Anxiety & Stress

Experiencing occasional anxiety is a common experience for all humans. Many of us worry about health, money, family, or relational concerns. We have an inherent fight or flight response that is triggered whenever there is a perceived threat.

From an evolutionary perspective, this is a positive, protective response; it's what keeps us safe. For some of us, however, the fight or flight response is overactive and triggered in everyday occurrences, even when there is no true threat to our safety.

Anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear and are different than typical experiences of stress/nervousness in that they cause distress that interferes with daily life, are difficult to control and are out of proportion to the actual danger.

Over time, an overactive fight/flight response causes undue stress on one’s body and brain, which may lead to unwanted physiological and emotional symptoms, such as sleep disturbances, panic, tension headaches, reactivity, and chronic fatigue.

Anxiety disorders present in many ways, including: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive/compulsive disorder, and can cause people to try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. For example, someone with social anxiety may become so frightened that they skip social events, struggle to make friends, and feel isolated and lonely much of the time.

If you are interested in beginning treatment for an anxiety related

concern, please request an appointment

Stress is an automatic physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event. It's a normal human reaction. When used positively, stress can help our bodies adjust to new situations, keeping us alert, motivated and ready to avoid danger. For example, when faced with an important deadline approaching, a stress response might help our body work harder and stay awake longer. It can lead to growth, action and change. But stress can become problematic and lessen our quality of life when stressors continue without relief or periods of relaxation.

While we can’t avoid stress altogether, therapy focused on stress management can prevent stress from becoming overwhelming. Therapy will focus on a range of strategies to help you better deal with stress and difficulty /adversity in your life. Managing stress can help you lead a more balanced, healthier life.

Stress management approaches include:

• Learning skills such as problem-solving, prioritizing tasks and time management.

• Enhancing your ability to cope with adversity. For example, you may learn how to improve your emotional wareness and reactions, increase your sense of control, find greater meaning and purpose in life, and cultivate gratitude and optimism.

• Practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, yoga, meditation, tai chi, exercise and prayer.

• Improving your personal relationships.

If you are interested in beginning treatment for an stress related concern, please request an appointment