- Is anxiety or chronic stress part of your daily life?
- Do you feel constantly anxious or stressed out? It seems like there’s always a million things to do, and not enough time to do them, even though most of the deadlines are self-imposed?
- Do you feel trapped in spinning thoughts that make it difficult to focus?
- Are you often worrying about something? Maybe you worry about one thing in particular, like your job, money, your relationship, your kids, what the future holds, or maybe you worry about ALL of these things. Worry can also look like indecision, feeling stuck and never moving forward because of all the “what ifs,” or fear of not making “the right decision.”
Do you struggle with a lot of the physical signs of anxiety?
- Muscle tension and pain, headaches, a racing heart, feeling out of breath, migraines, tightness in your chest, upset stomach, restlessness, and trouble falling or staying asleep are just some of the physical manifestations of anxiety.
- Do you have intense fears, intrusive thoughts or compulsions that interfere with daily life?
- Are you overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty about the future?
- Do you have experienced one or more traumas in your life and are struggling with the consequences? Anxiety is a common symptom of unprocessed PTSD.
You aren’t Alone
According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern in the United States. An estimated 40 million adults in the U.S. (18%) have an anxiety disorder. Meanwhile, approximately 8% of children and teenagers experience an anxiety disorder. Most people develop symptoms before age 21.”
Anxiety Impacts Everyone Differently
Anxiety is part of a natural survival technique that keeps us safe. It helps us be more aware of our surroundings, enhancing our readiness to engage in a “fight-or-flight” response. However, when it occurs too often or gets to be too much for us to manage and process, anxiety can begin to interfere with many aspects of our lives, from work performance to relationships. Chronic stress and anxiety affect many individuals throughout our society. However, anxiety impacts everyone differently. Therefore, it is important to find the right treatment approach for your needs and situation such as Anxiety Therapy.
Normal Anxiety Vs Chronic Anxiety
Many individuals have dealt with stress, anxiety and depression since they were young. For others, the experience can be new and frightening, making them feel as though they are losing their minds. It is common to turn to prescription medication in an effort to find immediate relief. But, over time you can build up a tolerance without ever developing the skills or understanding you need to manage difficult thoughts, emotions or physical symptoms.
Most people don’t seek for treatment because they think it is normal to be stressed all the time, even though they lack quality of life and relationships. Maybe your stress, is more that common life stress and it is a more debilitating condition.
While some degree of anxiety is normal, it becomes a problem when it starts to interfere with your life.
Often, anxiety doesn’t get better on its own. Anxiety can get in the way of the ability to function fully and/or enjoy life.
Fortunately, there is a path to meaningful change and lasting recovery. Anxiety Therapy and treatment can help you find relief from anxiety, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With the right treatment and support. You can feel more peaceful and confident, and experience stress when needed but not as a form of living.
Anxiety Therapy Can Help You Find Lasting Relief
With counseling education and specific interventions we can determine the causes of your anxiety and find the appropriate treatment for both, symptoms and causes. Anxiety treatment has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments in mental health. Usually, it can co-occur with depression and, the combination with medication, might be recommended as well for some period of time.
How does counseling help with anxiety/chronic stress?
As you begin your work at our practice, we will spend one or more sessions. So, it explores your history and looking for patterns in your thinking, behavior, and relationships. Together we will figure out what’s behind your patterns of anxiety. By exploring the situations that trigger your stress and anxiety. Moreover, it is exploring the belief systems that may be unconsciously creating a lot of unnecessary anxiety in your life. So, we can begin the process of breaking free from these patterns. No more stressing, no more worrying, and no more sabotaging the joy and peace that you deserve in your life.
You will learn strategies to manage the anxiety.
There are people that come to the world with a more sensitive nervous system. It can contribute to a more predisposed anxious temperament. However, most people that have a better and calmer life, have also organically or intentionally cultivated daily healthy mental health habits.
Your therapist will teach you strategies of anxiety therapy that will help you get and stay calm even in the face of life’s various stressors. Anxiety Therapy Techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, visualization, and good physical self-care promote a sense of calm that helps you navigate life in a more empowered way.
Work through the traumas that may be at the root of your anxiety.
Few people believe they have experienced trauma. However, in reality, most of us have experienced some degree of wounding experiences that shape us. So, some people may have experienced obvious traumas (e.g., abuse, war, poverty, death etc). However, most of us have experienced the subtle traumas of everyday life (e.g., growing up with a critical parent, being teased at school, experiencing emotional neglect, to name a few) that are unconsciously driving our lives.
Anxiety and chronic stress, combined with depression, is one of the most common symptoms of unprocessed trauma. Healing from these traumas, big and small, will free you to become the person you were meant to be. Going beyond merely “managing” and “surviving,” we believe in a Post-Traumatic Growth model that leads to thriving in your life.
At DC VA Counseling, we have been helping individuals overcome personal and relationship challenges for over 20 years.
In that time, we have seen how anyone can struggle with anxiety – and how anyone can recover. We will work at your pace, with a focus on your unique needs. With anxiety counseling, you can find relief and feel calmer and more confident in your life
You Can Feel Calm, Relaxed And Confident
If you are ready to get started, or if you have additional questions about anxiety treatment, I encourage you to contact us at isabelkirk@gmail.com or call/text 703-231-7991
