Understanding Anxiety
As a biological stress response, feelings of anxiety are universal. We may feel stressed and anxious when anticipating a conflict or change, trying something new, or worrying about a past or future event.
Anxious thoughts and feelings can be overwhelming. If anxiety is causing you to miss out on doing things that bring you pleasure and happiness, it’s important to seek help. Anxiety is treatable, and you can feel better.
“I’ve been feeling stressed, stuck, and depressed. I don’t know how to get my life back on track. I want to move forward, but I’m anxious and afraid, and I don’t know how to fix it or even fix me.”
Am I just stressed, or do I have an anxiety disorder?
Anxiety can manifest in various forms, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and/or specific phobias.
Generalized Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) involves a continued or persistent sense of dread or anxiety that interferes with your daily life and relationships. This type of anxiety may be experienced for months or years.
Social Anxiety
We may feel social anxiety when we are nervous about giving a speech or presentation or when we meet new people and want to make a good impression. For some people, however, social anxiety is more than an occasional discomfort. This acute experience of anxiety can be an ongoing struggle where suffering occurs on a daily basis.
Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
A panic attack describes an unpredictable attack of anxiety that produces an abrupt, intense experience of fear, discomfort, or loss of control. Experiencing a panic attack does not necessarily mean that you have or will develop panic disorder.
Common Physical and Psychological Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety causes a range of physical and psychological symptoms. Symptoms of anxiety vary from person to person and they are often a little different for adults, teens, and children.
- Feeling restless, jumpy, on edge, or shaky
- Struggling with concentration or your mind going blank
- Having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep or having restless sleep
- Feeling a sense of panic and deep fear
- Being easily fatigued
- Feeling irritable or frustrated
- Having tense muscles or a racing heart beat
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed
- Experiencing stomach aches, headaches, or other physical pains
- Having chest pain, shortness of breath, or nausea
- Negative thinking, worry, and intrusive or looping thoughts
- Excessive crying
- Clinginess to caregivers or others
- Intense focus on bodily sensations and physical symptoms with worry of possible illness and/or disease
Learn more about Anxiety types, treatments, and coping techniques on our blog.
Anxiety Treatment & Counseling
Anxiety can be treated, and people can begin to feel better quickly. Through therapy you can learn to unhook from the distressing thoughts that go round and round in your head and to stop the cycle of anxiety, fear, and worry that keeps you from experiencing the life you want and deserve.
Seeking therapy for anxiety can help you better understand why feelings of fear and stress arise and gain the needed tools to manage your response. When working with your therapist, you will develop anxiety coping skills that work for you. These skills can help you minimize your anxious feelings, thus reducing their harmful effects so that they are less disruptive in your daily life.
How Anxiety Counseling Helps
Learning to cope with and reduce your anxiety is different for each individual. It might mean focusing on relaxation techniques and reducing your fear responses. Or, therapy could address specific thoughts that cause worry and help you to process them in a more positive way.
These are some strategies, interventions, and goals you may work toward during your anxiety treatment..
- Develop techniques that help you decrease and stop worry-filled thoughts
- Learn breathing and relaxation techniques to calm your nervous system and regulate your anxious thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations
- Receive emotional support in a non-judging, fully accepting, safe relationship
- Gain control over your thoughts and behavioral responses and determine if they are helpful or harmful
- Identify triggers that heighten your anxiety
- Discover a peaceful connection with and within yourself, increasing your ability to be present and grounded
- Process any past painful experiences that may be fueling your anxiety
Providing guidance and support as you approach difficult areas of your life, your therapist can help you build a sense of safety, competence, and optimism. Insights gained through therapy empower you to make changes, to move forward, and to grow.
Meet our Therapists
At Health and Healing Therapy, our therapists work with you to treat your anxiety and reduce the impact of anxious thoughts and feelings. We work to make sure that you feel heard, understood, and supported.
If your anxious thoughts and feelings are overwhelming, please reach out.
You don’t have to suffer alone. Our therapists can help you Grow, Heal, and Thrive.