Counseling for Anxiety

Everyone feels anxious occasionally.  When anxiety feels more like the norm, it may be time to seek help.  You may feel anxious when faced with a problem, uncertainty, a major life event, or a life transition.  The racing heart, the overthinking, the panic sets in.  Sometimes the anxious feelings go away on their own once the situation has resolved.  Other times the anxiety does not go away, and it negatively impacts your life and your sense of self.  

Do I need therapy for this?

Anxiety can range from mild to overwhelming.  You may feel tense or uncomfortable, shaky, or a racing heart.  You may have racing thoughts, worries, and overthink things.  You may notice you avoid setting boundaries to avoid feeling uncomfortable.  In response to feeling anxiety in your body or in your mind you put yourself down.  You tell yourself “I always do this, I always overthink everything” and you wish your anxiety didn’t affect you so much.  If any of this resonates with you, then therapy may be helpful.

Anxiety gets your attention, and you just want it to stop.  It’s tempting to try to push it down or ignore it.  But the thing about anxiety is that ignoring it or avoiding situations that make you anxious doesn’t get rid of it, it shrinks your world.

How you view your anxiety matters.

What if you could have a different relationship with your anxiety?  It’s normal to view an uncomfortable feeling, such as anxiety, as something that doesn’t serve you and something you want to ignore, push down, or distract from.  The things is, all emotions have a purpose, even the uncomfortable ones like anxiety.  Being able to turn towards your anxiety instead of away from it can help.  In the short term, this is an uncomfortable process, but in the long term this will serve you well in building the life you want.  What if instead of your anxiety feeling like an enemy, it can feel like a friend trying to give you information.  Together, let’s find out what your anxiety is trying to tell you.  

How can I help you recover from anxiety?

As human beings we are social beings, and therefore first and foremost is the therapeutic relationship.  You deserve a therapist you feel not just comfortable with, but safe with.  I bring empathy, compassion, curiosity, and genuine interest into the therapeutic relationship. Together we will explore experiences, both past and present, that may have impacted your sense of who you are in the world. The physical aspects of anxiety are important. Together we will also bring a gentle awareness to the body, as I guide you in listening to your anxiety. Through increased awareness of psychological patterns along with learning to read your body’s messages, you will increasingly experience more ease and feel your world open up.