Counseling for Anxiety

Anxiety might be modern society's greatest mental health challenge. It's what makes you feel like a rat in a race, so to speak. Anxiety makes your mind churn with so many thoughts that none of them are clear. You may experience panic as you try to assimilate a great deal of information all at once. Sometimes this information overload is in the form of work, sometimes relationship demands, and sometimes burdens of old emotional wounds that just haven't healed. 

Whatever the root cause, anxiety can feel like the opposite of depression, especially during a panic attack. Rather than being slowed down, you may feel revved up. Your heart rate may increase. You may begin sweating. You may have a sense of impending doom. Panic attacks are downright terrifying, and once you've experienced one, the fear of having another episode can actually trigger panic to occur. Some people experience panic attacks when in certain situations, e.g. a crowded bus, a shopping mall, or a certain person's house.  Sometimes they are triggered by stressful life events or circumstances. Other times, triggers are less clear and more work is needed to understand the intense emotional reaction. Therapy can be very helpful, and sometimes medications are used to stabilize the condition and start the healing process. 

Instead of, or in addition to, panic...you may experience what's called "generalized anxiety" which simply means a tendency to worry... ALOT. Intensive worry without relief depletes your mental energy, your ability to problem-solve, and think clearly about what's truly important to you. Excessive worry clouds the thought process and emotional state, and distracts you from your daily activities, relationships, and long term goals. 

​Anxiety is diagnosed as either generalized (meaning worry tends to happen about a wide variety of things and on a regular basis) or specific. Specific anxiety disorders include the following:
  • Social anxiety disorder. Fear and worry centers around social situations,. There is fear of others' judgments, and avoidance of situations where socialization is expected or required.
  • Agoraphobia. Fear of being in enclosed and/or crowded spaces where escape is perceived as difficult.
  • Specific phobia. Fear of something in particular, like spiders or flying in an airplane.
  • Separation anxiety. Fear of being away from a loved one. A common experience in babies and toddlers, this can become problematic when it doesn't subside.
With therapy, you can learn how to gain awareness and insight into negative patterns of thinking. You can become aware of physical reactions in your body when anxious, and use breathing techniques and mindfulness to lessen the effects of troublesome thoughts. 

Blog posts about anxiety