Online Therapy for Anxiety

Anxiety

Many of us experience anxiety at some point in our lives, after all, it’s the most common mental health issue in the United States – anxiety affects about 40 million American adults each year.1

For most people, anxiety is a situational reaction to something that’s perceived as stressful or dangerous.

People that don’t struggle with anxiety, this perceived threat will go away.

For those with anxiety, this feeling of being in danger remains when there’s no “real” danger present.

People that suffer from anxiety often believe the danger is real.

As I discussed on my About Me page, part of what led me to a career as a therapist is my own struggle with being anxious off-and-on for much of my life.

I used to worry about the future all the time, I tried to control things I couldn’t, I didn’t like being in large crowds.

I know what it’s like to feel anxiety!

This experience equips me with an insight into what anxiety is like that others cannot have unless they have also experienced it.

I don’t act like I’m the authority on your life, because I’m not – YOU are! We will work together in sessions as collaborators.

I use self-disclosure as a way of normalizing life’s difficulties to help you navigate life more effectively.

I utilize a holistic and integrative style of therapy for anxiety – meaning I look at your entire life and use multiple therapy techniques to fit each individual.

I believe I can help through online therapy for anxiety!

My extensive experience in helping people with anxiety, along with my own experiences with anxiety.

Plus, with all my knowledge about best practices when it comes to helping people that feel anxious, including the way I’m able to connect with people that are experiencing anxiety.

All this adds up to me being able to provide effective and quality help for you to learn how to better manage all things anxiety via Online Therapy for Anxiety.

Our Anxious Brain

One of the primary jobs of the brain is to scan our environment for danger. This has kept us alive for a very long time.

The brain is very good at this job but it can misjudge the situation.

I use the analogy of a tiger for a real stressor and a paper tiger for a misinterpreted stressor.

Stress Response

When the brain identifies a “danger,” the stress response is initiated and the “fight, flight, freeze” response kicks in.

This is awesome if it’s a tiger (real danger) because you automatically go into survival mode.

You get amped up and you can fight the tiger; or you get amped up and you run away from the tiger – hope you’re able to run very fast; or you go into freeze mode and “play dead” – this may not be the best response if it’s a real tiger.

What happens if the danger the brain identifies isn’t a real tiger but a paper tiger (misinterpreted stressor) instead?

The stress response is still triggered. There may not be anything to fight, run away from, or freeze in front of.

Then what?

Your brain is being triggered by a paper tiger, something the brain is identifying as a danger, but it’s not a real danger in the sense that it will most likely not kill you.

Instead, it’s any number of things, e.g. public speaking, meeting a deadline, social situations, money issues, conflict in a relationship, being stuck in traffic, etc.

The person that’s experiencing this type of stress response still has the innate drive for “fight, flight, freeze,” but this is often not possible, at least not without suffering some negative consequences. This builds up the anxious feelings.

It’s probably not a good idea to respond with “fight” when your boss is giving you negative feedback; or with “flight” when you’re having a difficult conversation with someone; or with “freeze” when you’re expected to give a speech at a local event.

So, when the brain identifies something as a tiger when it’s really just a paper tiger, the way I work with you is to help your brain learn it’s just a paper tiger.

Online therapy for Anxiety will ultimately teach your brain to stop reacting with such a strong stress response.

Then say goodbye anxiety and hello Optimized Living!

The behavioral symptoms of anxiety refer to what we do – or don’t do – when we are anxious.

It’s our attempts at coping with the nasty aspects of anxiety.

Typical behavioral responses to anxiety may include:

• Leaving a party early because it’s causing too much anxiety
• Avoiding the store when it’s busy
• Not answering your phone and isolating at home
• Drinking alcohol to get a “buzz” or to “feel numb”
• Spending more time alone
• Checking to make sure the door is locked, because you’re fearful someone will break-in
• Not being able to go anywhere without someone with you
• Avoiding the interstate, because you are worried you’ll get into an accident

The cognitive symptoms of anxiety are referred to as worry.

We constantly have our mind talking to us – see if you can notice your mind talking to you now.

Sometimes the chatter is quiet. Other times, our mind can be telling us lots of things that make us feel anxious.

Some of these thoughts of anxiety can be:

• “I know everyone is watching me.”
• “What if (fill in the blank) happens?”
• “I know I’m going to get lost so I’ll just stay home.”
• “My heart is pounding, I must be dying.”
• “Why can’t I control X, Y, and Z?”
• “Why can’t I slow my thoughts down?”
• “I think I might be going crazy.”
• “What if I mess up, then everyone will laugh at me.”
• “It’s difficult to concentrate with all these worries in my head.”