Is Anxiety Causing Problems in Your Life?
- Do you feel constantly stressed out and worried about life?
- Is sitting still and relaxing something you’re unable to do?
- Do you struggle with compulsive behaviors that feel out of your control?
- Is it hard to concentrate or remember things?
Anxiety involves various emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms that can cause mild to extreme discomfort and distress. This can show itself as racing thoughts, obsessive preoccupations and ruminations, and trouble with memory and concentration. Anxiety can leave you feeling as if your thinking is short-circuiting. Fears of impending doom or feeling a need to be constantly on guard are also symptoms of anxiety.
Compulsive, out-of-control behaviors are a sign of anxiety. Panic attacks, racing heart rate, shallow breathing, dizziness or nausea are physical symptoms of anxiety. Headaches, digestive problems, and skin rashes are also possible indicators of anxiety.
Anxiety can feel as if a current of electricity is running through you, a kind of tension that can become unbearable. It can create agitation and a need to constantly be moving or fidgeting, leaving you no with ability to relax. Worries can keep scrolling through your mind, over and over again, with no let up, almost as if your mind actually needs to find something to worry about.
Anxiety can be very painful and frightening. It can prevent normal enjoyment of life’s pleasures and leave you feeling out of control and unsafe. Anxiety might be making it impossible for you to get restful sleep, cause problems in your relationships, and interfere with your ability to take care of your personal and work responsibilities.
Anxiety can also drive you toward harmful, self-soothing behaviors, such as excessive or addictive use of alcohol, drugs, food, sex, and shopping. You may even overindulge in the internet or bury yourself in work as a means to forget all the fears, worries and frustrations that are causing you pain. While providing temporary relief, these behaviors can ultimately leave you feeling more anxious.
Do you want to understand why you might be feeling anxious and how you can get relief? Anxiety counseling can help you achieve that.
Anxiety is Very Common
We all feel anxiety at times. Frequently the cause of anxiety is readily apparent, such as an upcoming exam or job interview. Often anxiety is actually a good thing, in that it can be a signal to us that something needs addressing. For example, if I’m feeling anxious about an upcoming exam or job interview, my anxiety can motivate me to study or prepare so that I can be successful.
Anxiety can also show itself in less obvious ways. Being irritable or short-tempered, over-eating, or avoiding interacting with others are examples of how anxiety can also manifest itself.
Anxiety can be especially debilitating when you don’t understand where it’s coming from. Anxiety can cause you to go to great lengths to avoid certain situations, places or even thoughts that make you feel anxious. For example, if I get anxious thinking about problems at my job, I may try to push them out of my mind in an attempt to feel less anxious. Over time, however, I will likely end up feeling tense, worried, and insecure, but not really know where those feelings are coming from.
Everyday sources of anxiety are typically temporary, dissipate over time and usually do not require anxiety treatment. However, when anxiety becomes more persistent or when the causes are not apparent, and when anxiety starts to interfere with you living your life, then anxiety treatment can be helpful.
Anxiety Treatment Can Help You find Relief
As with all therapy, it’s extremely important to create a safe emotional space in which to discuss very sensitive and frightening feelings. Knowing that someone is actively trying to help understand and find relief for your feelings can go a long way toward helping contain overwhelming feelings of anxiety.
Typically, at an initial session, we will talk about what is going on and become better acquainted with each other. I will get a sense of what you’re dealing with and you’ll get an opportunity to learn more about how I think and how I work. This gives us a chance to see if I’m the right therapist for you. At that point, we can figure out a plan about how to best move forward.
Anxiety treatment involves helping you become more aware of what is going on inside. During sessions I can help you talk out and think through your anxiety, which can provide a means of reassurance and security. Helping you bring out into the open what has been hidden, and becoming more aware of what your anxiety is about, can be very freeing.
Once you’re more able to identify sources of your anxiety, we can then help you address the causes of what is making you anxious and arrive at strategies to get you relief. This can involve helping you address problems or make life changes that are causing you anxiety. I can help you learn to gain perspective and reality checks so that your worries can feel more in proportion to the situation. Anxiety treatment can also help you develop good self-care habits that can help you better manage your anxiety.
Part of anxiety treatment can also involve me helping you to speak the unspeakable. Painful, embarrassing, or unacceptable thoughts, feelings, memories, and desires that you have perhaps kept buried deep inside can cause you to experience tension, pressure, or feelings of doom. My helping you voice these experiences, to help you put them into words, can be very relieving. Talking about such thoughts and feelings in an atmosphere free from judgment and criticism, helps to bring understanding and self-acceptance. Many people I’ve worked with express significant relief after the first session, never having talked about certain feelings with anyone before.
With the help of anxiety treatment, I can help you learn how to feel soothed and reassured in our conversations together. Over time you can learn how to soothe and reassure yourself. Drawing on our conversations, you’ll be able to think yourself through worries and insecurities more effectively. You’ll be able to better sustain feelings of calm and well-being on an ongoing basis.
If I’m Feeling Anxiety, Does That Mean I Need Anxiety Medication?
As with other conditions, many people find that talking about their anxiety in therapy helps improve their symptoms. In those situations medication isn’t necessary. However, when anxiety is severe, anxiety medications may help to diminish those feelings so that they can be more effectively addressed with therapy. People often find that when anxiety medication and therapy are used together, they can change attitudes or behaviors that were making them feel anxious in the first place. Over time, medications can be gradually decreased and, if improvement continues, can eventually be discontinued altogether. For other individuals suffering from anxiety, a longer or ongoing course of anxiety medications may be necessary. While I don’t prescribe medications myself, I work together with physicians who can prescribe if medication support is indicated.
Common Concerns People Have
If I’m too anxious to leave the house, how can I get treatment?
I provide remote sessions by phone or video, if need be.
I’ve seen therapists before, but it hasn’t helped.
Oftentimes people are matched with the right therapist for what they need help with. In our initial session, we will likely get a sense if we’re a good fit with each other.
I’m afraid of what I may open up with therapy.
I’m careful to help you manage feelings in sessions, so that you don’t get overwhelmed. This is important. Over time, you’ll learn not to be afraid of your feelings, knowing that you can manage them.
You Don’t Have to be Controlled by Your Anxiety
Setting up an initial session is usually a good way to see if I can be of help to you. To set up your first appointment, please contact me by clicking on the button below.