Anxiety Treatment

Is Constant Worry Draining You?

Does the never-ending fear of something going wrong or the anticipation of a difficult situation prevent you from living your life? Do intrusive thoughts of what you could have done differently repeat in your mind? Are you unable to calm your mind and body enough to relax?

Maybe you start the day off already feeling anxious with a  pervasive uncertainty about what will happen . Fearing the unknown, you may avoid any new situations or social events to prevent you from feeling any stress they may cause. You may not  want to avoid your friends and family, but being around other people stresses you out.

The constant fear about how others view you may be taking over your life. Even something as simple as dressing for work can cause you insecurity.  You may feel as if nothing you do is good enough, like you will never measure up, and everyone is secretly judging you.

You likely feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things you need to get done at work or home. Completely exhausted, you might struggle to do the work you need to — which only makes you feel even worse about yourself.

While your mind keeps thinking about the same concerns again and again, it’s like your brain is stuck watching the “anxiety channel” and your body may begin to react physically. Maybe you are getting headaches more often, or your stomach becomes upset easier. Even though you are not physically exerting yourself, your heart beats rapidly or your breathing becomes heavier. You may also notice that you become flushed, sweaty or nauseous.

Grappling with anxiety and the symptoms that accompany it are never easy. The thought of treatment may scare you, but working with an anxiety counselor can help you find calm in the storm.

Anxiety Symptoms Makes Us All Feel Unstable

At some point, every person will experience anxiety. Feeling nervous about a test, a presentation at work, or a new situation are just a few examples of what can make a person feel anxious. Anxiety is the body’s natural response to any situation that makes us feel stressed or afraid. Once the distress is over, many people can move on from the event with no lingering effects. For some people, however, the anxiety remains and it becomes increasingly difficult to break the cycle.

Unfortunately, some people are genetically predisposed to react more anxiously than others and it is often a seemingly endless pattern of distress from there. The longer symptoms of anxiety persist, the harder the toll it takes on the body and brain. There doesn’t even have to be a specific situation or event that is causing us to feel anxious; feelings of stress and unease can feel like they come out of nowhere, despite there being no real threat present.

With the constant push and pull we feel in our lives, it is no wonder that so many need help with anxiety. It is estimated that over 40 million adults struggle with anxiety disorders in the United States alone — but only 36.9% receive treatment for it .¹ It is also estimated that 4.4 million children have some form of an anxiety disorder. ²

While your struggle with anxiety makes you feel alone, we want to assure you that there is hope. At Vivify Counseling, our highly trained therapists can help you learn how to cope with everyday stress through anxiety counseling.

Treatment Can Help You With Overcoming Anxiety

We understand how difficult it can be to reach out for help. When you are already dealing with anxiety, the last thing you want to do is put yourself into a new situation. However, we assure you that at Vivify Counseling, we will provide you with a safe, compassionate environment where you can express yourself freely. We understand what you are going through and know that this is not something you can just “turn off” or “get over.”

We are highly trained therapists who are up to date on the latest treatment methods for anxiety.  It may be surprising to hear, but anxiety disorders are highly treatable, due to recent advances in neuroscience. That means that around 60% of the population are suffering when they don’t need to be! There is a wealth of knowledge on what is actually going on in the brain when you are feeling anxious. We know the distinct roles each part of the brain plays in triggering feelings of anxiety and panic attacks, and the best treatment methods for each type of anxiety.

In your first session with Vivify Counseling, we will begin by gathering information about your background, your experience of anxiety symptoms and how they impact you on a regular basis. We will work together with you to identify some small steps you can start making immediately to feel better. You will start to learn about your body’s natural response to stress and fear and how to adjust during these times.

What each person experiences with anxiety is unique to them and this means their treatment should be too. Pulling from different scientifically-supported methods of treatment, we tailor your treatment specifically to you so you get the maximum amount of benefits.

Through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), you will learn how your thoughts are influencing your actions and feelings of anxiousness. CBT allows you to counteract the negative thoughts that have become stuck in your mind and replace them with positive ones, or learn how to redirect your thoughts away from them. This will teach you how to break away from intrusive thoughts and help you understand what is happening in your brain.

For some clients, we may also recommend using a method called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This approach is most often used to treat past traumas, however, it can also be useful in treating some types of anxiety. For some people, their anxiety may actually stem from upsetting memories from their past, or even from envisioning possible future scenarios that are terrifying.

At Vivify Counseling, we do more than just offer talk therapy; we offer you specific and actionable steps that you can take to start feeling better right away. We look at you as a whole person, including aspects such as sleep, self-care, diet and exercise, because we know how these can worsen or influence anxiety symptoms. While we support medication usage in many cases, we also believe that some symptoms of anxiety can be managed without medication.

This holistic approach will allow you to see positive changes you can make to improve your life and help ease your anxiety, both in the short and long term. In time, your body and mind will thank you for these healthier habits.

There is no need to suffer through uncomfortable and distressing situations  over and over again. Worry does not have to dominate your life — with anxiety therapy, you can learn how to control the noise and clutter that has taken space in your mind so that you can better focus your time and attention on the things that matter most.

You may still have questions about receiving treatment for your anxiety…

I’m worried about the cost of anxiety therapy.

Instead of viewing this as an expense, look at it as an investment in yourself. You will carry the skills you learn in therapy with you for the rest of your life and thus have the proper coping mechanisms in place to maintain control over your anxiety. This can help save you money on increased medication, not to mention the added value from any opportunities or relationships you would have otherwise missed out on due to your anxiety.  That’s what makes counseling an investment in your present and future.

Even thinking about going to counseling makes my anxiety levels spike.

What you are experiencing is called “anticipatory anxiety,” wherein just thinking about something that could be difficult causes you to feel intense waves of anxiousness. We get it completely and don’t want you to feel even more uncomfortable, but once you walk through our doors, or see us online, we will do everything in our power to put you at ease and make you feel comfortable. You will be getting real-time practice in regulating your anxiety with a trained therapist helping you the whole time.

I think it is going to be too hard for me to change.

Think about how different your life would be if you woke up tomorrow and you were no longer worrying about every little thing. It may seem impossible to get there, but that’s where professional help from an anxiety counselor can help you. By breaking things down into small, realistic goals that are easy for you to manage, you can start feeling better.

You Can Live A Life Free Of Persistent Worry

If you believe you are not able to live life to its fullest because of anxiety, the counselors at Vivify Counseling  can help you manage your symptoms better. You can contact us  or schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with us directly online.

1. https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
2. Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html#ref