Anxiety Therapy
Do you ever feel uneasy and worry about things that you can’t control? “I can’t seem to relax and feel nervous about various things”. Do you think about how things could go wrong and feel like you expect bad things to happen? “It’s hard for me to think positively about things, and I tend to feel like the other shoe is always about drop”. Do your worrying and nervousness result in physical symptoms that are difficult to manage? “I often have pain in my stomach, difficulty breathing or chest pains and sometimes I worry so much that it’s hard for me to sleep and eat”.
Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health issues in the U.S. Recent statistics show that 40 million adults in the U.S. have an anxiety disorder (adaa.org).
Anxiety is the body’s response to worry and fear. Anxiety can be very insidious because it is something that we all manage to some extent every day. The presence of some anxiety can be a good thing because it can help to drive us to do our best or overcome certain obstacles. When anxiety becomes overwhelming, it can make us feel trapped or paralyzed and unable to move either physically or mentally. Symptoms of anxiety can vary from person to person, but they often include feelings of nervousness, a sense of impending danger or panic, increased heart rate and breathing rate, and difficulty concentrating on anything other than what you are concerned about.
Our Approach
We utilize a combination of different therapies to meet our client’s needs. These include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
We discuss the impact that the anxiety is having and try to identify the source of the feeling.
Sometimes the source of anxiety may be rooted in previous experiences, or sometimes we do not know the source of our anxious feelings. We meet our clients where they are emotionally to help them manage their feelings of anxiety more effectively and build an inventory of tools that they can utilize during times of high anxiety.
We educate you on how to navigate anxiety.
Understanding that we will never be fully rid of any feeling of anxiety, we help our clients understand when they are beginning to feel overcome with their feelings of anxiety so that they know how to offset those feelings with healthy coping strategies. Once these strategies have been implemented, clients often feel that they are able to maintain levels of anxiety that are at more productive levels, rather than the paralyzing anxiety of the past. Additionally, they are able to identify what type of situations increase their anxiety and they try to find ways to mitigate those instances so that if they can’t avoid them altogether, they feel better prepared to handle the feelings that arise in those circumstances.
You may believe therapy can help you but you still have questions about anxiety therapy.
What causes anxiety?
This is a great question, but as with many mental health concerns, the answer varies greatly. Some research shows that anxiety can have a familial connection, now this may be genetic or simply learned behavior. Other risk factors for anxiety can be environmental factors, personality or life events.
Since you state that we cannot completely get rid of all anxiety, how will you be able to help me with my anxious feelings?
We understand that anxiety is not an “all or nothing” conversation and we want to set up realistic expectations with our clients so that they can reach their desired outcome. Like a good eating regimen, not all food is “good” food and so we need to recognize when our anxiety levels are becoming unhealthy and work to find ways to alleviate some of those worries and free our clients’ emotions to be at a level where they can continue to be productive and still get through their day.
If I am anxious, can medication help me?
At Bridges to Wellness, we do not prescribe medication. But we are prepared to have conversations about how medication can be a benefit and to address some of the common fears or apprehensions that many have about taking psychotropic medications.
Want to schedule an appointment?