ANXIETY THERAPY
Are You Too Anxious To Relax And Enjoy Your Life?
Do you feel overwhelmed, on edge, and worried that something bad is about to happen?
Have you been dealing with relationship anxieties that make it hard to trust other people?
Are you struggling with headaches, stomach pains, chest tightness, and other forms of bodily discomfort?
Maybe you’ve been feeling stressed out by all the responsibilities on your plate and you can’t seem to get a break. Perhaps you have a hard time building intimacy, closeness, and connection in your relationships because you’ve been hurt in the past and you’re afraid it will happen again. Or you might second-guess yourself repeatedly and obsessively replay interactions in your head, worrying that you’re inadequate or an imposter. You may be asking yourself: Should I be seeing a therapist for my anxiety?
Anxiety Can Make Your Whole World Feel Small And Limited
Living with anxiety can be a physically and mentally uncomfortable experience—you might feel activated and alert constantly, leading to tension in the body, problems with sleep, and an overall feeling of fatigue. By the end of the day, perhaps you feel exhausted by all the energy you’ve expended worrying or ruminating about your life. Additionally, you might be so anxious that you’ve stopped socializing or leaving the house much. This could prevent you from forming new relationships, going after new jobs, and feeling autonomous.
Eventually, this kind of life can make your world feel small and limited and lead to regret over missed opportunities. If you want to break free from the limitations of anxiety and live a more confident and empowered life, I encourage you to consider therapy. My goal is to provide a safe and secure environment where you can explore the roots of your anxiety and work through the patterns that have made anxiety your primary way of interacting with the world.
Anxiety Can Be The Result of a Number of Possible Factors
Being anxious is not always a bad thing. At its core, anxiety is a protective mechanism designed to keep us safe. For millions of people today, however, anxiety has spiraled out of control and turned into an overwhelming force in their daily lives on a variety of levels.
For some, the prevalence of chronic anxiety can be a byproduct of our busy, stressful, and success-crazed modern world. People today face unhealthy levels of pressure to make more money, keep up with societal standards of appearance and popularity, and “have it all together.” In recent decades, social media has exacerbated these pressures, bombarding us with images of people who seem happier and more successful than we are. As a result, millions of us worry that we’re not good enough.
However, for many, anxiety is also something that stems from painful relational experiences, attachment issues, or growing up in an unsafe or unsettled environment. When growing up in an inconsistent or difficult environment, it can be hard to know how to feel safe and relaxed once you step out into the wider world.
There are a number of possible reasons that people can experience anxiety, including many not mentioned here. For every person, the reasons differ, and part of our work is to understand and resolve what underlies your struggles with anxiety.
Anxiety Is Hard To Let Go Of When It’s Built Up Over Years And Years
On your own, overcoming anxiety is easier said than done. After all, anxiety is something that has usually built up over a long period of time as a result of difficult relationships or circumstances. Therefore, you can’t just think your way out of anxiety or easily put it behind you with a few coping skills. While coping skills can be helpful for short-term relief, if the deeper roots of the anxiety aren’t addressed, they will eventually overpower the coping skills. Getting to the deeper roots of anxiety is the most effective way to create long-term emotional shifts.
Therapy provides the space to join in this deeper work and address the core issues driving your anxiety. Engaging in this process can help you experience long-lasting relief instead of repeatedly trying to find new solutions to manage your symptoms.
Therapy Can Help You Release The Power That Anxiety Has Over You
My role as a therapist is to provide a space where you can think, feel, reflect, and be yourself without any fear of shame or judgment. I aim to help you slow things down and unwind from the daily stressors of life, allowing you to focus on yourself instead of having to worry about other things and other people. The goal is to help you set aside all the distractions that crop up throughout the hustle and bustle of the day and develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with yourself.
I take a mind-body approach to counseling, exploring how anxiety affects your physical and emotional wellness and looking at how your body reacts to stress. I am analytic, relational, and psychodynamic, taking every area of your life into account. At times, I will also bring in behavioral techniques to help with short-term coping and supplement the deeper work we do.
Whether you’re struggling with general anxiety, social anxiety, relationship anxiety, hypochondria, a specific phobia, or any other type of anxiety, therapy is here to provide in-depth support for you as we help you through the other end of these struggles.
What To Expect In Anxiety Therapy Sessions
Therapy often starts by getting to know you and learning about the history of your struggles with anxiety. As we move forward, the conversations will expand and we’ll begin looking at deeper experiences that have led to the anxiety you feel now. Through this process, we’ll understand the connections and patterns leading to what’s going on in your life today. As we deepen your self-awareness and emotionally work through difficult life experiences, you can begin the work of reducing and ultimately healing your anxiety.
I am relational in my approach. Anxiety often stems from unhealthy attachment patterns that have been perpetuated by past relationships. The dynamics of the past tend to play out in the context of therapy, allowing us to work through these patterns in real time.
My ultimate hope is that, through our process, you’ll gain a sense of relief from your anxiety as a whole. Anxiety is highly treatable, and with the right help and support, you can live with a greater sense of confidence, empowerment, and peace of mind.
You May Have Some Questions About Anxiety Therapy…
What if I don’t feel relief at the end of every session?
There is a whole range of feelings that are normal in therapy. Therapy is a space for the totality of human emotions to safely exist and play out. Sometimes negative or conflicting feelings can even mean that things are moving forward. The goal of therapy is more than just always “feeling good”—it’s about understanding your anxiety, processing it, and forming a healthier relationship with it. In fact, anxiety can sometimes form due to suppression of negative feelings over time, so having room for a range of emotions here is incredibly beneficial. We will address these feelings together as they happen.
What if other topics come up that aren’t related to anxiety?
Many people imagine that every conversation in therapy has to be directly related to the presenting issue, or else they’re wasting time. This isn’t the case. Therapy is an open field where you can have conversations about anything. Conversations can be about your week, about events that happened years ago, or about fantasies or experiences that haven’t even happened. Nothing is off-topic or taboo. In fact, oftentimes issues that appear off-topic end up tying into the main problem unknowingly.
How long will anxiety therapy take?
The timeline for treatment is different for everyone and varies depending on how severe your anxiety symptoms are. Therapy is an open-ended process, so we’ll go at your own pace and let things work out on their own natural timeline. Therapy tends to be most effective when you let things happen organically instead of forcing them to happen quickly. After all, healing is not an overnight process. The more patient you are with yourself, the more rewarding therapy will usually be.
You Don’t Have To Keep Living In The Grip Of Anxiety
Between your commitment to the healing process and my support along the way, I believe that you can break free from the constraints of anxiety and fulfill your true potential. To get started, reach out to schedule a consultation.
Request an Appointment
More about Anxiety…
The Social Anxiety Window
This is part 2 of a 3 part social anxiety series. Click here if you'd like to read part 1 before continuing. There is something that I call the "Social Anxiety Window". This is the [read more]
Social Anxiety: The Dreaded Conversation
Some people look forward to social situations and seem to thrive off of them. Many others have a more difficult time with social situations, leading people to canceling plans, skipping out on social events, or [read more]
Relationships and Social Anxiety: Who Are We Really Hiding From?
People often prefer to believe that it’s possible to hide pieces of ourselves that we don’t want people to see, often exaggerating certain qualities in order to conceal others: Some may try to act in [read more]