Anxiety

Here it comes again…

That all too familiar sense of nervousness or being on edge, as your heart begins to race, palms begin to sweat, and your stomach becomes uneasy.

All too familiar because this feeling is coming up almost everywhere, including at work, home, at the store, with friends, and maybe even when you are alone.

At work you may have difficulty concentrating as your mind races with worries, anxieties and fears.

When out with friends, you may feel disconnected, inattentive and fearful as you attempt to hide all the feelings and thoughts that are coming up.

You may walk through the door at home with a knot in your stomach not knowing what difficulties await you on the other side of the door.

When you are alone your mind never seems to slow down and you may attempt to stay busy and distract or shut down completely.

Maybe you find yourself irritable, sad or withdrawn from others as you try to cope, but what you used to do to manage anxiety and stress doesn’t seem to help this time.

Worries, Anxieties & Fears……

Are common and a quite normal part of our human experience since we have a word machine between our ears that never sleeps, constantly comparing, judging and evaluating everyone and everything.

That word machine we call our brain or mind was designed to keep us alive by identifying threats preparing our bodies to fight or flee and our current situation is giving it ample supply of material that appears threatening.

No one wants to feel anxious…

And the natural human response is to avoid anything that causes you to feel anxious.

You may begin to avoid people, places, events, situations, and interactions that might possibly cause anxiety.

The irony in this common and natural response is that you likely continue to feel anxious, even though you are avoiding almost everything.

Depression

Your life begins to shrink…

 As you avoid engaging in many vital aspects of your life.

You may feel sad that you can’t hang out with your friends and family anymore, but the fear of anxiety and even another panic attack keeps you alone and isolated.

You may struggle to find purpose and meaning in life, as negative thoughts and rumination about the past and fears of the future increase.

Negative thoughts and feelings increase…

And just making it to work takes everything you can muster.

At home, you isolate from family and make excuses to be alone.

As you try to sleep, the word machine turns on, and you toss and turn until it is time to go to work again.

This can become a relentless cycle!

Attempts to stay busy and distracted….

All of the negative thoughts and feelings you are experiencing only work temporarily.

Sometimes it seems like it all comes rushing back in at bed time which makes sleeping almost impossible, leading to physical and mental exhaustion.

There is hope….

Therapy for depression and anxiety can help you develop more effective ways of responding to the negative and unwanted internal experiences.

It’s not that what you may be doing is wrong or that anything is “wrong” with you because you are having these experiences, it simply means that what you have been doing is not working, even though it may have previously worked.

Therapy for Depression and Anxiety helps…….

You discover a more effective approach to your experiences through …

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy strategies and relaxation techniques. You can learn new ways to cope with the negative and anxiety-provoking thoughts, memories, and feelings.

These strategies include:

 Mindfulness and present-moment awareness, which anchors one in the present, the only place we can effectually change anything.

Cognitive diffusion skills create some space from those overwhelming thoughts, thus providing the opportunity to develop more effective responses.

Clarification of Values will prepare the foundation for newly developed responses.

Relaxation skills will help maintain a calm body, while processing difficult thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Find Freedom Today!

I am available to walk with you on your journey to freedom from the chains of depression and anxiety.

Schedule Now or call (915) 201-0675 to schedule your free 20-minute phone consultation.

We accept most major private insurances in Texas, Arizona and Alabama.