Anxiety Disorders

Living with anxiety is often challenging and negatively impacts school, work, and relationships. With proper treatment, relief is possible.

Anxiety can look differently for every person or even for the same person from day-to-day.

Anxiety is considered a normal reaction to a stressor, in which we all experience when we go through periods of internal conflict, worry, and frustration. However, if anxiety is persistent, seemingly uncontrollable and overwhelming, it can be disabling and may be an indication of an anxiety disorder. If you are living with anxiety, please know that targeted therapy can help by learning the underlying causes to your worries and fears and provide you with the tools and coping skills needed to effectively manage your anxiety symptoms. 

 

Common signs and symptoms of anxiety:

  • Excessive worrying 

  • Shortness of breath 

  • Heart palpitation or chest pain

  • Difficulty concentrating 

  • Indecisiveness 

  • Fatigue or weakness

  • Trembling or shaking

  • Nervousness

  • Feeling tense

  • Feelings of panic or dread

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Ruminating or obsessing about certain ideas or thoughts 

  • Feeling the need to do certain things and putting too much pressure on small things 

  • Fearing if you don't do one thing, it all goes wrong.  

  • Gastrointestinal (GI) Disturbances

 Several diagnoses fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorders.

Here’s some of the types of anxiety that we treat:

  • Persistent and excessive worry and anxiety that gets in the way of daily activities. Physical symptoms of anxiety, such as tiredness or fatigue, headaches, and nausea, are not uncommon.

  • Recurring panic attacks and/or other symptoms of anxiety, like chest pain, tingling hands, or breathing difficulty; constant worry that you will experience another.

  • Intense discomfort in social settings. Anxiety is triggered during social events like parties, and also when faced with tasks like public speaking, speaking with authority figures, or stating an opinion

  • OCD is a mental health disorder marked by intrusive, unwanted thoughts that cause a sense of distress or anxiety and/or repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, checking) that the person feels they must perform to reduce anxiety and distress or prevent something terrible from happening.

  • PTSD is a disorder that develops after exposure to a particularly traumatic experience. It can start days, months, or even years after the event. PTSD is typically manifested as intense emotional and physical reactions, like flashbacks, nightmares, extra sensitive startle response, and avoiding situations or thoughts/feelings that remind the person of the trauma.

  • Meeting some, but not all, criteria for an anxiety diagnosis.

Ready to start learning how to manage anxiety and worry symptoms?

Schedule an appointment to meet with one of our therapists. Let’s work together to help you navigate your anxiety so you can be more connected to yourself, others, and the life you want to live.