Anxiety Counseling
From the moment you wake up, your mind is worrying, scheduling, mapping, and planning. Anxiety keeps you thinking five steps ahead.
You might be the go-to person for everyone in your closest circles. Sometimes, stillness provokes your anxiety, robbing you of peace and rest. And as you try to plan for every outcome and responsibility, you may lose trust in your own instincts or feel disconnected because you can’t ever stay present.
I view anxiety less as a core problem and more as a signal that something deeper is happening. Read below to discover why anxiety happens and what you may experience as part of anxiety therapy with me.
Understanding Anxiety
Why Does Anxiety Happen?
One of the patterns I see often is that anxiety develops in people who have quietly become responsible for more than others realize. Many of the people I work with are known as the “dependable one.” They are the high-performers or leaders in their workplace. In families, they are the one who thinks two steps ahead for everyone, and always has everything taken care of.
We tend to think of anxiety as the diagnosis. But often, anxiety is a symptom of something deeper. It can be caused by physiology such as nutrient deficiencies, poor sleep, or hormone imbalances.
But it can also be the symptom of someone who is carrying more than they expected or feel able to carry. It can even stem from undiscovered core beliefs about relationships, safety, expectations, or self-worth. These core beliefs are like a computer virus — you know something’s up, you just aren’t sure what or why. They impact our thoughts, behaviors, and moods without us even realizing it.
Therapy Approach
What Anxiety Therapy Looks Like with Christin
Together, we will slow everything down so we can understand what is happening, rather than reacting to it. I usually look for two things. First, we examine the thought patterns feeding your anxiety, collaboratively identifying ways to retrain those patterns.
Second, we engage in an “archeological dig,” helping you uncover the quiet core beliefs that you may not realize are causing your anxiety. This is where the meat of the work takes place.
Anxiety therapy can include a combination of different approaches — Cognitive Behavioral Analysis, EMDR, psychoanalysis, narrative therapy, attachment and relationship therapy, and more. But often, just having a regular time and space where you can breathe, explore, and learn about yourself is the main catalyst for relief.
FAQs
Questions About Anxiety Counseling
Stress is easily traceable to a specific and current experience. Anxiety often cannot be traced to a single catalyst, or if it can, you may find yourself feeling more intensity than seems appropriate. Anxiety counseling can help you understand if you need help navigating a single stressor, or if anxiety has slowly become a bigger part of your life.
Feeling anxious when nothing is wrong — or overly anxious over menial things — is a nervous system disruption. Something in your life has taught your nervous system that being hypervigilant, analyzing every possible outcome, and always putting forth 100% is the only way to stay safe.
This is where brain training and EMDR can be powerful. They help both the surface level and deeper levels of the brain reprocess memory and experiences in a more adaptive way — calming your nervous system and allowing you to experience life as it is meant to be.
Yes. Anxiety is an experience robber. It robs the enjoyment and peace that come with so many experiences — including relationships. Anxiety can impact relationships in several ways. It can be a distractor, leaving the other person feeling alone, even if you didn’t intend.
It can also add hypervigilance. This shows up as either being afraid to lose the relationship or being afraid you will be taken advantage of, even though there may not be cause. In this way, anxiety counseling can have a real impact on your relationships.
