Anxiety Treatment
Do you often feel pressured by an anxious mind?
- Are you overly worried about everyday things trying to keep anxious thoughts at bay?
- Do you feel “on edge”, finding it difficult to relax?
- Are you low on energy for not falling sleep or staying asleep through the night?
- Do you have shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches and/or stomach aches?
- Do you feel as though anxiety is restricting your access to your dreams and potentials?
- Do you ever wish that you can find freedom from worry and negative thinking?
In today’s demanding world, living with anxiety can be a lonely and exhausting experience. Whether general or specific, anxiety may be taking a major toll on your mental, emotional and physical health. Anxiety can cause our minds to spin out of control and force us to entertain all sorts of unlikely but horrible scenarios. It can cause us to feel as if we have no choice but to live in a state of constant fear. If chronic, anxiety also begins to undermine our ability to focus and to enjoy our lives. Anxiety can provoke intense self-criticism and self-doubt.
For some people, anxiety takes the form of compulsive or phobic behavior: for example, you might find yourself doing things in a certain way to ward off that bad thing from happening, or afraid to leave your home.
Mild to moderate levels of anxiety are common and helpful responses
At low levels, anxiety is a normal and adaptive response to imminent danger or a threat. A physiological response (the “fight/flight/freeze” response) takes place in the body in order to protect ourselves. This physiological response transfers to less imminently threatening situations, such as family, health or finances. The experience of anxiety is a normal response to stressful scenarios, such as waiting for test results or asking out a person on a date. At its most basic level, anxiety can motivate you to prioritize, mobilize and get things done. Even at moderate levels, manageable anxiety enhances preparation, anticipation and performance while being completely care and worry free may hinder our growth and keep us in our comfort zone. At high levels, however, anxiety poses serious risks.
For example, when called unexpectedly to the manager’s office, employees without anxiety might wonder with curiosity or even consider all possibilities – a warning, promotion, or even a request. An employee suffering with anxiety begins to think of all of the horrible possible scenarios. As untreated anxiety worsens to escalating fears, it makes the person tense and doubtful, while delaying the visit as though something very bad “has” happened. This maladaptive response is the result of brain’s conditioning to fear and anxiety-provoking events in the past. The good news is that conditioned anxious responses can be changed. You don’t have to live your life with its current patterns. You can learn to recondition your brain and stop the worry. The first step is seeking professional assistance.
The 3-stage model of anxiety treatment
Anxiety and relaxation cannot coexist. Both are deep bodily experiences, and diametrically opposed. Using an evidence-based 3-stage model of therapy, I can help you use your brain to effectively and permanently relieve your anxiety. First, I will educate and train you on how to regulate your body when you experience feelings of anxiety, worry or fear. This stage will take only 2-4 sessions, such training is also an ongoing aspect of treatment. Next, we will begin to identify the root causes of your anxious responses to life events...
Once this has been accomplished, the third stage of treatment is EMDR therapy. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an evidence-based method for quickly and effectively reprocessing memories that have contributed to making overwhelming anxiety a common physiological response to stressors.
You may believe that anxiety treatment can help you find long-lasting relief, but you may have questions or concerns...like
I’ve heard therapy for anxiety can take a long time
My integrative 3-stage model offers a clear roadmap for a deep and sustained recovery. Intensive dynamic psychotherapy for anxiety treatment takes about 6 months and is briefer than traditional psychodynamic therapy. Also, the integration of EMDR therapy into your treatment accelerates the inner healing process. In our first two sessions, I will listen as you describe your life with anxiety and how you want it to be different. I will also educate you on some skills that you can begin using immediately. In our subsequent sessions together, I will help you get to the root of your presenting problems and resolve it there. The last phase of anxiety treatment is devoted to develop and practice the coping skills to manage anticipated challenges, in a way that will keep you on track towards your goals. Finally, you’ll plan for any follow-up treatment that may be needed. My clients are delightfully amazed at the results they have gotten.
I’m not sure how EMDR can help me get relief from anxiety
When you are facing overwhelming anxiety in your daily life and feel it is for no apparent reason, there is usually an underlying issue that needs to be resolved. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy targets emotional memories that house the anxiety you face daily. EMDR then proceed to activate the connective tissue between the left and right brain hemispheres, where reprocessing of conditioned responses occurs. This allows the brain to release of the original trauma carried in the nervous system. Now, I like to ask you,
When is the right time to stop anxiety from interfering with your life?
I know well that taking the first step to relief can be overwhelming, especially if one is already anxious. It really does take courage! Please know that I have supported many people just like you find lasting relief. I encourage you to take the first step towards inner peace: please call me at 949-342-5053 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. You can ask me any questions you may have about anxiety treatment and my practice. It’s time for you to break the anxiety cycle and regain freedom in your life!