ANXIETY THERAPY

Does Anxiety Make It Difficult for You to Get Through Your Day?

Maybe you have felt stressed for some time and carry a consistent heaviness with you. Perhaps you do not have time for self-care. Or, you might become irritable at the slightest infraction. Maybe unfamiliar situations make you uncomfortable and give you clammy hands.

Anxiety is one way we all respond to stress, and we know why – to prepare for an intense or possibly dangerous situation, your body sends more oxygen to your brain, and hormones such as adrenaline kick in. In essence, you are gearing up to either “fight” or “take flight.”

Fight-or-flight can be a constructive way to cope in high-stress situations, but it becomes a problem when you constantly live in a high-stress state of mind.

Overwhelming feelings of potential doom, fatigue, fear, worry, or restlessness are not things you want to feel for prolonged periods. And over time, these symptoms of anxiety can cause your body to stay continually in a fight-or-flight mode. If your body cannot return to normal, your health can suffer.

No matter your circumstance, being able to lessen or manage your anxiety is paramount to living a balanced life where you can perform your best in any situation. Anxiety therapy can help you face challenges without fear and worry. Anxiety therapy can help you to understand the source of your anxiety, find healthy ways to cope with stress and underlying trauma, and bring more peace and fulfillment to your life.

Humans Have Experienced Anxiety for Millenia

Anxiety is a part of the human condition, and its purpose is to keep us safe. Imagine our early human ancestors as they hunted for prey to feed themselves and their families and the adrenaline that would shoot through their veins at the sight of prey – or, at the sight of a predator. We are wired to develop a fight-or-flight response in moments of danger.

And while most of us may no longer hunt for our survival, we still find ourselves in overwhelming and anxiety-producing situations all the time. Maybe it is the work presentation we are nervous about giving in front of our co-workers. Perhaps butterflies fill our stomach as we try to figure out the best way to show our love for a significant other. Or the overwhelm and anxiety could be as simple as helping our children ace a school project that is a large part of their grade.

Some of us may have a stronger than necessary anxiety response. This can be caused by a traumatic event or prolonged stress, social marginalization, or our genetics, leading to the development of anxiety disorders.

Impact of Severe Anxiety

Severe anxiety symptoms can be isolating and will require more than just the passage of time to remedy.​

Anxiety can be difficult to conquer alone. You may try to be your own anxiety coach with positive thinking, affirmations, and self-help. And while this might work in the short-term, long-term relief will require professional help that can offer coping strategies and evidence and research-based tools for self-regulation to heal more fully.

Most people who seek anxiety help through psychotherapy benefit from it. Psychotherapy helps about 75 percent of people improve in how their brains and bodies function. Anxiety therapy can help you to gain the control you desire to get more done and build more connected relationships with others in your life.

Anxiety THERAPY Can Help You Access Your Full Potential​

A lot of people think that overcoming anxiety boils down to deep breathing exercises or letting the feeling pass on its own. The reality is that anxiety can be a serious disorder that people need professional help to conquer. As therapists with a combined several decades of experience, we at Kaafi Counseling recognize the benefits of therapy to help people face their fears and develop healthy ways to cope with stress.

Therapy gives you a safe space to explore the tension you feel without judgment and discover the best ways for you to release it. We offer an accepting and inclusive environment that honors anxiety stories from all backgrounds, in particular the narratives from marginalized voices. With the right approach, you can tap into the source of your anxiety through counseling and discover a new foundation that lets you see more possibilities in life.

We are Here to Support You Manage Anxiety and Heal

If you are ready to start to chisel away on the stone that is your anxiety to reveal a new,
less anxious version of yourself, we invite you to call, email, or fill out the contact box to
schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation.

NOTE: During the COVID-19 pandemic, sessions will take place via a HIPAA-compliant video session.

What Does Typical Therapy Session Entail?

Our first session will be to gather introductory information and identify what you want to accomplish through therapy. You will be asked to fill out some forms online which we will review for clarity in our first meeting and complete the initial intake process.

During sessions, we will explore and identify underlying reasons for your anxiety, the symptoms you experience as a result, and how anxiety has impacted your life. You will engage with and learn skills and techniques that can help you address your anxiety both with sessions as well as in your day-to-day life.

While you may be aware of the concept of homework, our sessions will introduce “home-practice”—opportunities to implement the skills you have learned during the week.

Therapy sessions are one hour of focused attention on how to manage your anxiety, but the growth will happen with what you do with these tools through practice in your community, home, and workplace each day.

With the right guidance, support, and willingness to make a change, you can begin to experience the freedom that comes from living without the debilitating effects of fear and worry. Anxiety therapy can show you that it is possible to live a happy, healthy, peaceful, and blessed life.

Anxiety Treatment Modalities

Some of these tools for anxiety treatment include evidence-based modalities such as meditation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). 

  • Mindfulness meditation will help you center your thoughts on the present, rather than the past or future, while loving-kindness meditation focuses on showing kindness to yourself and others. 
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy helps to treat mood disorders.
  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy can help you identify counterproductive thoughts and behaviors, and replace them with more affirming and effective ones.
  • EMDR uses eye movements and thought processing to connect with anxiety-inducing experiences and release them.

But you may still have questions about therapy…

I will never get better.

When you look at the distance between where you are and where you want to be, you may feel discouraged. But beginning therapy can give you the motivation you need to take the first step on your journey to healing. And with each new step, you gain ground to experience life from an emotionally liberated place. The process may ask for your time and patience, but with support, it is possible for you to find healing.

The anxiety and commitment to treatment are too much–I cannot handle it.

First, pat yourself on the back for being brave enough to be vulnerable with this fear. Yes, facing any life challenge can at times feel impossible to handle. But we are firm believers in individual ability for healing, and do believe that we all have the core strength and wisdom to navigate our lives. Alone, it might feel overwhelming, but with a skilled therapist at your side, you immediately cut the load in half and give yourself a fighting chance to heal and experience a fuller life free from anxiety.

The people in my life and around me need to change before I can heal.

Sometimes it feels that if only someone else would change, we would be able to change, too. Yet, how do we know for sure that we will change if someone else changes first? We do not really know this for sure. What is true, though, is that we all have an innate power within us to create a renewed self, and with professional help, we have more support to do so. If we want to see change in our lives, the most empowering way to seek this is to change ourselves. Why? Because we cannot control what is outside of us, only what is within.