It is so hard to feel…
worried, tight, frozen, panicky, nauseous, and even terrified! Anxiety is something that can strike anywhere and any time. It presents itself in our brain and body. Our brain starts to think about something worrisome, that then triggers our autonomic nervous system to gear up in to a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response (The 4 F’s).
The 4 F’s are protective responses in our brains to keep us safe in times of danger. Back in our more primitive days, it could be a lion attacking us that required our blood to be pumping so we could run for our lives. In today’s time, there could be a dangerous driver on the road we need to avoid and use all our willpower to get out of harm’s way. In other words, anxiety helped and still helps us to survive as a human species.
For a lot of us, though, those crisis-type threats are no longer currently imminent. Even if we were in real danger before, in this moment, that danger is no longer present. However, our bodies do not always receive the message that the danger has passed. With a simple scan of our breath and muscles, we might find ourselves feeling tense and short of breath, similar to how we did in previous times of danger in our lives, and then we feel confused as to why. Or perhaps we are aware of why, but still don’t feel satisfied with the toll the worry is taking on our body—the real pain. And we are tired. Tired of having to carry around the weight of worry in our body and our bones.
Generalized Anxiety
Most folks will receive a diagnosis of generalized anxiety at some point in their lives. Whether its a sudden bout before a big presentation you’ve never experienced before or it’s a recurrent sense of worry you are more often than not aware of.
Anxiety is not just a mental experience. Its a chemical reaction in the body (largely coritsol) that stays in your muscles and causes you to tense up. Ever had unexplainable neck problems? It may be related to anxiety.
Learning how to manage your anxiety is possible. From meditating, exercise, or even medication, there are so many aids out there to help with your struggle. Therapy can help to go a bit more deeply in to understanding the role anxiety plays in your life and ways it may serve you specifically or provide a disservice for you. We will create a unique plan for helping you to navigate your anxiety so that you can feel more consistently at peace in your life now and going forward.
Panic Attacks
Have you ever felt like you are going to die? Your heart rate races, breathing gets short, you can feel like you are going to throw up or even do, and sometimes you pass out. Maybe you find yourself at the ER only to discover that you have had a panic attack and were not actually dying. You ask yourself—But, how can that be? It didn’t feel like panic, it felt like a HEART ATTACK. I really thought I was dying!
Panic attacks are a type of anxiety. It normally starts with something small then escalates to something that feels like life or death, similar to other anxieties listed above. However, panic attacks take hold of our nervous system in more dramatic ways, causing us to feel as if we are dying. We can loose our vision, have trouble breathing, notice our heart rate pounding in our throat, notice a sense of pending doom, see our hands shaking, feel chills or hot flashes running through the body, among a variety of other symptoms.
In therapy we can begin to understand catalysts for panic attacks in your life, while also working with a primary care provider to differentiate between medical conditions that can be confused with panic attacks, such as heart attacks or asthma. Having a panic attack is a horrible experience, but they can get better and you deserve to have that relief.
Compulsions & Obsessions (OCD)
Sometimes, anxiety reaches levels that qualify as obsessions or compulsions. Typically, we think of Jack Nicholson from As Good As It Gets as the example for someone who struggles with OCD as he tries not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk. However, many people who struggle with OCD actually have a more subtle form that presents in our patterns of thinking.
It is generally acceptable for health to exercise regularly and engage in a balanced diet, wonderful and important habits for many of our lives. However, if you feel you have to exercise every day and notice yourself planning your whole day, week, or even vacation around doing a certain exercise routine or eating a certain regimen it may be that these health goals have become an obsession. Common thoughts you may find yourself having include, “When can I work out? I can’t see my friends because I haven’t worked out. Is there a gym at the hotel I’m staying? I have to work out every day” and if you were to take an inventory of the amount of time you spend thinking about these types of thoughts versus others, you would find they take up a lot of space in your day.
Other symptoms of obsessions include irritability and difficulty focusing. Perhaps you’ve put off that work email for an hour because you have been researching what healthy food you can have at your work lunch. Maybe you snapped at your child while you were making dinner because you were ruminating on the idea that you were a “failure” for not having worked out at all that day. Obsessions and compulsions can truly become problematic and interfere with our lives.
In therapy, we work to raise awareness of downfalls of rigidity and build flexibility in life, to help you enjoy your life more fully and to find a better balance. You want to be able to stop and smell the roses sometimes, even if you might miss 5 minutes of that workout class. That is what therapy can help to work towards—being able to enjoy the hear and now and find balance in lifestyle goals.
Treatment Options
Short-term Treatment
In my treatment of anxiety, we first look to understand the origins of when the anxiety started. Perhaps it is a one off experience where I can provide some education about ways to become aware of the signs of anxiety and provide education about coping mechanisms.
Most of what research, my clients, and my own personal experiences have found most helpful for treating short-term anxiety includes some kind of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness practice. There are so many cognitive and mindfulness activities and resources available at this time so we will discover what works best for you in our time together.
Long-Term Treatment
If, like many of us, we find in our work that reviewing coping mechanisms is not enough to fully address the anxiety (general anxiety, panic attacks, ossessions/compulsions), we will explore deeper roots of the anxiety in your life, likely related to significant relationships and experiences in your life. To read more about other relational influences on anxiety, please look at my page on Attachment Issues.