Anxiety Therapy
Have Tension And Fear Overtaken Your Life?
Are you worried all the time? No matter where you are—whether at home, school, work, or out and about—your mind races with “what if’s”. Even though the worst-case scenarios you ruminate on rarely happen, your body doesn’t know the difference. Just imagining what could happen may cause your heart to race and your stomach to churn.
Or maybe there are times when you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin. As much as you want to spend time with friends and loved ones, you’re too self-conscious to enjoy yourself. You may become preoccupied with thoughts that you’ll say or do the wrong thing and second guess every move you make. Rather than go through this discomfort, you opt to stay home and self-isolate, which only exacerbates your loneliness and distress.
Does Your Anxiety Keep You Up At Night?
There may be nights when your mind never shuts off and you’re unable to fall—or stay—asleep. Perhaps you also notice other physical signs of anxiety, such as headaches, loss of appetite, or feeling out of breath. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, the troubling signs of anxiety are your constant companion. And when something particularly stressful happens and anxiety reaches its boiling point, you might experience debilitating panic attacks that can feel like you’re having a heart attack.
If only you knew how to decompress and find peace and calm. Fortunately, therapy offers you a safe space to examine the root causes of your anxiety and effective ways to manage it. Whether you struggle with panic attacks, phobias, or socialanxiety, treatment can help you remain grounded, nurture self-confidence, and connect with yourself on a deeper level.
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Once a Helpful Survival Mechanism, Too Much Anxiety Can Lead To Stress
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition in the United States, affecting 40 million adults—or 18.1 percent—of the population every year. Although anxiety disorders are highly treatable, only 36.9 percent of those suffering receive treatment.¹
As humans, our primitive brains are wired to experience anxiety as a mechanism for survival. In prehistoric times, it was our “fight-or-flight” response that kept us out of danger when we encountered a physical threat to our well-being, such as a predator.
However, as civilization has evolved and these sorts of physical threats have diminished, our anxiety hasn’t followed suit. Our fight-or-flight response is still ingrained within us but is often activated even when we’re not experiencing a legitimate threat, leaving us emotionally drained and stressed out.
Multi-Tasking And Social Media May Contribute To Anxiety
Within the fast-paced world that we live in, anxiety can wreak havoc on us. We are often inundated with stimulus that creates a false sense of danger and causes the same physical reactions. For instance, we may experience anxiety when we face multiple deadlines at once and are expected to multi-task and juggle numerous priorities.
Add to that the influence of social media and the expectations imposed upon us to keep up the appearance that we are living ideal lives. The pressure becomes too much and before we know it, we’re anxious, worried, and not coping well.
We may be resistant to seeking therapy if we worry that suffering from anxiety means that something is “wrong” with us. Rather than granting ourselves the self-acceptance we deserve, we may blame ourselves for being overly worried, believing that if only we try harder, we will improve.
But there’s no reason you should put off therapy if you’re suffering from anxiety. Working with a therapist can provide you with skills and techniques to handle anxiety so that it no longer impacts your life.
Anxiety Therapy Is A Path Back To A Happier Life
When anxiety has been your constant companion, it might be hard for you to picture what life would look like without it. However, when you gain an understanding of how your body responds to stress and realize there are ways you can break the chains of anxiety, you will realize that you can live successfully without it.
Therapy allows you to openly share what you’ve been experiencing without fear of judgment or shame. I will welcome and accept you into my practice no matter your gender, cultural, or spiritual orientation. Through psychoeducation and a body-centered approach to therapy, you will learn coping skills and mindfulness techniques that will help you diminish your symptoms of anxiety and reconnect to the calm and peace within.
What To Expect In Sessions
The therapy I offer is never a cookie-cutter approach to treating anxiety. In our sessions together, you will have the ultimate say in what we talk about. Rather than feeling pushed out of your comfort zone, you’ll be able to set the pace on how slowly or quickly we address the issues that are contributing to your anxiety.
Sessions will have a conversational tone that is guided by what is coming up for you that day. Once we understand how and when anxiety symptoms affect you, we can pinpoint the coping mechanisms and treatments that will be most effective in helping you control racing thoughts and physical reactions that may lead to panic attacks.
I Offer An Array Of Modalities To Suit Your Needs
We may utilize Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) if you have particular memories or situations that trigger physical reactions. Through gentle eye movements that can identify and refile distressful memories away so they no longer trouble you, EMDR therapy has been proven effective for treating anxiety.²
Similarly, Accelerated Resolution Therapy is a short-term treatment for adults as well as children that can help diminish the physical and emotional reactions to anxiety you are currently experiencing. With long-lasting effects, AR Therapy has been proven effective in reducing anxiety symptoms.³
Additionally, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) can both be beneficial for treating anxiety. These therapies can help you identify the negative thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that underlie your symptoms. By discerning thoughts from facts, you can gradually shift away from the negative beliefs that keep you stuck and replace them with healthier, more positive thoughts and, as a result, behaviors.
With effective treatment, you can learn to breathe more easily and get more comfortable in your own skin without anxiety bogging you down. Life will become lighter and more hopeful.
But You May Wonder If Anxiety Therapy Is Right For You…
Anxiety is something I’ve always dealt with—I doubt counseling will help.
Understandably, when you’ve lived with the discomfort of anxiety for most of your life, you’ve acclimated to it. The regular jolts to your nervous system that cause your heart to race and your breath to quicken have become the norm, as have intrusive thoughts and avoiding social situations. But what if I told you there was a way to control these symptoms so that they no longer controlled you? With treatment, it’s possible to find helpful coping mechanisms for anxiety. It’s never too late to feel better.
Won’t talking about my anxiety with a counselor make me feel worse?
The idea of discussing your anxiety can sound daunting. After all, you likely spend a lot of energy trying to avoid confronting your fears head-on. As a therapist who is familiar with treating anxiety, I aim to move at a pace that you’re comfortable with. With my guidance and reassurance, you will be able to bring your fears out into the light where their hold over you will gradually diminish.
I’m already overbooked as it is and don’t have time for anxiety disorder therapy.
It might seem like attending anxiety therapy is yet another task on a growing “to-do” list which, ostensibly, could make you feel even more anxious. However, based on the feedback from my clients, just the opposite is true: carving out an hour each week to clear your mind and focus on yourself can help free up time and energy for you in the long run. When you realize that anxiety treatment is a chance to recharge your batteries rather than deplete them, you will see that making time for therapy sessions is well worth it.
Anxiety Doesn’t Have To Be Your Constant Companion
Learning how to manage anxiety can improve your quality of life. I specialize in anxiety treatment in Columbia and throughout Missouri via telehealth and am here to help you. If you would like to find out more about anxiety therapy with me, please call 573-220-8366 or visit my contact page.
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