory you’re not ready for.
Research suggests online therapy can be as effective as face-to-face work for many people with anxiety. Some actually find it easier to open up from the comfort of their own space. That said, in-person sessions suit others better.
No. You can contact Mind and Body Works directly to arrange an appointment. However, some people choose to involve their GP as part of an overall approach to their health.
