Anxiety and Stress

In today’s busy world many people are finding themselves overscheduled and stressed out. Not all stress is bad. It can be invigorating, pushing us to achieve our goals. Even happy events can create stress such as a new job, a new marriage, a new baby, children going off to college, or retiring. These situations create change and require that we adapt or adjust which can temporarily create stress or feelings of anxiety.

Stress to some degree keeps life interesting. It is when it becomes unmanageable, when we feel overwhelmed versus challenged that it can become detrimental to our health. Chronic stress can have an impact on our physical, psychological and behavioral health, which in turn can affect the quality of our lives.

Anxiety differs from stress in that often people can’t pinpoint what they are anxious about. It can be experienced as a vague, unrecognized sense of danger or dread. People experience anxiety in many different ways. A person may feel keyed up, like they just can’t relax, and may have difficulty sleeping. Excessive worrying or feeling out of control emotionally are common symptoms of anxiety. Avoiding social situations or public settings may develop in an attempt to avoid feeling anxious.

Therapy helps by addressing the thought processes that are often fueling the anxiety / stress symptoms. Learning how to control one’s anxious or fearful self-talk as it occurs and changing it to more supportive / calming self-talk is an important skill learned in therapy. Therapy helps an individual recognize and alter any unreasonable beliefs that one may have about oneself or others that contribute to feelings of anxiety / stress. Therapy teaches an individual how to manage / eliminate the physical symptoms of anxiety through relaxation training techniques and other coping strategies.

Areas of specialization:

• Stress Management
• Panic Attacks
• Excessive Worry / Anxiety
• Social Discomfort

04.02.2007. 15:08