Therapy for Anxiety & Stress

Anxiety and stress can run the same loop for years. Therapy helps you understand yours and change your relationship to it.

Book a session Find a therapist →

Accredited therapists Fully confidential Evening & weekend times

Everything is confidentialWhat you say in a session stays in the session.

Secure video, Ireland-wideFrom wherever you feel comfortable, on any device.

No GP referral neededBook online in a couple of minutes.

Evening and weekend timesSessions that fit around work and family.

A tight chest before a meeting. A mind that will not settle at three in the morning. A low hum of worry that follows you through the day. Stress and anxiety are ordinary human responses, and in small doses they do a job: they get you out the door, they make you prepare.

It is when they stop easing off that they start to wear you down. If that is where you are, you are in very large company, and there is real help available.

This page is general information and practical self-help, plus Irish support options. It is not medical advice and it is not a diagnosis. If something about your health is worrying you, talk to your GP.

What is the difference between stress and anxiety?

Stress is your body and mind responding to pressure or demand. There is usually something identifiable behind it, a deadline, a sick parent, a rent increase, and it tends to ease once that thing passes.

Anxiety is fear, worry or unease that can keep going even when there is nothing in front of you to deal with. It can feel harder to switch off, and harder to talk yourself out of.

	Stress	Anxiety
Usual cause	An identifiable pressure or demand	Often no immediate threat you can point to
How long it lasts	Often lifts when the pressure does	Can continue or return without an obvious trigger
What tends to help	Reducing or reorganising the demand	Changing your relationship to the worry itself

Either can become a longer-term mental health difficulty when it is severe, when it keeps returning over months, or when it starts shaping your daily life: sleep, work, the things you say no to. The World Health Organization describes anxiety disorders as the most common group of mental health conditions worldwide, so this is well-trodden ground.

Common patterns include generalised anxiety (worry across many areas), panic attacks, social anxiety and specific phobias. OCD and PTSD are related but different, and are covered separately.

What are the signs of anxiety and stress?

The emotional and thinking side often shows up first:

Worry that is hard to stop or control, something your mind keeps circling back to
Irritability, or a shorter fuse than usual
Feeling overwhelmed by things you used to handle
Racing thoughts and poor concentration
Expecting the worst, or reading one bad day as proof that everything is going wrong

The physical side is just as real, and it is what sends many people to a GP first: a fast or pounding heartbeat, sweating, trembling or shaky hands, dizziness, headaches, muscle tension, stomach problems, breathlessness and a heavy tiredness that sleep does not fix.

Behaviour changes too. You might notice yourself avoiding people, calls or situations, sleeping or eating differently, feeling restless, or drinking more than you used to. The HSE lists a similar range.

Not everyone gets all of these. And some physical symptoms have other causes entirely, so anything new, severe or frightening should be checked medically rather than assumed to be anxiety.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

A first session is just a conversation.

Book a session Find a therapist →

What causes anxiety and stress, and how can they affect me?

There is rarely one clean cause. Common triggers include work and study pressure, money, housing, relationships, caring for someone, illness, bereavement, trauma and big life changes, including the good ones.

Other things quietly stack the odds:

Family history and temperament
Past experiences, particularly early ones
Physical health problems and poor sleep
Alcohol and caffeine
Long stretches of uncertainty, where nothing is resolved either way

Underneath it is your nervous system doing its fight, flight or freeze routine: heart rate up, breathing faster, muscles ready. Useful for a few minutes. Less useful when it runs for months. That is often why the tiredness, the digestive trouble, the tense shoulders and the flat mood all arrive together.

When it becomes chronic, it tends to narrow life. Work gets harder, study slips, you cancel things, confidence drops, and the avoiding brings short-term relief that mostly feeds the problem.

Try keeping brief notes for a fortnight: what set it off, what you thought, what your body did, what helped even slightly. You are looking for patterns, not faults.

What can I do at home to reduce anxiety and manage stress?

