Anxiety

When it starts to creep in, it’s out of your hands.

Your chest tightens.

It’s hard to breathe.

Your body starts to tense.

The room gets hot!

It all seems to come from nowhere, and you’re totally taken off guard by the effects.

That’s when the downward spiral begins.

Your thoughts begin to swirl.

You grasp to find your footing but feel yourself sliding deeper and deeper into the panic that’s taking you over.

You may worry about things that happened last week… or your mind might aim at one of a million things that might happen in the future.

Unfortunately, it’s not a passing attack.

No, the anxiety creeps into all areas of your life. And when you’re constantly worried and distracted…

It’s hard to focus at work.

You woke up at 2 am last night and could not get back to sleep. It is hard to stay on track and work on things when you can barely keep your eyes open.

The meeting seems to lag forever, and you worry about what else you have to accomplish and miss your chance to contribute to the conversation.

Relationships are almost impossible.

Feeling uncomfortable in social situations keeps you in your comfort zone. Your friend is having a party, but you really feel uncomfortable being in a room with many new people.

You are often not in the present moment when having conversations and often appear distracted or uncaring because you can not shut your mind off.

You feel frustrated and lonely.

Wanting to build community and connection, you attempt to attend a group fitness class or a workshop, but right before you enter the building, panic starts to take over.

You feel like there is no good solution to overcoming these feelings, and you almost feel paralyzed to do anything.

If you’re like most people…

You’ve been holding things inside you for too long, stuffing so many feelings down that you can’t stuff anything else. Trying to keep the peace or not upset others often makes you hold your thoughts and feelings inside.

Maybe you allow the influence of outside sources to guide you rather than follow your intuition around things.

Your body is starting to let it out, but not in a way that is pleasing to you.

Holding things inside often causes “dis-ease” in our bodies. This may manifest in gastrointestinal distress, high blood pressure, or headaches. Mentally, you may notice that you have problems focusing or often feel scattered.

You may be becoming more isolated from others or possibly agitated.

Therapy can help.

Developing a connection with your body…

We’ll bring awareness to what activates your “fight or flight” response. You’ll learn to create space so that you can pause and reflect rather than react when things come up. When you have different ways to think about your activations, you can keep yourself from spiraling out of control.

Staying grounded when the anxiety creeps in…

We’ll do mindfulness practices that keep you anchored to the present moment. This may look like spending time in nature and connecting with your senses or a meditation practice that fits your unique needs.

We will develop a reframe or mantra to come back to when you notice you are starting to become dysregulated. Awareness of what is happening in your body and mind when anxiety appears will help you reduce your symptoms.

We will then work to incorporate the practice of choice into your lifestyle, which will help build neural pathways to your “rest and digest” response. This will allow you to lower your threshold so that you have more time to manage your symptoms when they occur.

By noticing you are going too far into the future or are stuck in the past, you can focus on the present – instead of worrying about what could or should have been.

Communicating your feelings and desires…

When you can put things out in the world and know you’re being heard, lightness will come over you, as these things are no longer sitting inside you, causing physical and mental unrest.

We will work to build communication skills that help you become more assertive in your communication with others. These skills will allow you to feel more balanced in your communication efforts without becoming too aggressive or remaining in a more passive state.

We will build confidence in these newly acquired skills through role plays and coaching. You can utilize your voice in various relationships and stop holding everything inside.

It’s time to make a choice.

Going out and being social can be enjoyable.

Enjoying the moment with your friends and family can be a reality.

Communicating your feelings and desires can be a reflective rather than a reactive activity.

It’s all possible when you become aware of your anxiety and learn to stay centered when life throws you curveballs.

All this is just a breath away! Contact me today so that we can get things started.