Living with anxiety can feel out of control.

One of the most challenging parts about feeling anxious is the lack of control and exhaustion you feel. Even tasks that seem simple can be overwhelming and lead to greater distress. Many people can feel shame about their thoughts and worries. Why do I feel this way? 

The body also feels the impact of anxiety, producing stress hormones which contribute to a host of physical ailments: a depleted immune system, chronic pain, headaches, difficulty with digestion, and challenges with sleep. Having chronic anxiety is really hard.

My Approach

I help my clients reduce their anxiety by gaining a compassionate understanding of what their anxiety is telling them and where it comes from. One way to see anxiety is as the mind and body’s “security system.” This system is programmed to detect dangers based on your lived experiences. Sometimes the anxiety “security system” stops working properly. Your anxiety “alarms” go off, even when there is no actual danger.

For example, you might be feeling anxious about attending a family gathering. Through exploration, you discover that your anxiety is related to always feeling like you don’t fit in. Your “security system” is concerned that you will be rejected and feel lonely. Through genuine curiosity and kindness, we can then re-wire the “alarm”. This occurs through understanding previous hurts and wounds, like times in the past when you felt lonely and it was too much for you to handle. Identifying these past experiences will help to integrate these difficult emotions and memories in a way that makes them more manageable.

We will also identify your present internal strength. The past experiences that trigger the “alarm” are from earlier in your life when you did not have the strength you do now. Your current circumstances and strengths are different than they were before. This understanding can help you build empathy for what you went through and greater confidence in what you are currently able to manage.

We can discuss your anxiety further during a free phone consultation.