Anxiety is essentially an inability to learn from the past, live passionately in the moment, and plan appropriately for the future. People struggling with anxiety tend to dwell on regrets about the past, while worrying about the future, making it impossible for them to enjoy the moment. Certain parts of ourselves can become triggered and overactive, keeping us agitated and worried. These overactive parts often bring previous painful past experiences into the present.
Manifestations of Anxiety:
- Mild, episodic worry,
- Chronic tension,
- Feeling out of control,
- Feeling drained of energy and joy for life,
- Sudden acute episodes of panic.
Anxiety can range from mild and intermittent to pervasive and incapacitating. Panic attacks are particularly debilitating. They can occur without warning or apparent cause. Although they may take different forms, they are usually brief episodes of overwhelming fear or impending doom, along with physical symptoms such as racing heart, difficulty breathing, light–headedness or dizziness, a sense that something is physically wrong, or that your body is out of control.
Traditional treatment of Anxiety will teach relaxation and meditation skills, interrupting and challenging negative self–talk messages, and support of positive coping habits and thoughts.
To create a more permanent change, I address the entire person. This includes your thinking, feelings, past and present behavior patterns, diet, activity and exercise, work, family and relationships, general lifestyle, and sources of meaning and fulfillment in your life. We will work together to address both external sources of stress and worry in your life, and internal negative thoughts and feelings that create and feed anxiety.
There is hope
You can reduce and even move beyond symptoms of anxiety to a more complete and lasting recovery. You can develop a comfortable confidence that you are safe, that you can handle whatever might happen, and that you can learn from past experiences and grow as a person.
Many of my clients have expressed surprise at how wonderful they feel when they discover the absence of an old chronic anxiety.