What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the U.S. An estimated 40 million people or roughly one in five adults struggle with it. It’s no wonder, given the multitude of stressors we face every day including work, family life, financial pressures, and current events. These external factors can contribute to anxiety, but so can genetics, brain chemistry, and one’s personality.

Less than half of people with anxiety get any kind of treatment for it, although therapy is very effective in reducing or eliminating it. For our clients struggling with anxiety disorders, we match each client’s needs to the type of therapy best suited for them. Too many people suffer in silence, finding themselves stuck in never-ending cycles of worry.

Signs and Symptoms

There are several different anxiety disorders, each with their own set of signs and symptoms. The most common anxiety disorders are listed below, along with their related symptoms:

Generalized anxiety disorder
- Indecisiveness
- Being unable to “let go” of a fear or worry
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Nausea
- Persistent worries which are out of proportion to the situation

Social anxiety disorder
- Fear of being judged negatively
- Worry about embarrassment
- Avoidance of social situations
- Analyzing social situations after they occur
- Trembling
- Sweating
- Dizziness

Panic disorder/panic attacks
- Sense of impending doom
- Fear of losing control or of death
- Pounding heart rate
- Shortness of breath or sense of tightness in throat
- Feeling of unreality
- Numbness or tingling
- Chest pain
- Chills
- Hot flashes

Specific phobias
- Feelings of intense fear and panic when thinking about or exposed to source of phobia
- Knowing your fear is irrational, but being powerless to control it
- Avoidance of the object of your phobia, or of any place or situation in which you could come into contact with it
- Nausea
- Dizziness or fainting
- Rapid heart rate
- Chest tightness

Common Myths About Anxiety

One misconception around anxiety is that it’s the same thing as stress. Stress is the body’s reaction to a threat, whereas anxiety is the body’s reaction to the stress. Stress is normal and happens to everyone. Anxiety, on the other hand, can be debilitating and usually interferes with daily life. If you’re experiencing stress, you’ll feel better once the stressful situation has passed. Anxiety disorders are more irrational; you may feel anxious in situations that don’t call for it and the anxiety won’t go away, even after the perceived threat has passed. You will simply become anxious about something else.

Another myth is that anxiety is often just a part of who someone is, and medication is the only way to “fix” it. Medication can help, but therapy is highly effective for anxiety. In fact, the American Psychological Association reports that therapy is more effective than medication according to research. Unlike other disorders, for which a combination of medication and therapy is most effective, adding medication to therapy doesn’t seem to have additional benefits.

How Therapy can help with Anxiety

Anxiety therapy can look very different depending on the type and severity of anxiety you’re dealing with. We start by talking about what you want to get out of therapy and what you envision for your life after treatment. We then create a roadmap for how to get there. A big part of therapy can be finding hope that you can live a more serene and fulfilling daily life.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is the most widely used, evidence based treatment for anxiety. It’s effective across all types of anxiety and for all levels of severity. CBT looks at the unique ways your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact with each other. In the case of anxiety, your anxious, fearful thoughts have a negative impact on your feelings, and therefore your behavior. Your behavior then reinforces your thoughts, and a cycle is formed that can be hard to break. Once you understand what your patterns are within this framework, we can help you learn to interrupt these patterns through skill-building, reframing maladaptive thought patterns, and other methods that we determine based on your assessment and goals.

We also use an array of mindfulness techniques to help our clients learn to re-regulate their nervous systems, self soothe and calm themselves. These techniques can include meditation, breath work or various forms of embodied mindfulness. In addition, we incorporate psychodynamic psychotherapy, helping our clients to understand how specific thought patterns originated, what influences in your early life impacted your nervous system, and how these may continue to manifest themselves today.

If you are struggling from anxiety, whether it be mild or crippling, help is available. Consider scheduling an appointment with one of our skilled therapists, who can help you learn to manage your anxiety while addressing the underlying causes. With the right tools, you can substantially reduce or even eliminate your anxiety and live a happier, healthier life.