Anxiety Therapy

There is help available for anxiety.

If you aren’t living the sort of happy, relaxed, fulfilled life you really want - if self-esteem and self-confidence issues are troublesome - if you feel too unsure and anxious…you don’t have to.

“ Anxiety manifests itself as physical tension, apprehension, uneasiness, fidgeting, fatigue, and sleep disturbance, a lack of concentration, negative thinking, perspiration, nausea, elevated heart rate, and muscle tension. These symptoms can occur even if you logically know that there is no real danger.”(Durand & Barlow, 2003).

Living with anxiety can be very uncomfortable, causing you to avoid situations in which you need to be present. It can cause the feeling of never being able to relax or feel safe - or to never feel good enough.

You may worry too much about what may happen; what people may do or think of you or your performance (professionally, inter-personally and sexually).

Living this way generally has a terrible effect on the quality of life and enjoyment and can lead to many other problems such as: hypertension, eating and digestive disorders, headaches, other health issues, avoidance, negative attitudes and a feeling you can’t cope or just aren’t “normal”.

The good news is that all of this can be reversible: Feeling better can be in your immediate future.

Though there are a number of accepted methods of treating anxiety disorders, I prefer Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Therapy , initially. Many sufferers live with very negative self-talk, obsessive thoughts, destructive behaviors and distorted automatic thoughts that come after a feeling – not vice versa.

Some of my clients have told me, “I can’t help it. I don’t know why I keep acting that way; it’s just how I feel.”

But it’s not.

Clients generally experience rapid anxiety relief by using Cognitive Therapy in the first session to examine the feeling that occurs, often without notice.

When you break it down, you realize that you can become aware of the first thought and then the next thoughts that seamlessly follow. Relaxation techniques can speed progress along too.
I’d like to help.

It’s important to note Anxiety Disorders include a number of different categories, many of which are treated differently to gain relief. Some of these categories include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder/social phobia, and specific phobias, such as fear of the outdoors (agoraphobia) or confined spaces (claustrophobia), among many others.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is much more commonly diagnosed these days than in the past.

This may be due to the increased pressures in today’s society to perform at very high levels in many categories of life: professionally, as a friend, parent, neighbor, as an involved citizen of your community, as a housekeeper/handyman, in the bedroom, the kitchen and, often, in some sport or other area of expected excellence.

While I do acknowledge that the constant electronic information and contact overload can be very stressful, it probably doesn’t count right up there with a saber tooth tiger chasing you. One difference is that the tiger chasing will stop - either with a good or bad outcome, but daily stress in our lives does not and can wear down your ability to really live and enjoy your life.
The below quote can help to shed light on what anxiety feels like to many:

“It is characterized by constant, intense, and uncontrollable worries about everything. These worries are accompanied by tenseness, irritability, fatigue, and restlessness. GAD is not only distressing for the people affected by it, but also for everyone around them (Durand & Barlow, 2003).”

If you would like specific information about other types of Anxiety Disorders, please contact me at: [email protected]

Do you feel anxious? Be kind to yourself. Therapy helps.