Therapy for Anxiety

Do any (or all) of these sound familiar:

Non-stop “what ifs” and worse case scenarios running through your head that you are sure are certainties (even though your logical brain says it’s not likely).

Over-thinking EVERYTHING and feeling exhausted because your mind is working so hard.

Worrying that something bad is going to happen to yourself or someone you care about.

Believing that if you don’t plan everything to the tiniest detail, something will definitely go wrong, and of course, then it would be your fault.

Having Plan B, C, D, E….. for all the possible turns the plan can take.

Replaying plans over and over again to make sure that you haven’t missed anything.

Feeling like you will explode if things don’t go as planned.

Having a hard time making a decision because you don’t want to make the wrong one even though you have researched all the options extensively.

When you do make a decision, worrying that it was the wrong decision.

Having a hard time starting a project because it feels too overwhelming.

When something minor happens, the mind blows it up into a major catastrophe (I have a headache…. It must be a brain tumor and I’m going to die).

Not being able to stop thinking about all the terrible things happening in the world.

Having a hard time focusing on what you need to get done because your mind is too busy thinking/planning/ worrying about other things.

Having a hard time sleeping because your mind is really taking the worry and irrational thoughts to a whole new level since you laid down to go to sleep.

Waking up in the middle of the night and immediately start thinking about worries, to dos, plans, all the things….

Waking up with a knot in your stomach.

Having tension and tightness in the body all day, every day.

Oh, and how can we forget about the worry that you aren’t good enough, worthy of love, that everyone thinks you suck, and you’re totally bombing at life.

This kind of anxiety can really suck the joy out of life.

When we are stuck in this mind-made world and mental busyness it can be exhausting and painful. It might come and go, sometimes triggered by something, or just show up out of nowhere, either way it sucks.

The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety

Anxiety can be a vicious cycle. Sometimes it can start because our minds are in the habit of “what if”-ing and any situation can start this stream of unhelpful thoughts that just feeds more anxiety. Then, in an effort to alleviate that anxiety, we try to problem solve or plan a way to get through the worse case scenarios that our mind has conjured up, but now our mind is just swirling with terrible scenarios which amps up the anxiety more…

Sometimes it can start with the body. Maybe we just have the feeling of anxiety in the body, but can’t quite figure out what it’s about, but then the mind is even more likely to latch on to anything it can find, including things that you actually had never been worried about, and the cycle again.

Just Let It Go…

EASIER SAID THAN DONE! Even though these vicious cycles are causing so much pain and interfering with life, it can be really scary to think about letting the worry/planning/thinking go because it feels like it’s preventing something bad from happening. If I asked you “what would happen if you didn’t plan or overthink things?” Is your immediate response “SOMEONE. WILL. DIE!” or maybe something a bit less intense like “something will go wrong/it won't get done right”. Either way, it can be really difficult to let go of all these thoughts when they feel protective.

Or maybe it doesn't seem protective, but it is impossible to stop the thoughts from coming. If you could "just stop" thinking about all this stuff you definitely would have by now!

I'm Here to Help!

I want to help you find a balance between having solid plans and being prepared for life AND not having so much anxiety that you feel like you might explode or maybe just crawl into bed for then next month or so. I want to help you live more in the moment rather than up in your head so that you can enjoy life more. I want to help you feel calmer and more relaxed in the body and the mind.

What I Offer:

Individual Therapy: In each 50-minute session I will meet you where you’re at, we’ll explore what anxiety looks like for you, and we’ll work together in finding you some peace from that seemingly, unrelenting beast called anxiety.

Online Therapy: Life is busy! That’s why I offer online therapy. You can connect to your session from the comfort of your own home (or car, or private office, or backyard…). You can find more information on online therapy here.

Group Therapy: Coming soon! Group therapy offers the opportunity to connect with others who experience similar struggles and learn from them. If you are interested in receiving an email about details of upcoming groups, click here to contact me and let me know. Click here for more information on group therapy.

My Approach To Work with Anxiety

To work with anxiety, I use a foundation of mindfulness-based therapy and integrate cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies. I find that these two approaches work really well together to make lasting changes for people who experience anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy: With mindfulness you can become more aware of how your mind works and the thoughts that feed anxiety. When you can see that, you can start getting unhooked from the unhelpful thoughts. You will also learn tools to help you be more in the present moment (which also means out of your head), so that you can connect with what is most important today rather than with something in the future that probably won’t even happen or that plan that you’ve replayed a million times already. You can learn more about Mindfulness-Based Therapy here. You can also read about how meditation can be helpful for anxiety here.

CBT Strategies: C (cognitive) in CBT is about changing unhelpful beliefs and thoughts. We can explore core beliefs that are fueling anxiety and work to change these to more realistic, balanced beliefs that are less anxiety producing. The B (behavior) in CBT is about changing behaviors, which might include finding more self-care activities, better communication skills, setting boundaries, or behavioral experiments.

Are You Ready to break the cycle of anxiety ?

Yes, therapy can be hard work. It adds more to your already busy schedule and takes energy. BUT if you are willing to do this work now, the return on investment can be huge. You can face all the difficulties that inevitably comes in life with less anxiety and more presence and calm.

If you’re ready to stop that vicious anxiety cycle, schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation with me to find out how I can help.

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