ANXIETY THERAPY

We all could feel anxious. Anxiety keeps us alert and allows us to fight or escape when we are in danger. Anxiety is necessary for survival, for dealing with hunger, danger, and instability in our daily lives. Anxiety energizes, increases reaction time, and allows one to have a strong focus on the task at hand. However, anxiety can be persistent, debilitating, or uncomfortable for many of us. In these cases, we are often safe but don't feel safe. It seems impossible to turn the anxiety off.

One of the most common issues is work, relationships, health, and/or money anxiety. This anxiety feels awful. The more we ignore anxiety, the more it pops up in random uncontrolled ways (such as panic attacks or anger outbursts). The more we avoid our anxiety, the stronger it gets.

 

When anxiety is overpowering, it can become disordered. The most common anxiety disorders are:

 

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) - Excessive anxiety and worry about various topics, events, or activities. It may also include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances.

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - disturbing, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts followed by attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts and urges.

• Panic Disorder - feelings of terror or loss of control, impending sense of doom or danger, rapid/pounding heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or tightness in your throat, chills, and hot flashes.

• Phobias - unreasonable and excessive fear in response to a stimulus such as flying, spiders, going to the doctor, or being in enclosed spaces.

 

These disorders cause significant distress and may also impact one's ability to function in relationships, at school, or at work.

Your therapist will help you:

• train your brain and body to relax, anchor your feelings, control your breathing, and stay present. This will allow you to make space for calm and grounded feelings.

• identify negative thoughts that may contribute to anxiety (e.g., I am worthless, nobody likes me, I am not good at many parts of my job). What thoughts, images, feelings, emotions, sensations, memories, and urges, would you like to have less of? 

• Identify behaviors that may contribute to anxiety (e.g., leaving a party when you start getting anxious about socializing or taking a bus instead of flying because of fear).
   

What would you like to stop/start; do more/less?

How would he like to treat himself, others, and the world differently?

What activities/skills would she like to start or develop?

What people, places, activities, and challenges, would you like to approach rather than avoid? What relationships does she want to improve, and how?

Whom does she want to be more present with or attentive to?

What would you like to be better able to focus on or engage in?