What is Anxiety? 

Anxiety usually entails persistent worry or dread that something bad will happen in the future. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time but when feelings of anxiety impact your daily functioning, it may be time to seek help. There are many different types of anxiety including Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorders, and various phobias. The good news is that there are also many different ways to treat anxiety.

Common Symptoms:

• Feeling restless or on edge 

• Difficulty concentrating 

• Irritability 

• Uncontrollable worry 

• Excessive Nervousness 

• Increased heart rate 

• Sleep issues 

• Nausea or loss of appetite 

• Muscle tension 

The good news is that there are many different ways to treat anxiety.

How is it treated? 

Medication can help relieve the symptoms of anxiety and is a great way to supplement the progress that can be made in therapy. This is especially true if anxiety symptoms are causing moderate to severe dysfunction in everyday life which is why it is generally recommended to use medication in conjunction with counseling. If interested in exploring this method consult with your doctor or psychiatrist. 

Counseling can help you understand the underlying issues causing your anxiety and teach you the coping skills to reduce it. One of the most commonly used and empirically supported modalities is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT helps you identify underlying thought patterns contributing to your anxiety and how to create healthier patterns of thinking. CBT may also incorporate components of exposure therapy and relaxation skills. 

Your counselor will teach you multiple relaxation skills including: progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and mindfulness. With practice, these skills can be an effective way to manage your anxiety. Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing yourself to the anxiety-inducing situation while utilizing your coping skills to lower the feelings of distress. Anxiety makes us want to avoid the fear-inducing situation. This avoidance provides temporary relief but doing this over and over again maintains the cycle of anxiety, and can even worsen the anxious feelings during each subsequent exposure.

For example, let’s say you have to give a presentation at work but public speaking makes you anxious so you avoid the situation by pawning the presentation off to a coworker. You probably feel temporary relief. Fast forward 6 months and you’re asked to give another presentation but this time your co-worker won’t help you out. Your anxiety has reared its ugly head again but now the feelings have intensified because you avoided it the first time. Exposure therapy would say that in order to decrease your anxiety you must face it. However, your counselor can help you do this in gradual steps. Maybe you start by visualizing the speech with your therapist. Once you’ve conquered that step maybe you give the speech to one or two people while using your coping skills to manage your anxiety in the process. By gradually exposing yourself to the feared stimuli you break the avoidance cycle and reduce your anxiety. Your counselor’s job is to create a safe and supportive environment for you to face your fear. 

Your counselor’s job is to create a safe and supportive environment for you to face your fear. 

What’s next? 

If you’re struggling with overwhelming feelings of anxiety, reach out! Our counselors are ready to help you overcome your anxiety. Contact us at (660) 236-2818 to schedule your first session.

Cory Burton, PLPC