Are You Frequently Feeling Stressed, Worried, or Fearful?
- Does your mind race about all the different ways things could go wrong?
- Are you frustrated with how hard it is to let a worry go, even when you know it's not likely to happen?
- Do you frequently feel a lot of tension in your body, or often have stomach aches or headaches?
- Is it hard for you to fully relax or feel settled, even when there is no reason to be keyed up?
- Does a small worry or question in your mind build and snowball into a flood of apprehension and self-criticism until you question your whole situation?
- Is a lot of your time spent living in your head, replaying and criticizing what you said or did in an effort to find the "perfect" response?
- Does this anxiety wear you down so that you lack the energy and confidence to truly pursue your goals and enjoy your life more fully.
Anxiety can take many forms, but is is almost always focused on some scary problem in the future. Individuals who struggle with anxiety often feel a sense of dread as they wake up in the morning, because they start to think about all the responsibilities and potential problems they might encounter during the day.
You may feel disconnected from the world around you, because your mind is so distracted by anxiety. It is busy investing energy in trying to brainstorm ways to avoid the feared outcome. Soon it seems to be all your mind can think about, no matter how many times you try to push out the nagging fearful thoughts.
You feel exhausted from running this marathon in your head, while perhaps procrastinating actually doing anything. The anxiety has made you feel self-conscious and inadequate in making any decision at all. What if it's the wrong one?
Do you long to be able to quiet the fearful thoughts and feelings so that you can reinvest in life with confidence?
Anxiety is Extrememly Common
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) over 40 million people (a bit over 18% of American adults) struggle with anxiety. This is likely a dramatic underestimate! It only represents the number of people who have sought treatment and received an official diagnosis. Generalized Anxiety Disorder is the most common diagnosis, but this number also includes Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and other Anxiety Disorders.
Our modern life is complicated and fast-paced. The stresses of Cave Man era were based on just staying alive. Survival was the main job of the day. In contrast, now our stress comes from the need to juggle multiple layers of responsibility in our families, careers, financial pressures, socio-political angst, etc. We rarely have to seriously worry about staying alive, but rather the quality our life will take.
Our society has put a top value on external measure of success, and always reaching for the next level of achievement. This leaves very little room to actually enjoy our success when it occurs.
In an era of relative abundance, where we have so many options in front of us, it can be overwhelming to narrow down our choices. This can lead to a near-constant "fear of missing out" on the paths not taken.
Social Media's Influence
Social media often dramatically escalates our anxieties and insecurities. You have a 24/7 view into the highlights reel of friends, family, celebrities, and strangers.
They appear to have it all together, while you feel more lonely and isolated in your struggles. Its easy to forget that we have a limited view into their lives.
Why is Anxiety So Common?
Anxiety is so common, perhaps because a certain amount of anxiety is not only normal, but helpful and advantageous! Anxiety is designed to alert us to impending problems in order to energize us and motivate us into action. It narrows our focus of attention to the problem at hand. This would be a great thing if the house were on fire and we need to act quickly and energetically - stopping to ponder what we should make for dinner would be a dangerous distraction!
However, anxiety stops being useful when it paralyzes us from taking action because we can't act with confidence. It is harmful when we are so fearful of the potential outcome in the future that we are robbed of living in the present moment too.
But you do not have to continue suffering with anxiety. There are many well-researched treatments to help reduce your anxiety, as well as rediscover your sense of confidence in yourself and your future.
Counseling for Anxiety Provides Relief
No matter how long you have struggled with anxiety, you can feel better. I can offer you a safe and professional environment to begin to learn and grow. You will learn about your patterns of thinking that promote your feelings of inadequacy and indecision. These thoughts make you see danger around every corner and lead to a belief that the world is constantly attacking you.
I can help you learn to slow down and interrupt the cascade of stress hormones that flood your system. They keep your body tense and activated, ready to jump at a moment's notice. Living like that is exhausting, so you end up "wired but tired." Anxious thoughts keep you up at night, and the constant barrage of worried thoughts leave you too drained to take much action anyway. But you can learn to feel at peace in your own skin again.
You can learn how to recognize when your mind is telling you a false story. This narrative is based exclusively on fear, and you can learn to not buy into it. This is a crucial step in making decisions based on your goals and what truly matters to you, instead of believing the anxious thoughts and reacting like it is an urgent crisis.
I have been helping people manage their anxiety for almost 20 years. You may feel alone in your fears and insecurities. Therapy can provide a non-judgemental environment to share your fears and find support in coping with such painful experiences. Learning about your pattern of core beliefs that promote your anxiety can give you personalized tools that will last a lifetime. This provides a template to avoid similar anxiety in the future.
You may still have questions or concerns about getting treatment for anxiety ...
My worries are really minor compared to some things that other people go through. I should just stop worrying so much.
No matter what our position is in life, there will always be others who seem to have it better, and those that have it worse. This is true, but it does not mean that your struggles are not real and valid. You deserve to lessen the burden of carrying around so much worry. Taking time to care for yourself will not only improve your life, but also for those around you who care for you and rely on you. Reducing your anxiety will help you engage with others more comfortably and with the confidence of not second-guessing all of your decisions.
Telling yourself to just "stop worrying so much" is a great goal, but has likely not provided much useful guidance in how to get there. This is a great example of how what you are thinking and saying to yourself is probably only making you feel worse. Therapy could help you learn to demonstrate more self-compassion with thoughts such as "I really would benefit from not worrying so much. I can practice that now by slowing down and looking at this differently."
What if talking about my fears only makes them worse?
It is human nature to want to avoid pain and discomfort. But not talking about your fears hasn't helped them lessen or go away. They are very much alive and strong in your mind every day. Sometimes they are quietly nagging you, and other times they shout "DANGER" very loudly.
In fact, avoiding most fears only makes them stronger. Avoidance prevents you from testing out the truth/falseness of the fear-based belief. So you never gain experience in seeing how your mind lied to you. Furthermore, avoidance subtly teaches you that you are not strong enough to face your fears. This leaves you feeling even more inadequate and insecure.
Talking about your fears in a professional counseling environment allows you to voice your fear and examine them. With supportive guidance, you can find ways to face them gradually at your own pace.
Fear and Anxiety Do Not Have to Dominate Your Life.
Are ready to break free from the chains of anxiety that bind you?
You can request a specific appointment time that fits your schedule. Once confirmed, you can complete all New Patient Intake paperwork online as well.