Those who have not experienced the problem of worry give advice like 'there's no need to worry', or 'Stop worrying!' but it is easier said than done.

Many have been beset by thoughts of what could go wrong all their lives - and their sense that there is nothing that can be done is clear from the way they talk about it: 'I've always been a worrier, that's just the way I am'.

It simply does not have to be so. Usually it is acute problems which lead a person to seek therapy here - and it is only after those have been resolved that the client and I discover together that the acute problems - often work stress - were actually caused by an underlying habit of frequently thinking about what could (but probably won't) go wrong in the future.

The problem is that the more primitive parts of the brain respond just as though those things really were happening, and as the fight/flight response immediately complicates matters, an awareness of symptoms of stress can provide fresh worrying thoughts - palpitations and breathlessness may lead a person to worry that he/she is having a heart attack, for example.

A combination of stress management training and some help to change underlying thought patterns is usually very effective in relieving this problem - often to the surprise and delight of the client.