Anxiety is far more than just a mental habit of “worrying too much”—it is an exhausting, full-body physical and emotional experience. When anxiety is constant, it hijacks your nervous system, keeping your brain on high alert and severely impacting your sleep, professional performance, and closest relationships.
At Corewell, founded by clinical psychologist Dr Farzin Shaykhi, our experienced team of practitioners provides highly specialised, evidence-based therapy to break the vicious cycle of overthinking and physical tension. Operating from our welcoming clinic space in Mitcham, our clinicians support individuals across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, including Ringwood, Doncaster, Croydon, Ringwood North, and Vermont, to calm an overactive mind and restore physical calm.
Breaking the Cycle of Worry, Rumination & Physical Tension
Anxiety thrives by locking you into a loop: an anxious thought triggers a physical stress reaction, and that physical discomfort convinces your brain that you are in real danger.
The clinical team at Corewell works collaboratively with you to identify your unique anxiety triggers and treat the full spectrum of anxiety conditions:
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Taming the persistent, shifting, day-to-day worry about health, finances, work, or family that feels impossible to switch off.
- Chronic Rumination & Overthinking: Breaking the mental habit of constantly replaying past conversations or obsessively projecting worst-case future scenarios.
- Panic-Like Symptoms & Acute Dread: Safely managing sudden, overwhelming waves of terror, a racing heart, hyperventilation, and fear of losing control.
- Stress-Related Body Symptoms: Treating the somatic layout of anxiety, including chronic muscle tightness, physical chest pressure, shallow breathing, and stress-triggered gut issues (IBS).
Targeted Anxiety & Nervous System Screenings
To build a highly structured, objective recovery pathway, Corewell’s practitioners utilise comprehensive clinical assessments during your initial consultations:
Autonomic Hyperarousal & Symptom Profiling
We use gold-standard psychometric inventories to measure the frequency and intensity of your physical anxiety symptoms, mapping out how your nervous system behaves when trapped in a “fight-or-flight” response.
Cognitive Rumination & Worry Process Mapping
Our psychologists analyse your specific overthinking behaviours. We isolate whether your anxiety is driven by an intolerance of uncertainty, perfectionistic standards, or hidden emotional defence patterns.
Situational Avoidance & Behavioural Auditing
We track how anxiety is secretly shrinking your life, mapping out the specific social situations, workplace tasks, or daily activities you might be avoiding to keep the worry at bay.
What People Are Asking
“Why does my chest feel tight and heavy even when I don’t feel consciously stressed about anything?”
Our Answer: Your body can store anxiety long after your mind has moved on. When your nervous system is chronically overloaded, it causes involuntary muscle bracing in the chest and jaw, producing physical symptoms even during “quiet” moments.
“How do I stop my mind from spinning with worst-case scenarios when I try to fall asleep?”
Our Answer: Nighttime rumination happens because sensory distractions drop away, leaving your brain alone with unresolved daytime stress. We teach specific bedtime behavioural strategies to unhook from these loops and signal safety to your brain.
Evidence-Based Therapies to Calm Mind and Body
Because anxiety lives simultaneously in your thoughts and your muscles, our diverse team combines cognitive restructuring with deep nervous system regulation:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Identifying, testing, and dismantling the unhelpful, catastrophising thought patterns that continuously fuel your daily worry.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Developing psychological flexibility, teaching you how to notice anxious thoughts without allowing them to dictate your behaviour or choices.
- Somatic Regulation & Mindfulness-Based Therapies: Direct somatic interventions—such as polyvagal grounding, vagus nerve soothing, and specialised breathing exercises, to physically drop your body out of a state of chronic alarm.
