Therapy for Anxiety
Ask yourself “How much time do I spend worrying?”
Are you happy with your answer? Or is anxiety taking up more space than you want it to?
Anxiety Can Get In Our Way
Anxiety is good at taking our focus and making sure it doesn’t let it go. Once anxiety has our attention, it can start to dictate our actions. We may start avoiding activities that once gave us pleasure. We may start isolating because being around others can cause such intense fear.
Our relationships might suffer because we are having a hard time speaking up for ourselves due to fears of judgment or abandonment. It can feel like our only options are power through it and let it wreck our experiences or just avoid what’s causing it completely, possibly missing out on an opportunity.
So What is Anxiety?
- Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling we have when thinking about something that may happen in the future
- Anxiety is a normal human emotion that helps us plan for the future and problem solve
- Anxiety becomes a problem when it is in excess:
- Feeling anxious most of the time
- The intensity is super high than reasonable for the situation
- It lasts for a long time
- It gets in the way of you living your life (working, socializing, enjoying)
Symptoms of Anxiety
Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety shows up in social situations. You may worry a lot about what people think of you and have intense fear about being embarrassed or judged negatively. You avoid situations that may put you “on the spot” socially or feel intense worry about just being around other people.
Different Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This is the catch-all anxiety concern. You may feel anxious very often about many different things. You get stuck in your head a lot, worrying about the “what-ifs”, and have trouble controlling your thoughts.
Panic Attack
A Panic Attack is an intense wave of fear or discomfort that peaks within a couple minutes. These can happen when you’re already feeling anxious or even when you’re calm. They are accompanied by typical anxiety symptoms such as heart racing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, etc… but the intensity is turned way up. It’s also common for people to have an intense fear of losing control or dying while experiencing an attack.
Agoraphobia
This anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of being in situations or places where escape might be difficult or help would not be available if you start to experience panic, incapacitating, or embarrassing symptoms. Panic attacks can accompany this anxiety and you may actively avoid situations where you feel trapped or alone.
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety involves an intense fear of being separated from a certain person. You have intense worry about their safety and feel this anxiety when you are separated or anticipating being away from them.
Adjustment Disorder
After a big change, you may experience heightened anxiety symptoms while you adjust. Change can be difficult and anxiety can make it feel much harder, but you can learn how to work through it and continue building your life the way you want.
Different Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This is the catch-all anxiety concern. You may feel anxious very often about many different things. You get stuck in your head a lot, worrying about the “what-ifs”, and have trouble controlling your thoughts.
Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety shows up in social situations. You may worry a lot about what people think of you and have intense fear about being embarrassed or judged negatively. You avoid situations that may put you “on the spot” socially or feel intense worry about just being around other people.
Panic Attack
A Panic Attack is an intense wave of fear or discomfort that peaks within a couple minutes. These can happen when you’re already feeling anxious or even when you’re calm. They are accompanied by typical anxiety symptoms such as heart racing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, etc… but the intensity is turned way up. It’s also common for people to have an intense fear of losing control or dying while experiencing an attack.
Agoraphobia
This anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of being in situations or places where escape might be difficult or help would not be available if you start to experience panic, incapacitating, or embarrassing symptoms. Panic attacks can accompany this anxiety and you may actively avoid situations where you feel trapped or alone.
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety involves an intense fear of being separated from a certain person. You have intense worry about their safety and feel this anxiety when you are separated or anticipating being away from them.
Adjustment Disorder
After a big change, you may experience heightened anxiety symptoms while you adjust. Change can be difficult and anxiety can make it feel much harder, but you can learn how to work through it and continue building your life the way you want.
Do You Only Treat Social Anxiety?
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.
I’m an Introvert - Does That Change My Treatment?
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.”
My Treatment Approaches
ACT
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) focuses on building skills to be present, stop the struggle you may have with your thoughts and feelings, identify your values, and develop plans that align with those values. Sometimes it may feel like our worries and anxious emotions make decisions for us, like avoiding certain places or how we should behave. ACT helps us take control back from our emotions and thoughts so we can decide how we want to react, typically aligning with our values and what is important to us.
Person-Centered
The focus of therapy is you. I want to create a space that feels welcoming, judgment-free, and collaborative. A popular quote from the founder of Person-Centered Therapy, Carl Rogers, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” I strive to create an accepting therapy relationship where you can truly be yourself and be understood.
CBT
CBT (Cognitive-Behavior Therapy) looks at how our thoughts, feelings, and actions all connect. If you’ve seen any of the Inside Out movies, this is basically their premise. Sometimes our thoughts aren’t entirely accurate and they can cause some problems with our emotions as well as how we act. Our goal is to look at those thoughts to see if we could make them more helpful.
Existential Therapy
Life can be messy and chaotic. What does it even mean to be human anyway? Existential Therapy looks at some basic aspects of being human. It looks at some common questions we face as a species and explores how you handle them. This can be helpful in guiding your plans and how you want to live while we work through the immediate effects of anxiety.
Anxiety Doesn’t Have To Run Your Life Forever
Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences from time to time, but it can get out of hand. When it lasts too long, is too intense, and starts affecting your life in many ways, therapy can help get it back under control.
If you’re new to anxiety or if you’ve been dealing with it for years, you can get better. You can live the life you want without anxiety taking control.