anxiety disorders

Living with anxiety can make everyday activities feel taxing and overwhelming. Common symptoms include excessive worry, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and physical symptoms like a racing heart or muscle tension.

Anxiety therapy includes understanding and managing the thoughts and sensations that are driving the symptoms. Uncertainty is often a trigger and increasing ability to tolerate it will also be practiced. In many cases, it is important to include a gentle progression of activities to build confidence and rewire your nervous system. Practicing both cognitively and behaviorally will help to relearn what is safe and what you are capable of doing.

    • Stress and worry (chronic and/or situational)

      • ‍Includes ongoing stress or worry that you cannot shut off. Whether it is work, relationships, life changes, or health, these symptoms can feel exhausting and disrupt the life you want.

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder

      • Includes persistent, excessive worry about multiple areas of life. Symptoms of tension, restlessness, and over-thinking are common.

    • Panic Disorder

      • Includes sudden waves of intense fear that along with physical symptoms such as shortness of breath, racing heart, and sweating.

    • Agoraphobia

      • Includes intense anxiety about being in situations that would be difficult to escape, such as public.

    • Social Anxiety Disorder

      • Intense fear of being judged or negatively evaluated by others. Often leads to avoiding social situations.

    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

      • Intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges paired with behaviors/rituals in efforts to reduce the anxiety.

  • We will start by building a solid understanding of you, your experiences, and how anxiety is impacting you. Then we will discuss how and why anxiety shows up, practice skills to think differently, and build confidence to respond differently.

  • Exposure therapy is an approach that helps you gradually face feared sensations, thoughts, and/or situations. It is approaching anxiety in an intentional way so the nervous system can adapt.

    We will work together to determine what the best approach for your concerns will be. Any practice work will be gradual and consistent with your personal goals.

    There may be a temporary increase in anxiety, and that is expected as you start to do more activities you previously avoided. With practice, your nervous system learns to adapt to the new activity and you will experience less fear over time.