Are You In A Constant State Of Worry?

• Are you experiencing racing thoughts, muscle tension, fatigue, sweating or irritability?
• Do incessant thoughts make it difficult to fall and stay asleep at night?
• Do you find yourself restless, tense or jumpy, continually on the lookout for signs of danger?
• Do specific situations, such as driving, public speaking or interacting with coworkers, partners or new people cause you to panic?
• Are you fearful of things like making a mistake at work, being attacked, repeating past relationship mistakes or being judged by others?
• Are you haunted by a trauma from your past and fear that what happened before can happen again?
• Are you expecting the worst rather than hoping for the best?
• Do you desperately wish to overcome your fears so that you can live a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life?

If you’re suffering from anxiety, the world can be a frightening place. Your world may be overloaded with danger signals, keeping you on constant lookout for potential emotional or physical threats. You may sit awake at night replaying a traumatic event from your past, perhaps haunted by former insults to your body and mind, such as an accident, assault or a negative relationship with a parent or partner. Although you may ache to get over the past, you may still be perpetually consumed with a fear that your trauma may occur again. Perhaps you find that fear is keeping you from living a normal life, especially if you go to great lengths to avoid social settings, new relationships or taking on new challenging situations. If you’re experiencing anxiety, the constant torrent of negative thoughts are likely keeping you from living the life you want.

Anxiety Is a Natural Response to Trauma

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in the world. Countless people experience anxiety, and anxiety can become heightened as a result of the trauma created through an accident, assault or multiple negative relationships. While anxiety can be debilitating when it’s experienced in excess, low-level anxiety can be helpful and protect you from danger. Anxiety helps you learn from the past so that you don’t put yourself in dangerous situations again. A little anxiety after a trauma is normal, but sometimes the body’s response to anxiety can go awry, resulting in a long-lasting, debilitating state of fear. If this is your experience, don’t worry. Anxiety treatment can help you better manage and even overcome the anxiety symptoms you may be experiencing, such as paranoia, tension, insomnia and fatigue.

Anxiety Treatment Can Help Alleviate Fear

In my professional experience, I’ve found that understanding one’s anxiety is the first step toward healing. In our anxiety treatment sessions I can help you understand what’s causing your anxiety and identify potential triggers so that you can better manage your symptoms. You can learn new and effective ways to navigate the challenging situations that are causing you to experience worry, panic and fear. In sessions, we can use exposure therapy, a technique that can help mitigate specific fears, such as a fear of driving or social situations.

In sessions, you’ll also have the space and support to talk through the painful thoughts, feelings and situations that are causing you to experience worry, fear and panic. Through my cognitive behavioral therapy approach, you can begin to examine the appropriateness of your fear response. You can also identify, explore and reframe the unhealthy coping strategies you may be using to diminish your anxiety, such as refusing to travel by car, avoiding social settings, using drugs and/or alcohol or setting up any other limitations on yourself that keep you from fully engaging in life. Once you begin to understand the source of your pain and how negative thoughts trigger anxiety, you can develop healthy ways to manage the challenging emotions and uncomfortable body sensations that anxiety elicits.

With the help of a compassionate, nonjudgmental and experienced therapist, you can heal from past traumas, understand harmful patterns of thoughts and behaviors and identify and manage anxiety triggers. You can begin to mitigate your fear so that it doesn’t have a chokehold on your life. It is entirely possible to turn off the worry machine inside your mind, regain a sense of normalcy in your life and begin healing. With the help of anxiety treatment, you can beat back anxiety and live a life free of fear.

Are you ready to take the next step toward living a life unhindered by anxiety, but still have questions or concerns about anxiety treatment?…

I’m worried people will judge me or think I’m crazy if I engage in therapy.

If you feel as though going to therapy somehow makes you “crazy” or “abnormal,” you are not alone in that mindset.  Countless normal people engage in therapy everyday, finding relief for their anxiety. All over the world people are reaping the benefits of counseling, so why shouldn’t you? In my practice I have a strict confidentiality policy, so nothing we discuss will ever leave my office without your permission. If you decide to embark on the therapeutic journey with me, you’ll be taking the first step on your road to recovery. You should be proud of yourself, not ashamed, because you’re demonstrating that you have the power and foresight to take charge of your life and your mental health.

I can get through this on my own. I don’t need the help of anxiety treatment.

While it’s true some people can overcome the initial anxiety that follows a trauma on their own, there are others for whom the sensation of fear never seems to subside. If fear is ruling your life, it’s time to seek the guidance of an experienced therapist. While you may think you can simply choose to be not anxious, anxiety is not easily dissuaded by willpower. Anxiety is your body’s natural response to trauma – you can’t just will it away. Like physical health, mental health takes the work, care and preparation that a trained professional can provide.

I tried therapy in the past and it didn’t help. How can I know that anxiety treatment with you will be effective?

Many people who come to my practice with chronic anxiety have tried therapy in the past without finding relief. If this is you, don’t worry. There are many reasons why your previous attempts at therapy might have been ineffective – none of which should preclude you from seeking future relief. Perhaps your previous therapist used an approach that wasn’t right for you. Or maybe you and your previous therapist simply didn’t build the bond necessary for effective recovery. I’d be happy to meet with you for a primary consultation in order to determine if we’re a good match or to see whether my approach is right for you.

Take Charge of Your Anxiety

Don’t let your fears control you. Take charge of your anxiety today. Many who have sought treatment for anxiety have learned to manage their symptoms and have reestablished normalcy in their lives. I’m confident that you can too. Feel free to call me at 917-216-1025 for a free 30-minute phone consultation. In the meantime, you can visit my blog where I discuss important anxiety-related topics.