The What if Therapist

The What if Therapist Ashleigh Sparrow | CBT Therapist | Newcastle

08/05/2026

Honestly instagram just humbles you in so many ways doesn’t it. The power of social media creeps into so much of my clinical work, given I predominantly work with 21 and under it makes sense really doesn’t it. Yet I still found myself wrapped up in this weird non reality world which i’ve taken some time out from.

I didn’t set up this page to be an influencer. You definitely bloody need to be these days though. Posting 3 times a week isn’t realistic for me, following the trending reels just bogs me down. I’ve realised i’m happy just being the tech dinosaur I am for now 🦕

I want to share with you my realisations and understandings of anxiety in a way that’s real to me. So i’ll strip back to the basics and forget about the stats ✌🏻

11/03/2026

A shift in gratitude changes everything doesn’t it.

I was out for a run this afternoon, struggling and the negative thoughts started. I looked up and saw an air ambulance taking off from the airport.

‘I’m so lucky to have the health to be out on this run’. Everything changed 💡 I thought about how much has changed the last 3 years and before I knew it my 5k was done.

I’m a big believer in gratitude. If we just step out of threat mode we can calm our mind down significantly. Here’s your invitation to swap I have to with I get to ✨

You would think it would be a helpful strategy not to think about distressing things but have you ever considered how no...
09/03/2026

You would think it would be a helpful strategy not to think about distressing things but have you ever considered how not thinking about things that upset you could be worsening your anxiety?

Cognitive avoidance prevents the necessary emotional processing of, or habituation to upsetting things. Which keeps anxiety levels high in the long run.

Like most helpful things, avoidance only helps in the short term and can worsen anxiety responses over time.

Anxiety | CBT for anxiety | cognitive avoidance

26/02/2026

Anyone else? ☕️🥐

20/02/2026

Worries are always loudest at night 😴
When it’s all quiet it’s the perfect time for anxiety to creep in with those ‘what if’s…’

We know that pushing worries out of our head doesn’t always work (we call it cognitive avoidance) so how about instead you try acknowledging it by writing it down on a note pad next to your bedside. Then simply tell the brain you will come back to it when you have more thinking power in the morning.

Once you’ve done this may favourite trick is to go through the alphabet listing girls names (Alice, Bella, Caitlin..) this activity is sufficient to occupy the brain and hopefully return back to a state of safety where you can drift of.

It’s probable in the morning that exact worry which seemed so huge last night isn’t a big deal anymore or can quite easily be put into perspective 🙏🏼

Let me know if you try this

18/02/2026

You 🤝 uncertainty

I mean you don’t have to be *best* friends.. more than acquaintances would be ideal though. There’s growing evidence to suggest the more you can tolerate uncertainty the less likely you are to struggle with anxiety disorders.

Why? If we perceive the unknown as negative our brain begins to associate it as threat. When it’s exposed to uncertainty we start doing lots of different things to try and help (like worry or avoid) which help in the short term but over time can become problematic. The more we avoid uncertainty or worry about it the less we are able to cope with it, over time we become pretty bad at coping with it which we interpret as danger. The vicious cycle is born.

I specialise in working with anxiety disorders and helping you change your relationship with uncertainty. I have spaces for online therapy ✨💻

16/02/2026

Instagram, please show me other 30 something year old women just figuring it out. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by life, struggle with constant worrying or feelings of anxiety.
Then, hi 👋🏼

I’m Ashleigh, I’m a CBT therapist that specialises in working with anxiety disorders. If you’re looking to change your relationship with anxiety then stick around ✨🫶🏼

Happy Valentines 🫶🏼May the relationship you invest the most time into always be with yourself.
14/02/2026

Happy Valentines 🫶🏼

May the relationship you invest the most time into always be with yourself.

13/02/2026

We’re not here to ‘overcome anxiety’ or ‘get rid of it’. I’m really eager to educate people on the purpose of anxiety, the functions it serves. I want to help you change your relationship with it. Not to be controlled by it, to always believe it or to fear it.

OBSERVE 👀

I invite you to watch your anxiety with genuine curiousity. I want to help people understand it but most importantly learn how respond to it. If we observe our anxiety, the signals and the feelings it creates we can try to work out what it’s telling us. What has it sensed? Why did it sense that? How do we respond to it, in a helpful or unhelpful way?

If we observe then we see a perspective that’s more likely to give us clarity of a situation rather than what our anxiety wants us to see. If we observe we’re less likely to get caught up in the awfulness of how anxiety can make us feel. If we observe we’re more likely to choose a response thats helpful rather than harmful.

Anxiety | worry | anxiety education | CBT Therapist

08/02/2026

It’s like we create our own uncertainty?

What do you think would happen if we just replied to our questions with ‘f off anxiety, I know your games’ 🤭

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