Anxious thoughts keeping you up all night?

Your heart is pounding in your chest and your whole body is wound so tight you think you might jump out of your skin. You don’t even know what relaxed feels like anymore. Coronavirus isn’t helping. You now have even more time to feed your anxiety.

You’re distracted, irritable and can’t quiet your mind.

You find yourself:

• Thinking, “I’m not enough.”
• Experiencing a lack of motivation and focus.
• Wondering how other people do it all.
• Googling “is my cancer back” when you notice physical symptoms.
• Getting irritable with the people you love.
• Holding in your feelings.
• Trying to control what you’re thinking by pushing it deeper.
• Surviving day in and day out trying to be positive all the time.

Anxiety symptoms

Many things can contribute to your anxiety. Your past and present can cause you to be anxious. So can your personality. In fact, some people are just predisposed to worrying. Everyone experiences anxiety differently, but some of the common symptoms of anxiety include:

• Anxiety surrounding a particular life event or experience that has occurred in the past
• Avoiding places, things or people
• Constant worry
• Difficulty focusing or thinking clearly about anything other than the thing you’re worried about
• Double or triple checking that you’ve done something “right”
• Fatigue/ sleep problems/ lack of sleep
• Feeling agitated
• Feelings of danger, panic or dread
• Headaches
• Increased or heavy sweating
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Nervousness, restlessness or being tense
• Not eating enough or eating too much
• Obsessions about certain ideas
• Panic, fear, and uneasiness
• Racing thoughts
• Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
• Restlessness
• Trembling or muscle twitching
• Weakness or lethargy

In small doses, anxiety can be a good thing

The purpose of anxiety is to motivate us to act.  For example, If we’re outside on a hike and a storm is rolling in, anxiety motivates us to hurry back to safety before the storm arrives.  Or, a college student who is a little bit anxious is more likely to study for a test than one who has zero concern about their performance.

In general, anxiety can be your brain or body sending you a message.  Many successful adults experience what we call “high functioning anxiety.” Their worries have actually helped them become cautious, hardworking individuals.

But, sometimes anxiety can get out of control. It can start to impact multiple areas of your life or even become so extreme that it paralyzes you and prevents you from taking action.  It can keep you from feeling happy and being able to live life to the fullest.

Coping Skills For Anxiety

You can google “Coping Skills for Anxiety” and get a great list of things that are helpful. However, it’s really not easy to learn how to implement those ideas on your own. Working with a therapist means learning even more skills to add to your toolbox AND having a place to practice them so that they are effective. Being able to properly use the techniques that you learn and have someone holding you accountable to practicing them regularly will help you to feel immediate relief from at least some of your symptoms of anxiety. 

You don’t have to live with constant worry and anxiety

You’re ready to get your life back on your own terms. You want to be the parent, friend, or partner that you dream of being.  Counseling can be an important part of your journey to that place of healing. I will empower you so that you can find lasting relief from anxiety, intrusive thought patterns, and panic attacks.

Imagine a world where you feel in control again.  One where you don’t live in constant fear of a panic attack or as a slave to your own anxious thoughts.  Imagine feeling a new sense of confidence and excitement about life. You deserve this, and it is possible.  Please, let me help you begin to change your relationship with anxiety, to enjoy the things that matter the most to you.

Counseling for Anxiety

When it comes to treating anxiety disorders, research shows that therapy is usually the most effective option. That’s because anxiety therapy – as opposed to anxiety medication – treats more than just symptoms to the problem.

You are ready to really get control over your anxiety

By now, you are tired of living with the constant worry and anxiety.  You don’t want help simply managing your anxiety. You are ready to find true healing.  It’s time to reclaim control over your own life.

It’s natural to want to avoid going to therapy at first.  In fact, it is human nature to avoid things that make us uncomfortable. And facing our fears is certainly uncomfortable! However, avoidance only makes the anxiety worse in the long run. And you don’t want that to happen, you are ready to overcome your anxiety. So, it’s time to call me and let’s get started treating your anxiety.

Anxiety treatment can help you find peace

I can help you face your fears and change the way you relate to your anxiety. Therapy will help you stop the cycle of anxiety and to begin reclaiming control over your own life. Through therapy, you will begin to change your thinking about anxiety. You’ll gain insight into the causes of your fear, and learn to think about danger more realistically. Furthermore, counseling will help increase your ability to cope with situations that make you anxious.

How can Anxiety Therapy help?

I will help you:

• Recognize the thoughts and beliefs that keep you up at night and increase your anxiety AND learn to change them.
• Understand your anxiety, what it does and doesn’t do for you so you can be more productive.
• Learn why you’re beating yourself up and how self-compassion can motivate you to reach your dreams and goals.
• Identify a strategy to reduce the power of your anxious thoughts through a combination of tools such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness.
• Develop new and healthy coping strategies that work for you.
• Explore and resolve the root of your anxiety so you can enjoy your life and your relationships without the nagging stress and worry coming back at every turn.

Getting To The Core Of What Causes Anxiety

Some people just want coping skills to help them manage their anxiety. I understand that, but I always encourage people not to discount how getting to the core of the issue can release them from the constant need to “manage” their anxiety. Once some of the symptoms are better controlled, I highly encourage my clients to do the work to find the core issue (because there always is one).

Therapy Can Help You Relax, Relieve Stress And Develop Healthy Coping Skills

With the right therapist and approach, therapy for anxiety can be extremely effective. Therapy can provide you with an outlet for stress and tips, tools and skills to help mitigate anxious thoughts, feelings and body sensations. It can also help you develop more mindfulness and healthy coping skills.

In our sessions, I can help you identify, understand and address what is fueling your anxiety. We can explore the triggers, thought patterns, emotions and beliefs that may be driving you to catastrophize or over-personalize what’s happening within and around you. Through developing a more realistic self-talk practice, learning to set and maintain healthy boundaries and creating realistic goals, you can begin to create more balance and experience relief. In sessions, you can also learn tools for relaxation, such as breathing techniques, which can be used to calm heightened thoughts and feelings stirred by anxiety.

If anxiety really seems to be running your life, getting help now is crucial.  The good news, is that with help and support, you can learn healthy ways to mitigate stress, help yourself through high stress situations and understand the importance of maintaining balance now and throughout life. There are so many effective tools to treat anxiety. Counseling can help you set realistic goals and healthy, obtainable expectations for your performance in the activities of life. Together we create an approach that best addresses your specific personality, strengths, weaknesses and needs

Anxious nagging thoughts can leave you feeling alone, angry, and hopeless. I can help you tackle what’s weighing you down and find calm in the chaos of your thoughts. Are you ready to learn new techniques to cope with the worries that are keeping you from enjoying your life? I am here to help you find relief from anxiety. It’s time to bring your balance back.