Anxiety is good at taking our focus and making sure it doesn’t let it go. Once anxiety has your attention, it can start to dictate your actions. You may start avoiding activities that you once enjoyed. You may start isolating because being around others can cause such intense fear. Your relationships might suffer because you are having a hard time speaking up for yourself due to fears of judgment or abandonment. It can feel like your only options are to power through it and let it wreck your experiences or just avoid what’s causing it completely, missing out on the life you want to live.
I use a combination of techniques and theories to support you with your anxiety. The best combination I have found is exposure work, values-based direction, mindfulness skills, and exploring past experiences that may influence your anxiety. Anxiety can be a tricky beast, but it doesn’t have to rule your life. We’ll really work on getting comfortable with your anxiety even if it’s making you uncomfortable. We’ll work on getting you out of patterns that maintain your anxiety. And lastly, we’ll get you out into your life so you can actually experience it to the fullest.
No, although I view anxiety through a social framework, such as how it is affecting your relationships and movement through the world. I understand how anxiety can be just as debilitating when thinking about your own future or even the future of our society/world (ie. climate change, politics). The emotion (anxiety) is typically the same, but what causes the anxiety is dependent on the individual.
Anxiety can lead to other complications as well. Such as experiencing depression, an increase in negative feelings about yourself, relationship problems, stress with work, or even existential concerns if you feel like it is holding you back from the life you want to live. Whatever you’re experiencing, we can work together to get you feeling better.
It does a little bit. I love working with introverts because of their insightfulness and thoughtfulness. When you’re dealing with anxiety symptoms, especially social anxiety, it can make it harder to work through because you recharge by taking time for yourself.
I understand how this can be difficult at times (…from my experience as an introvert in a very social job lol)
My goal isn’t to change who you are. We’ll focus on how to balance your energy levels while you are working on your anxiety as well as focusing on meaningful connections rather than just “becoming more social.”