Is Anxiety Preventing You From Enjoying Your Life?

Do you find it difficult to slow down and be present in your daily life?

Do you think that constant worry is part and parcel of living in the modern world?

Is pressure building up from every angle of your life, including from your interpersonal relationships?

Is “should” a common word in your internal monologue, causing you to second-guess your decisions? Does it simply feel like you cannot mute your anxious thinking?   

Perhaps you have tried adopting new methods and approaches in the past in order to make yourself more mindful, but you find that worries creep in every time. Or you may have grown so accustomed to anxious thinking, that you think there is no other way to live. It may be that you grew up in an environment where expressing your emotions was viewed as unacceptable. As a result, you may fear that seeking treatment for anxiety will be viewed a sign of weakness. 

Whether we are aware of it or not, anxious thinking affects all aspects of our lives, from our work to our interpersonal relationships and down to our understanding of our own needs. Moreover, anxiety can have a detrimental effect on our physical health, resulting in symptoms like sleeplessness, poor nutrition, and a lack of energy. Over time, physical, emotional, and mental stressors accumulate, and the cycle of anxiety worsens. 

In today’s hectic and ever-changing world, it can be easy to think that there is no time or use in “stopping to smell the roses”. And while worry is a normal and necessary component of human life, untreated anxiety devolves into panic and puts your mental and physical health at risk. 

Thankfully, you don’t have to be a victim of your own anxious thinking. With the help of an anxiety counselor, you can be empowered to develop the tools and skills you need to make your worries more productive and less damaging. 

Anxiety Is A Common Component Of Everyday Life 

Stress and fear are part of living in today’s world, but with so many factors outside of our control, persistent worry can often spiral into cycles of panic, anxious thinking, and self-doubt. Feelings of negativity and helplessness can make it hard to think rationally about productive solutions, paralyzing us from taking meaningful action in our lives. 

Often in this state, we neglect the basic tasks that would help us feel more relaxed and confident in our choices. We convince ourselves that we don’t have the time or energy to engage in healthy physical activity or genuine mindfulness. Whether it’s maintaining good sleep hygiene, budgeting time for exercise, or simply taking time to breathe and be present in the moment, there are small things we can do every day to redirect our focus from the fear of what’s next to the presence of now. 

The first step in the essential process of reducing our anxiety, however, is identifying anxious thinking and how our emotions affect every aspect of our lives. This can be difficult when we have lived so long with anxiety that we don’t recognize other modes of thinking or other ways of being. When you commit to anxiety treatment, you can receive the coaching and support you need to identify distressing emotions or harmful self-beliefs in order to understand how they contribute to your anxiety.

Anxiety Treatment Can Empower You To Identify And Limit Anxious Thinking 

Working with adults and teens alike, I foster an open and person-focused environment. I coach my clients to develop new practices that heighten awareness so they can identify and address anxiety before it becomes overwhelming. Working collaboratively, we will create mindfulness exercises and other daily rituals in order to establish the most successful treatment possible for your unique needs and goals.  

During our sessions, I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and person-centered approaches to empower you on an individual level while strategizing ways to limit your anxiety. You can learn to recognize the relationship between your emotions, cycles of anxiety, and the negative symptoms that are a result of that thinking. When you are able to enhance awareness around your emotions, you can develop a deeper understanding of how those emotions are affecting your thoughts and actions. You can practice new tools and strategies to recognize anxious thinking before it creates problems in your daily life. 

Throughout our work together, we will identify your emotional, physical, and mental strengths and explore how those strengths can be applied to replace distressing thought patterns with more productive ones. The truth is that everyone has fears around the unknown, but that fear does not have to be at the core of your thinking. So, while anxiety cannot be eliminated entirely, I have helped many clients learn to accept and process anxious thoughts in a productive, meaningful way that allows them to slow down and live a more enjoyable and worry-free life. 

Are There Additional Factors Keeping You From Seeking Help With Your Anxiety?

I am concerned that I will be judged for seeking out therapy for my anxiety. 

That right there is an anxious thought! I recognize that the act of seeking therapy can be viewed by others as a weakness. However, our social anxieties and concerns about what other people think of us are more often reflections of what we perceive to be our own shortcomings. So, while we cannot control the thoughts and opinions of others, we can find new ways to mitigate our own anxious thinking. Strength is built in moments of vulnerability and asking for help will only make you stronger in the long term. 

My anxiety seems pretty standard and normal for someone my age. Why should I invest time and money in trying to fix something I don’t see as being problematic? 

Anxious thinking—even if it is just about one singular concern—has a way of bleeding into every part of our lives, from work to relationships to our ability to relax. And while anxiety is a typical component of life, there are steps we can take to reduce our anxiety and increase our confidence and productivity. 

Working with a therapist to de-escalate your anxious thinking can help you to enjoy life more fully and feel more functional in your relationships, including your relationship with yourself. It can be difficult to ask for help, but anxiety treatment can give you the practical tools and strategies you need to find relief and grow your confidence.  

How long will it take to get my anxious thinking under control?

I get this question a lot and the short answer is that there is no set timeframe for being able to manage anxiety. Everyone is different and responds differently to therapeutic approaches. While many clients begin to notice benefits after just a few sessions together, self-improvement is a lifelong process with which we are never “finished”. My goal is to help you gain the awareness, skills, and resources you need to manage anxiety on your own, whether that takes a few months or a few years. In seeking anxiety treatment, you are taking the first step towards building a lifelong toolbox in managing and mitigating anxious thinking. 

You Have the Power to Control Your Anxiety

If you have identified anxiety as a problem in your life, or even if you maintain that anxious thinking is a normal and necessary aspect of your life, counseling can help reduce self-doubt and increase confidence. For a free 15-30 minute phone consult to discuss your anxiety and the ways that I am prepared to help, please call (469) 718-7306 or contact me for more information. 

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