Are You Ready To Live Life Without Anxiety?
HAVING ANXIETY IS LIKE LIVING WITH A NAGGING LITTLE BEAST ON YOUR SHOULDER…
…that whispers in your ear constantly. Telling you that you did something wrong, or that you aren’t good enough. That others won’t like you or that you’ll make a fool of yourself. That something bad is going to happen. Or maybe that you should have tried harder to find a solution or change an outcome…the thoughts are endless and can feel debilitating. They impact how you feel about yourself, your relationships, work, and home. They make life – and you—miserable. Wouldn’t it be a relief to stop the worrying?
ABOUT ONE THIRD OF ADULTS FACE ANXIETY AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES
And at any given time about 18% of the adult population is trying to cope with symptoms of anxiety. In other words, anxiety is an incredibly common difficulty to have. If you are struggling with anxiety, you clearly are not alone. Further, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health, the average age of onset of these symptoms is 11 years. So sometimes clients will tell me, “I’ve always been a bit of a worrier, but then this happened and now things just feel out of control.” The factor that brings the anxiety to the forefront can be anything from having a child, to a promotion at work, to the end of a friendship. For others the anxiety feels like it’s always been strongly present and they’ve decided it’s time to finally seek help. And still for others, the anxiety may have seemed to come out of the blue in adulthood or to have followed a specific loss or trauma. Regardless of how the anxiety beast came to land on your shoulder, the good news is that with the help of a compassionate and experienced therapist working in a safe and comforting environment you can engage in anxiety treatment and begin to feel better…more confident in yourself…more in control…more peaceful…and happy.
ANXIETY TREATMENT CAN HELP YOU FEEL BETTER
How effective is anxiety treatment? It's very effective when it’s the right therapy provided by an experienced and knowledgeable therapist working with a client who is motivated to feel better!
As a therapist, I most often use a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach to address anxiety. I’ve used CBT for almost 20 years and have witnessed remarkable improvements in patients committed to change. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America website (www.ADAA.org), CBT is “A well-established, highly effective, and lasting treatment….benefits are usually seen in 12 to 16 weeks, depending on the individual.” It is evidence-based, meaning research has been conducted to show it is helpful and effective, and clients like knowing that substantial improvements are likely in 3-4 months.
So, what does CBT involve? Well, one of the struggles in coping with anxiety can be knowing that you’re worrying too much on one hand while feeling quite convinced, on the other hand, that the worry is justified. In this anxiety treatment we work together to identify and challenge thoughts and beliefs that are leading to unnecessary worrying. We can then develop strategies specific for you to help you manage the worries and improve your life. These strategies are likely to include:
Catching and responding to unhelpful and/or inaccurate thoughts in a healthy way
Addressing unhealthy behaviors that stemmed from anxious thoughts (For example: avoidance of social situations due to negative beliefs about yourself)
Use of relaxation strategies to keep your stress level low
During our sessions we will review information from your week, most likely gathered through a form I will have provided to you. We will discuss times when your anxiety seemed particularly difficult to deal with and generate some ideas about why that might be as well as some solutions to help you cope in the future. We will also notice and celebrate the successes you have in challenging your anxious thoughts and the relief that this has brought to you! Over time you will recognize patterns in your thoughts and will learn to challenge these thoughts on your own. At that point we will begin to taper off our sessions until you feel comfortable working completely on your own. Should symptoms flare in the future, a booster session is always an option.
In addition to CBT, I often include elements of other therapies if I think they will be helpful for a particular client. For example, sometimes issues that cause anxiety are based on accurate and very painful thoughts, typically about the past. When this is the case, our work will likely also involve coping with grief, acceptance of the reality of this past situation, possibly forgiveness, and moving forward despite the event. Acceptance of the reality of the past and moving forward are both concepts central to a type of therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT. Also evidence-based and highly effective, ACT can be very helpful when your mind (and that anxiety beast on your shoulder!) won’t let go of something that can’t be “fixed.” I may also incorporate therapy techniques to help you manage your emotions and difficult relationships, should those issues appear relevant as well.
In essence, we will explore together all the factors that may be contributing to your anxiety symptoms and address them so you can move forward in your life. As a therapist with years of experience working with clients struggling with anxiety, I have the skills to meet you where you’re at with both compassion and the knowledge to help you feel better soon.
BUT…THERAPY FEELS LIKE A BIG STEP
Seeking help is an investment in you, and I’m glad you’re considering treatment. Typically, and just a bit ironically, seeking treatment creates its own set of anxieties — how do I choose a therapist? What if I can’t be helped? What if therapy is too hard? Why can’t I just get over this by myself?
Why can’t I just get over this myself?
Well, to answer that question, let’s start with the fact that anxiety makes life miserable. It can be hard for those who haven’t suffered with anxiety to fully appreciate the pain that anxiety causes. But I get it. And if you could just “get over it” you and millions of others suffering with anxiety already would have done so. The good news is that help is available. When your teeth need help, you see a dentist. When your body needs help you see a doctor. When you need help coping with anxiety, doesn’t it make sense to see an expert in that area? This expertise, delivered in a compassionate and safe environment, will help you feel better so you can start living the life you want to live.
What if I can’t be helped?
Sometimes patients have confided, “I don’t know if I can be helped; what if therapy doesn’t work for me?” The fact is that anxiety is highly treatable when you are given the tools to manage it effectively. CBT is a safe, problem-oriented approach to anxiety treatment. If you are willing to do the work, this therapy will work for you.
What if therapy is too hard for me?
Therapy is challenging. You will learn new things about yourself that will help you make more and better sense of the past, present, and future. However, we will move at your pace so that you have time to really digest the changes you’re making. As a therapist, I encourage and appreciate feedback from my clients in regard to how therapy is feeling…do we need to slow down? Speed up? Move in another direction? This is YOUR therapy, and it’s likely that it will be hard, but in all the right ways.
How do I choose a therapist?
It can be hard to know who to work with to address your concerns. Some things are obvious—choose someone with good training and who has experience. It’s the other stuff that is harder! Will I work well with them? Will I be comfortable working with this person? Will they really listen to what I’m saying? All are great questions! Which is why it’s good to shop around for a therapist. I offer a free 30-minute in-person or phone consultation to help you answer those questions and help you make a decision about choosing the right therapist for you. So, think of consulting with a potential therapist this way: All you have to lose is 30 minutes. What do you stand to gain? Confidence, peace of mind, quality of life. In short, your happiness.
If you would like to schedule a free consultation or discuss any questions you may have about anxiety treatment, please call me, Dr. Jana Drew, at 512-960-5265 or contact me here.
