Anxiety Therapy

Is Anxiety Depriving You Of Peace?

Are you feeling anxious all the time but don’t know why? Does it seem like you always have too much to do but not enough time to accomplish it? Do repetitive thoughts of “What if…?” keep you stuck in fear and indecision?

Perhaps you experience uncontrollable thoughts throughout the day that keep your mind racing, making it difficult to concentrate or stay in the present moment. Or maybe you suffer from imposter syndrome, doubting your own talents and skills—inside, you feel like a fraud who isn’t good enough. And because the idea of making a mistake might terrify you, performance anxiety keeps you from doing the things you love.

Your Reaction To Stress Can Manifest Into Physical Symptoms

The physical symptoms triggered by your anxiety—such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, headaches, and disruptions with your sleep habits and appetite—are an ongoing reminder that you’re not okay. When your fight, flight, or freeze response is triggered, it may culminate in panic attacks that bring on lightheadedness, heart palpitations, sweating, and a sense of impending doom. 

If you avoid all forms of intimacy —especially if you experienced trauma in the past—you may be worried about how this affects your relationship with your partner. Perhaps a sense of low self-worth causes you to isolate yourself from the person who loves you most, which only makes you feel worse.

The good news is that anxiety therapy can help you get out of your head and start enjoying life on your own terms. By identifying the roots and triggers of your anxious behavior, you will gain the insight to manage your symptoms and keep anxiety at bay. 

The Factors That Contribute To Anxiety Are Innumerable

According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, "Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults age 18 and older."[1] Although anxiety is a common human response to stress, disordered anxiety can show up as General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), phobias, and panic attacks. Anxiety has also been linked with learning disabilities.[2]

The common stressors of life we all face—such as demands at work, relationship problems, grief, or trauma—can all result in anxiety. Sadly, the challenges of the pandemic have intensified our stress. And for those of us who are first-generation immigrants, straddling two different cultures can be emotionally challenging. As we try to navigate between the different expectations placed upon us by our parents and the culture we’ve been raised in, we often struggle to define our identity.

Unrealistic Cultural Norms Reinforce Anxiety

Because we live in an insatiable “what’s next?” culture with no end goals, we often feel overwhelmed by the “to-do's" in life. What’s more, social media perpetuates a glossy and artificial non-reality that highlights external validation at the expense of self-love. As we strive to keep up with the frenzy of daily life, we become overwhelmed, stressed out, and, ultimately, anxious.

Unfortunately, many of us make the mistake of turning to social media to look for easy fixes for our emotional challenges, not realizing that trying to address our issues superficially without getting to the root of the problem is bound to backfire.

Fortunately, therapy is an effective treatment for anxiety that can help you manage how it shows up for you, whether as social or performance anxiety, panic or anxiety attacks, or OCD symptoms. By seeking therapy for anxiety, you can find peace.

Therapy Can Help You Understand The Root Causes Of Anxiety

If you’re going through a life transition or a stressful situation, you might feel anxious most of the time. And unlike stress, which is a physiological reaction to what is actually happening, anxiety is an anticipatory state of worry about what “might” be. Unfortunately, stress and anxiety are inextricably linked, so if you don’t understand what causes your anxiety or how to manage your symptoms, any stress you experience may trigger it.

Therapy is a nonjudgmental and supportive environment where you can share your experiences with anxiety openly. As your therapist, I aim to validate how you feel by building a close and trusting relationship where you feel comfortable expressing your thoughts and feelings to me. Working together, we will determine what’s causing your anxiety and the best methods for managing your symptoms.

What To Expect In Sessions

At our initial session, I will gather more information about your presenting problems, family upbringing, and how you came to be the person you are today.

Therapy is a collaborative process where you’re in charge of the goals and objectives you want to achieve—I will tailor it to best suit your needs and preferences. We will determine what methods have worked to help manage your anxiety in the past—as well as what hasn’t—to gain a better understanding of what treatment plan will be most helpful to you.

Although initially, it's important to understand how symptoms impact your daily functioning, gaining insight into why they occur is equally important to find a longer-term solution to anxiety. We all respond differently to the same situation—by making the connection between how your current responses to events may relate to earlier trauma you experienced, you can begin to release the hold anxiety has on you.

The Modalities I Use

The foundation of my clinical practice is rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and humanistic theory. With CBT for anxiety, you will learn how to become mindful of your thoughts and challenge your negative thought patterns by discerning between a fact and a feeling. Noticing your thoughts as they arise will help you release self-judgment and learn grounding techniques that place you in the here and now. Taking you out of “what if” thinking and into “what’s happening now" awareness can aid in preventing panic attacks. 

My humanistic approach will emphasize the relationship we build in therapy, helping you find the self-confidence within yourself to realize you’re capable of making a change within yourself.

When you commit to treatment and are willing to put in the effort, you can have a fulfilling life free of severe anxiety. Once you know where your anxiety comes from and how to manage it, there is hope for a brighter future.

But You May Wonder Whether Anxiety Therapy Is Right For You…

I’m afraid I’ll be judged if I attend therapy for anxiety.

Judgment should never be part of the therapeutic experience. As a therapist, I am trained to be nonjudgmental—you can speak freely and authentically about your anxiety symptoms without shame or embarrassment. Your feelings are valid and I understand that facing them can be scary. However, if you’re willing to work through these difficult feelings, you can nurture a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

Isn’t anxiety therapy time-consuming and expensive?

Attending therapy for anxiety is an investment worth your time and money. You only have to carve out one hour per week to get on a path toward healing. And if it’s more convenient for your schedule, I offer teletherapy which can save you the time of driving to and from my office.

Additionally, I take insurance, including Cigna, Evernorth, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare/Optum. And even if you don’t have insurance, when you consider how life-changing managing your anxiety will be, it’s hard to put a price on your well-being.

Counseling won’t be able to help me with my anxiety disorder—I’ve always been this way.

Before you start therapy, it’s common to think that there’s nothing that can help you with overcoming anxiety. After all, you may have been dealing with anxiety symptoms for most of your life. However, you don’t have to suffer any longer—anxiety is highly treatable. As your therapist, I want to act as your mirror—some of the things I help you see may not be easy to look at initially, but this is the first important step to healing. I promise you it’s worth it.

Anxiety Doesn’t Have To Hold You Back From What You Love

You deserve to live a comfortable life that is free of anxiety. If you would like to find out more about anxiety therapy with me, please visit my contact page.