Patients grapple with a racing heart, disorganised thoughts and an overwhelming feeling of fear and dread, often spending months battling on their own.

The isolation felt by many sufferers inspired Ms Koncz and co-facilitator Alexandra Rodriguez to establish a new anxiety support group for patients and their families.

Ms Koncz, a psychology honours student, has facilitated several similar groups in Sydney but felt there was a need to bring the program to the Illawarra.

The group, to be held on the first Thursday of each month at Corrimal, will cater for people experiencing a host of anxiety disorders, including social phobia, panic attacks, generalised anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Ms Koncz said many sufferers shared a common feeling of fear.

‘‘They are often fixated on all sorts of bad things happening,’’ she said.

‘‘They’re scared they’re going to be judged by other people or that something bad is going to happen at work or with the family, they can’t shake those negative thoughts.’’

While the sessions are not designed to offer therapy or treatment, Ms Koncz said the meetings aimed to give sufferers a safe space to discuss their symptoms.

‘‘For many people, it’s the first time they’ve really had the chance to open up,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s an enormous release for them; to have people understand what they’re going through and to know there’s help out there, it’s the first step in helping them with their condition.

‘‘We want people to come and talk about the problems they’re experiencing, open up about how they’re feeling and share those experiences with other people in the group; we want them to feel supported.’’

Family members and friends are also encouraged to attend.

‘‘Not everyone is willing to open up about what they’re experiencing, particularly men, they don’t tend to want to talk about it,’’ Ms Koncz said.

‘‘When they do open up, it’s important for their family to know what they’re going through, as they are often experiencing it too, it doesn’t just affect the sufferer.’’

The first meeting is on September 4 at 10am at Corrimal Community Centre. More information at mentalhealth.asn.au.