ANXIETY & RESILIENCE
How anxiety drains your energy and resilience
Recognise the everyday cost of persistent worry and explore a more supportive way to respond.
All articles · About Elena
By Elena Krechko · Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC, BCACC), ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC), EMDR Europe Certified Practitioner and accredited clinical psychologist in Russia.
Let us pause this cycle. Have you noticed that you wake already tired? You do not want to open your work laptop. Before you even get out of bed, your mind is listing obligations: “I must… I should… I am falling behind… What if the worst happens?”
You fall asleep feeling that something remains unfinished, unsaid or misunderstood. Anxiety has become the background noise of your life, so familiar that you barely notice it. Yet it still takes a toll.
Your attention wanders and even simple tasks are hard to focus on. Sleep becomes light and interrupted, and you wake without feeling rested. Energy goes into turning the same thoughts over again. Relationships can suffer as tension and irritability spill into conversations.
Persistent anxiety can also make it harder to recover from difficulties. Resilience helps us find our footing during a crisis, recover after strain and feel some capacity to cope amid uncertainty. You do not have to accept constant anxiety as an unavoidable part of life. Support and appropriate treatment can help, though the approach and outcome differ from person to person.
Resilience is more than gritting your teeth
People sometimes imagine that a resilient person keeps smiling and says “I am fine” even while struggling inside. Enduring everything in silence can instead leave you exhausted.
Resilience can include recognising, “I am finding this difficult, and I can do something to support myself.” It does not require you to stop feeling or to prove that you are strong enough to cope alone. It is a capacity that can be developed over time.
Psychologist Salvatore Maddi’s model of hardiness describes commitment, control and challenge: remaining engaged with life, noticing where you can influence events and approaching change as something you can respond to. These are useful perspectives, rather than a test that you must pass.
Under sustained stress, all three can feel harder to access. Every notification may seem threatening, your body stays tense and reassuring thoughts do not bring much relief. This is not a reason to blame yourself. Thoughts, bodily responses, relationships and circumstances can all be part of the picture.
Working with anxiety in therapy
One approach I use is EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a structured therapy with an evidence base for trauma-related difficulties. We first discuss your concerns, suitability, preparation and the proposed work. It is not a universally best method for all stress, and relief after one session cannot be promised.
Some people describe feeling less caught in a distressing thought or more able to breathe freely after therapeutic work. Others need more preparation or a different pace. We review your experience rather than expecting a particular response.
I invite you to discuss whether an anxiety-focused session or group format could be appropriate for you. My standard session is 90 minutes; the precise arrangements for a group are confirmed before booking. Psychotherapy sessions are not recorded.
Topics we may explore
We work with concerns that interfere with everyday life. Depending on your needs and the agreed format, these may include:
A process with support
Regular work can offer space to understand difficulties in stages, practise new responses and review what is changing. In a suitable group, shared support may help participants remain engaged with their own care. Individual assessment and clear agreements are important before joining.
You can begin by asking questions about the format and noticing how you feel about the proposed approach. This is therapeutic work rather than a lecture, and you are welcome to discuss concerns or limits along the way. Your next step need not be a promise to cope with everything. It can simply be a request for support.
Request a free introductory conversation · 15–20 minutes
Explore counselling and coaching · Email Elena
By Elena Krechko · Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC, BCACC), ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC), EMDR Europe Certified Practitioner and accredited clinical psychologist in Russia.
Let us pause this cycle. Have you noticed that you wake already tired? You do not want to open your work laptop. Before you even get out of bed, your mind is listing obligations: “I must… I should… I am falling behind… What if the worst happens?”
You fall asleep feeling that something remains unfinished, unsaid or misunderstood. Anxiety has become the background noise of your life, so familiar that you barely notice it. Yet it still takes a toll.
Your attention wanders and even simple tasks are hard to focus on. Sleep becomes light and interrupted, and you wake without feeling rested. Energy goes into turning the same thoughts over again. Relationships can suffer as tension and irritability spill into conversations.
Persistent anxiety can also make it harder to recover from difficulties. Resilience helps us find our footing during a crisis, recover after strain and feel some capacity to cope amid uncertainty. You do not have to accept constant anxiety as an unavoidable part of life. Support and appropriate treatment can help, though the approach and outcome differ from person to person.
Resilience is more than gritting your teeth
People sometimes imagine that a resilient person keeps smiling and says “I am fine” even while struggling inside. Enduring everything in silence can instead leave you exhausted.
Resilience can include recognising, “I am finding this difficult, and I can do something to support myself.” It does not require you to stop feeling or to prove that you are strong enough to cope alone. It is a capacity that can be developed over time.
Psychologist Salvatore Maddi’s model of hardiness describes commitment, control and challenge: remaining engaged with life, noticing where you can influence events and approaching change as something you can respond to. These are useful perspectives, rather than a test that you must pass.
Under sustained stress, all three can feel harder to access. Every notification may seem threatening, your body stays tense and reassuring thoughts do not bring much relief. This is not a reason to blame yourself. Thoughts, bodily responses, relationships and circumstances can all be part of the picture.
Working with anxiety in therapy
One approach I use is EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a structured therapy with an evidence base for trauma-related difficulties. We first discuss your concerns, suitability, preparation and the proposed work. It is not a universally best method for all stress, and relief after one session cannot be promised.
Some people describe feeling less caught in a distressing thought or more able to breathe freely after therapeutic work. Others need more preparation or a different pace. We review your experience rather than expecting a particular response.
I invite you to discuss whether an anxiety-focused session or group format could be appropriate for you. My standard session is 90 minutes; the precise arrangements for a group are confirmed before booking. Psychotherapy sessions are not recorded.
Topics we may explore
We work with concerns that interfere with everyday life. Depending on your needs and the agreed format, these may include:
- Persistent worry and anxiety.
- Procrastination: wanting to act but repeatedly putting things off.
- Fear of being visible or expressing yourself.
- Fear of failure and its connection with avoidance.
- Worries about money and difficult feelings in relationships.
- Beliefs and inner conflicts that make financial decisions more difficult.
- Building confidence and a steadier sense of inner support.
- Recognising strengths and returning to resources that help you cope.
- Exploring hopes, goals and what matters for your future.
- A distressing situation in a relationship.
- Stress, burnout and ways of caring for yourself.
- Bodily tension that has built up during prolonged strain.
- Fear of change and taking a next step.
- Self-criticism and dismissing your own worth.
- The courage to be yourself and give your abilities room to develop.
A process with support
Regular work can offer space to understand difficulties in stages, practise new responses and review what is changing. In a suitable group, shared support may help participants remain engaged with their own care. Individual assessment and clear agreements are important before joining.
You can begin by asking questions about the format and noticing how you feel about the proposed approach. This is therapeutic work rather than a lecture, and you are welcome to discuss concerns or limits along the way. Your next step need not be a promise to cope with everything. It can simply be a request for support.
Request a free introductory conversation · 15–20 minutes
Explore counselling and coaching · Email Elena