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Anxiety Therapy
Are You Tired Of Trying To Hide Your Anxiety?
Do you feel too stressed out to slow down and enjoy your life? Are you tired of putting on a façade and acting like you have everything under control? Does it feel like no one understands what you’re going through?
When you’re dealing with anxiety, you may try to push your feelings down and act like you have it all together. Because of how strong you are and how well you’re able to hide your anxiety, people may not realize you’re struggling. They may see you as someone they can depend on and turn to for help. As a result, you may feel burnt out from having to take care of everyone else’s needs. It’s as if you have no space for self-care in your life.
The Skills That Once Helped You Cope With Anxiety May Not Work Anymore
Perhaps you’ve tried a thousand different ways to handle your anxiety and none of them has worked. You feel like you’re going in circles. Your old coping mechanisms don’t seem to help anymore—half the time they just make your anxiety worse. You may ask yourself: Why can’t I seem to manage my stress anymore?
The truth is that most anxiety is wrapped up in unresolved trauma and unprocessed emotional pain. But on your own, it’s hard to get to the bottom of your stressors. As an anxiety therapist, I am confident that I can help you heal the emotional wounds driving your stress and experience newfound peace in your life.
Many People Have Anxiety That Stems From Childhood Trauma
Everyone experiences anxiety. Believe it or not, anxiety isn’t entirely a bad thing—it serves a protective function and helps alert you to danger. The problem is when the “anxiety muscle” becomes so strong that even situations that aren’t unsafe can appear threatening. Your internal alarm system starts going off at the wrong times.
The seeds of anxiety disorders are often unintentionally “nurtured” in painful childhood experiences. Unfortunately, most people don’t make the connection between present stress and past trauma. They may say: My parents weren’t abusive and my childhood was normal. How could I have trauma?
The truth is that you can have unresolved trauma even if you grew up in a loving home. Perhaps there was simply one need of yours that your parents couldn’t meet. Or maybe there was one part of your personality that was seen as unacceptable in your family. As a result, you may have learned to hide your true feelings and developed an anxious attachment style.
Our World Today Has Made Struggling With Stress Inevitable
In addition to personal trauma, many people in our world today have to wrestle with various collective traumas. We live in a society rife with racism, sexism, rape culture, and many other forms of injustice. No wonder so many of us are stressed out.
Anxiety counseling can act as a soothing balm in difficult times. This is a chance to learn new grounding skills and get to the bottom of the stressors that prevent you from leading a healthy and adaptive life.
Therapy Can Help You Manage Anxiety So That It Doesn’t Control Your Life
It’s all too easy to buy into the lie that you’re “too sensitive” for struggling with anxiety. Many people in our culture see anxiety as a weakness or a personal deficit. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anxiety is something that affects people regardless of how strong they are. In therapy, I want to show you that you have more internal strength than you realize.
Above all, my sessions provide a safe space to feel heard and accepted for who you are. This is a chance to identify triggers, develop new coping skills, and learn to assert yourself when you aren’t getting your needs met. The goal is not to eliminate anxiety, as a little anxiety isn’t always a bad thing, but to regulate it so that it doesn’t control your life.
What To Expect In Sessions
Anxiety is always a symptom of a problem, but it is almost never the main problem itself. Treating anxiety symptoms is like treating a sprained ankle with pain meds. You can cope with the symptoms that way, but you can’t get to the root cause. That’s why I work to identify the root cause of anxiety, allowing for fuller healing in your mind and body. Together, we’ll look at the “origins story” behind your anxiety and explore the connection between childhood trauma and present stressors.
Anxiety therapy with me is also deeply practical. I will teach you grounding skills to help you stay in the present and enhance your mind-body connection. You will learn to challenge negative beliefs about yourself and improve your self-compassion. Additionally, we’ll work on setting boundaries with people who trigger your anxiety. Setting these boundaries is not “mean,” but loving—it shows you are serious about your relationships with others.
Tailoring Your Anxiety Treatment Plan
While therapy is always customized for each client, one of the main approaches I use is called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing). This is an evidence-based approach that can help you remove the emotional pain you feel when you recall traumatic memories.
My favorite analogy for EMDR is treating a splinter. If you have a splinter in your foot, ignoring it and leaving it there will only make it worse. Once you remove the splinter and clean it out, your body is able to heal the wound on its own like it’s designed to. Now think of emotional distress like a splinter. Your brain processes many experiences every day, some of which are painful and get “stuck.” EMDR uses the body’s natural healing capacity to help you recover from trauma.
Whether your anxiety is rooted in past trauma or present stressors, I would be honored to help you get to the bottom of your struggles. With my gentle and compassionate approach to anxiety therapy, I believe that you can experience peace of mind, enjoy healthier relationships, and feel more confident in who you are.
You May Have Some Questions About Anxiety Therapy…
I should be able to handle anxiety myself.
I know a lot of people, including myself, have had similar thoughts when seeking help. Unfortunately, overcoming anxiety alone just isn’t always possible—regardless of how strong you are. We are social creatures; we grow and heal in pairs, not in isolation. We all need support from time to time and there is no shame in seeking it. Besides, even if you could overcome anxiety alone, wouldn’t you rather have someone there to validate you for your accomplishments and support you on your journey?
I’m worried about being judged.
I hear you. It’s an incredibly vulnerable thing to seek help. Unfortunately, vulnerability is often mislabeled as a weakness. In reality, it takes a lot of courage to admit you don’t have it all together and want support for your struggles. I’ve been in your shoes before and I know it’s not easy. I often say that I wish my clients could see themselves as I see them: badass humans who are doing their best to feel better.
What if anxiety therapy doesn’t work?
You know yourself best and you deserve to have what’s best for you. During the initial phone consultation, we can talk over your struggles and see if we’re a good fit. There is no pressure to commit right away—you can come for a session or two and see if you like it. Ultimately, the best predictor of successful therapy outcomes is the relationship between client and counselor. If you and I have a good relationship, then I am confident that everything else will fall into place.
You Are Stronger Than You Realize
No matter how hopeless you feel right now, I believe you have the strength to manage your anxiety and make room for self-care. To get started, you can schedule a free phone consultation through my online calendar.