Start smaller than feels satisfying. One change you actually keep beats five you abandon by Thursday.

Pick two or three priorities and make a realistic plan for those, rather than tackling everything
Set a daily worry time, fifteen minutes, same slot, and park worries until then
Question the anxious thought: what is the evidence, what would you say to a friend
Slow your out-breath, or use grounding, naming five things you can see
Move most days, eat regularly, keep sleep and wake times steady, get outdoors
Cap news and scrolling, and cut back caffeine and alcohol, both of which worsen sleep and mood

Tell someone. Saying it out loud to a friend, a partner or a colleague takes a surprising amount of weight off it. The HSE's free Minding Your Wellbeing videos and Balancing Stress programme are a sensible starting point. Wellbeing apps can help too, though privacy policies, research backing and cost vary a lot, so check before you sign up.

When should I seek professional help, and what treatments are available?

Talk to a GP or a therapist if:

It has gone on for weeks and is not lifting
It keeps coming back
It is causing real distress, or affecting sleep, work, study or relationships
Self-help has not been enough
You are using alcohol or other substances to cope

A GP will usually ask what you are experiencing, how long for and how much it is affecting you, check whether a physical condition or a medication could be contributing, and talk through options.

Option	What it involves
CBT	Structured work on thoughts and avoidance, often with something small to try between sessions
Other talking therapies	Exploring roots, patterns and relationships at your own pace
Guided self-help and stress programmes	Short courses, often free, worked through with some support
Medication	Prescribed and reviewed by a GP, sometimes alongside therapy

NICE guidance recommends CBT among the first options for generalised anxiety and panic. Results differ from person to person, and finding the approach that suits you can take a bit of trial and error. Routes in Ireland include your GP, HSE mental health services, Jigsaw for 12 to 25 year olds, and private counselling or psychotherapy, which you can arrange yourself with no GP letter. Check that a therapist is accredited, for example with the IACP.

Our own sessions run by secure video, so you can attend from anywhere in Ireland, including evenings and weekends.

Frequently asked questions

What should I expect when seeking help for anxiety or stress?

A first session is mostly you talking and the therapist listening. What has been happening, how long, what it is affecting. Nothing intense, and you set the pace. Booking online takes a couple of minutes and you do not need a GP referral for private counselling.

Are anxiety medicines suitable for everyone, and what are the possible side effects?

No, and that decision belongs with a GP who knows your history, other medicines and any physical conditions. Commonly prescribed antidepressants can cause nausea, headaches, sleep changes and, for some people, more anxiety in the first couple of weeks, which usually settles. The NHS has plain-English medicine information, and your pharmacist can help too. Never stop suddenly without advice.

How much does anxiety or stress treatment cost in Ireland, and is free support available?

There is free support, and there is private support.

Route	Cost
GP visit	Free with a medical card, otherwise a private fee
HSE services and free online programmes	No charge, waiting times vary
Jigsaw (ages 12 to 25)	Free
Private therapy	Typically in the region of €60 to €100 a session

Some health insurance policies contribute towards a set number of sessions, and tax relief on health expenses may apply in certain circumstances, so it is worth checking with your insurer, with Revenue and with Citizens Information.

Where can I get urgent help in Ireland?

If you or someone else may be in immediate danger, phone 112 or 999, or go to your nearest emergency department. Do not wait it out.

Samaritans, freephone 116 123, any hour of the day or night
Text About It, text HELLO to 50808, free and anonymous
Jigsaw, free support for young people aged 12 to 25
Your GP, or the out-of-hours GP service in your area

Worried about someone else? Stay with them if it is safe to do so. Ask directly, listen without fixing or judging, and do not promise to keep a secret that puts them at risk. If there is immediate danger, ring the emergency services or bring them to an emergency department.

If none of this is urgent for you, pick one thing from the self-help list and do it today. And if anxiety or stress is genuinely getting in the way of your daily life, contact your GP or book a session whenever you feel ready.