Anxiety Therapy
Are You Buckling Under The Weight Of Anxiety?
● Do you feel restless, irritable, and on edge?
● Is your tendency to overthink everything to the point of analysis paralysis?
● Have you ever been overwhelmed by panic that triggers your Fight-or-Flight Response or sparks an anxiety attack?
When anxiety strikes, you might feel stuck in an endless loop of intrusive thoughts that rob you of self-confidence, presence, and peace of mind. Perhaps worrying about things that are often out of your control causes your body to tense, your breath to become shallow, and your heart to race. Feeling hijacked by fear, your anxious thoughts are now in the driver’s seat and you’re just along for the ride.
Anxiety Can Strip You Of Self-Confidence
At its worst, anxiety can keep you from enjoying the present moment. Instead, you may ruminate over worst-case scenarios that haven’t happened—nor will likely ever happen. Or maybe you second guess what you said or did after a work meeting or social gathering, anguishing over what others may think about you.
You may resort to people-pleasing behaviors to gain approval or avoid social situations altogether, preferring isolation as a coping mechanism. Sadly, your anxiety may have become a barrier to getting close to people, which might negatively impact your self-esteem.
If only you could stop overthinking so much and caring about what others thought. Without the symptoms of anxiety keeping you stuck in panic, you could breathe easier and embody your authentic self.
Fortunately, therapy can help you learn how to address your symptoms so that anxiety is no longer running the show. With counseling, you can learn skills that put you in control and keep anxiety symptoms at bay.
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Anxiety Disorders Are A Prevalent Mental Health Concern
Considering the stressors that have become inherent in modern life, it isn’t surprising that anxiety disorders are on the rise. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), “Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults.” [1] What’s more, “an estimated 31 percent of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life.” [2]
Anxiety can be exacerbated by many factors, including genetics, unresolved trauma, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle stressors, such as work and family dynamics. In particular, social media has become another influence that can contribute to anxiety. Because social media exemplifies our tendency to compare ourselves to others, many of us get caught in a trap of checking our feeds habitually and, in the process, becoming anxious and unsettled.
The Barriers To Seeking Anxiety Treatment
Although treatable, unfortunately, “only 36.9 percent of those suffering seek treatment for anxiety disorders.” [3] One of the biggest barriers to seeking treatment is the stigma surrounding therapy. We may lack education about therapy and believe that working with a counselor to treat anxiety is an admission that we are “crazy”.
Or perhaps we are overwhelmed by the process of finding a therapist or perceive that anxiety counseling isn’t something we can afford. Instead, we might read self-help books or follow an “expert” on TikTok, not realizing the limitations of trying to fix the problem without seeking professional help.
The therapeutic relationship is a vital component of treating and recovering from anxiety. Whether you struggle with phobias, experience discomfort in social situations, or suffer from panic attacks, anxiety treatment can provide the tools you need to overcome your symptoms and positively change how you think and feel.
Anxiety Therapy Provides You With Long-Term Coping Skills
Keeping anxiety a secret can lead to unnecessary shame and suffering. What’s more, leaving anxiety untreated prolongs the false belief there is something wrong with you. However, you don’t have to suffer from anxiety alone. Once you give voice to your challenges and share them with others, you will feel less burdened by them. This is when healing can happen.
Therapy offers you a safe space to express yourself openly and honestly. As a therapist who has experience working with clients with anxiety, I aim to meet you with compassion and understanding while normalizing your experience. Through the therapeutic relationship, you can deepen your own self-discovery and self-awareness, become conscious of your thought patterns and triggers, and learn tangible coping skills to self-soothe and diminish anxious behavior.
What To Expect In Sessions
In the short term, our focus will be teaching you cognitive coping skills that challenge negative thought patterns, as well as learning physiological coping skills—such as breathing and mindfulness exercises—to manage daily anxiety. In ongoing sessions, we will uncover the core of your anxiety, helping you identify where your triggers originated and whether there may be any unresolved trauma that underlies your symptoms.
Through mindfulness for anxiety, I will teach you how to engage with your present experience without judgment, which help you remain present rather than avoid what’s going on in the here and now. The practice of noticing your surroundings builds self-awareness, which offers positive options for you in place of anxious reactions. Additionally, breathing techniques will help regulate your nervous system, offering relief from the Fight-or-Flight Response.
The Modalities I Incorporate Into Anxiety Therapy
For treating anxiety, I often utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment. CBT is an effective way to affect behavioral change by reframing your thoughts in relation to your emotions. Bringing awareness to negative self-talk, catastrophizing, or “What if…?” thinking is the first step in shifting away from the distorted thought patterns that lead to negative behaviors. By cultivating healthier coping skills, your anxiety symptoms will decrease, and life will open up with new possibilities.
And if we determine you may have unresolved trauma in your past or you are dealing with phobias, we might incorporate EMDR. This innovative treatment can help you rewire negative beliefs related to how you perceive a traumatic past event, your self-image, and the world around you.
As a therapist and fellow human on this life journey, I understand how debilitating anxiety can feel. Fortunately, there is hope. Although we don't learn tools in school to cope with anxiety, therapy provides you with the skills you need to heal from it. With practice, you can learn how to breathe more freely and find more enjoyment in life
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Anxiety Therapy Is Right For You…
I’ve always wanted to try therapy to help with my anxiety and people- pleasing but it’s too expensive.
These days, life is expensive, and therapy can be an investment. If seeking anxiety counseling seems unaffordable, I invite you to run a cost/benefit analysis. Consider how much money you spend on dining, drinking, and other means to escape. Although these experiences offer short-term pleasure, they don't lead to lasting transformation and healing. Therapy can help you rewire the way you think, overcome challenges, and bring about long-term fulfillment.
My symptoms aren’t severe enough to require anxiety treatment.
It’s human nature to compare our pain to others and conclude that things could be a lot worse compared to what others are experiencing, so we have no reason to complain. However, when we do this, we invalidate our own experience and run the risk of ignoring our symptoms until we reach a breaking point. The truth is there are no problems that are too small to seek support.
Seeking anxiety therapy seems overwhelming—how would I even begin the process?
Understandably you’re a busy person with a lot going on. If you decide to seek therapy for your anxiety, you might not be sure where to begin. Or perhaps you’re wondering how you will consolidate your thoughts and express them in a way that makes sense to someone else. Rest assured, you don't have to carry this weight alone. Your therapist is a trained professional who can help guide you through the counseling process to ensure your anxiety gets addressed.
There’s No Reason To Postpone Anxiety Therapy Another Day
I understand your struggle and am eager to help provide you with the support you need. If you would like to find out more about anxiety disorder therapy with me, you may visit my contact page or call 720-336-8884 to schedule a free 15-minute call.
[1] [2] [3] https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
