Anxiety can range from being a nuisance to being crippling.

One of the most frustrating parts of anxiety is how out of control it can feel. Anxiety can feel out of control because you can’t figure out why you feel so anxious, or it can feel out of control because you feel like you know exactly why you are so anxious, but you still feel powerless to do anything about it. Anxiety can impact relationships, work or school performance, sleep, and can show up in our bodies through experiences like stomach aches or headaches. Anxiety can feel like the untamable monster.

My Approach

Often times, even when we think we understand our anxiety, we are only seeing part of the picture. For example, you feel really anxious about an upcoming test. In your mind, your biggest worry is failing. But then in therapy, another part of the picture emerges: while failing would feel bad, it’s really the fear of disappointing your parents that’s much more significant. So, my approach involves trying to fill in the complete picture of what the underlying anxiety is really about. The good news is, we can help you understand your anxiety. And through understanding it, you can then change. In the above example, you might talk with your family about the fear of disappointing them.

I have always liked the imagery of driving a car. If you feel like anxiety is in the driver’s seat, we may not be able to kick anxiety to the side of the road, but through therapy we can place anxiety in the back seat of the car. While anxiety looks different for everyone, in therapy I will help you develop an internalized ability to comfort yourself. While this might sound straightforward, because of experiences growing up, we sometimes never fully develop this ability, and it can actually be quite difficult to develop without help.

We can discuss what your anxiety looks like and how you would like to change your relationship with anxiety during a free phone consultation.