Why Can’t I Relax?
It can be the perseverating thoughts and worrying that won’t let up, a tension in the shoulders, avoiding places or situations, insomnia, chest tightness or just a nagging feeling that something isn’t right. Anxiety takes many forms, but at its core, it is a human brain’s way of trying to keep us safe.
How Anxiety Gets Conditioned
For better or worse, people are evolved to scan for threats. Brains worry about the future and ruminate about the past. They think in patterned ways that may have once helped protect us. Anxiety is a basic and normal human function that helps us survive. Sometimes, though, anxiety over-functions.
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Where Does Anxiety Come From?
Anxiety is a common human response to life’s uncertainties, financial or work stress, health challenges, a loss, nutritional factors, world events, trauma, and relationship issues. Sometimes, mental pressure also comes from our family or work culture. Individuals’ tendency toward anxiety varies, as does the way the body carries stress. Identifying the sources of your anxiety and the way it shows up is an important part of starting therapy.
Overwhelmed When Anxiety Takes Over
Anxiety can be not just uncomfortable, but also interfere with daily life, keep us up at night, or prevent us from doing things we wish we could be doing. Research shows that long-term stress can even show up in the body, affecting virtually any bodily system (American Psychological Association, 2023). Fortunately, anxiety disorders can in general be treated effectively (Ströhle et al., 2018). I offer a relaxed and constructive space to explore the sources of anxiety and experience new ways of meeting it. Engaging a supportive relationship as well as the brain’s own neuroplasticity, we can put anxiety in its place.
Talk Therapy for Anxiety
Therapy treatment starts with a conversation about the story of your anxiety. I am interested in more than symptoms - I will interview you about your history, routines, goals, concerns, relationships, and wants and needs. We will explore the ways you have adapted to and overcome stress so far, as well as the changes you seek to implement. Often, it is therapeutic simply to have a space of one’s own to emotionally process worries or have an accountability partner for personal goals. Schedule now.
Are There Therapists for Existential Anxiety?
I am well-equipped to support you through not just anxiety symptoms, but also core challenges around identity, meaning-making, embodiment, and grief. My approach toward anxiety therapy is rooted in a contemporary psychodynamic and systems framework, prioritizing human connection and rigorous clinical inquiry. I am also influenced by my experience in psychosocial oncology, where health problems, disability, and existential issues were often at the heart of anxiety.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for Anxiety
Forget about one-size-fits-all CBT. I use CBT within a holistic context. I offer an experiential, depth-oriented CBT that moves beyond diagnosis and symptom reduction to the underlying values, beliefs, feelings, identity concerns and existential dilemmas that are all part of being human.
How does Cognitive Restructuring Work?
According to cognitive behavioral therapy, our experience of life is filtered through our perspective and thoughts (Hoffmann et al., 2013). This influences how we feel and act every day. Anxiety treatment will involve an individualized plan that focuses our work towards what matters to you. I will meet you where you are as we gently introduce new patterns of experience in service of thriving amidst your present-day needs. If cognitive restructuring, or working on your thoughts, makes you cringe, you are not alone - we can work together.
When CBT and Talk Therapy Fall Short
Talk therapy or CBT alone might not alleviate anxiety. Sometimes, we need to rely on more than words. The human nervous system contains implicit wisdom. What we experience as stress may actually be our body’s way of sharing information about what we need. It can be empowering to learn your own nervous system’s unique patterns and have a safe environment for navigating your inner world.
“Body-First” vs. “Brain-First” Therapy
I practice a combination of “body-first” somatic and behavioral therapies that safely train the mind-body connection and “brain-first” cognitive therapies that investigate our thinking and stories - both with a foundation of relational warmth. You might have also heard this called “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches. Each session will incorporate a tailored range of interventions including talk therapy, skill practice, relaxation exercises, Socratic questioning, cognitive work, and acceptance-based therapies. I offer trauma-informed assessment to ensure appropriate pacing and safety as we incorporate treatment. I prioritize client autonomy, putting you in the driver’s seat while keeping an eye on the map for you.
How Therapy Helps with Anxiety
Anxiety is highly treatable. Sometimes, it is too much to hold everything together on our own. Seeing a counselor can help provide a map to help you navigate complex feelings. It can be a kind thing to do for yourself to go to therapy. Approaching uncomfortable emotions in a safe setting and letting them out can be surprisingly relieving. Therapy can even help your relationships. I will work with you to personalize your treatment and connect on a human level.
Start Anxiety Therapy Near Me
Don’t worry alone. Schedule a free consultation and let’s see how I can help. You can reserve a convenient time instantly on my online client portal. Any doubts or questions, I would be happy to talk with you.
References
American Psychological Association. (2023, March 8). Stress effects on the body. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
Hofmann, S. G., Asmundson, G. J., & Beck, A. T. (2013). The science of cognitive therapy. Behavior therapy, 44(2), 199-212.
Ströhle, A., Gensichen, J., & Domschke, K. (2018). The Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 155(37), 611–620. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2018.0611