Anxiety Therapy
Is Anxiety Getting In The Way Of Building The Life You Want?
Long hours and endless to-do lists in your head may make it hard for you to unwind and turn off—or even sleep. Or maybe underlying perfectionist tendencies cause you to feel like you’re “not good enough” or “not doing enough.”
Perhaps you’re even thinking about starting anxiety therapy because you keep avoiding things that are important to your long-term goals, like going on first dates or pursuing a promotion.
Anxiety Symptoms Can Severely Interrupt Your Life
If you’re like many people living with anxiety, you’re probably experiencing some of these common symptoms.
Cognitive/Emotional:
Physical:
When anxiety has you in its clutches, it can feel like you’re merely existing, which is why our therapists at Elevate CBT want to help you learn to thrive. With a little support, you can get your symptoms under control, improve your relationships, and discover the freedom to live the life you want.
Anxiety Is A Part Of Our Social, Cultural, And Biological Makeup
Anxiety is a natural biological response that can be crucial in alerting and protecting us during times of danger. However, it can often be seen as the enemy, which only makes it worse for those suffering. What’s more, our society is filled with stressors that can contribute to anxiety.Social media cultivates a culture of unhelpful comparisons that make us feel “less than” and like we're “not doing enough.” The news sensationalizes all of the unfair and terrible things that can happen to us, making those distant realities seem even more probable.
Plus, in a place like NYC, stress and anxiety are normalized through rewards for being busy, working long hours, and sacrificing self-care. There’s constant pressure to improve our social lives, the way we look, and our career paths, and to bring our A-Game in everything we do.
Stress And Anxiety Are Both Mentally And Physically Exhausting
Unfortunately, most of us are not taught specific strategies for managing stress and regulating emotions. Instead, we get overly simplistic messages, like Just relax. What do you have to be worried about? It’s all in your head.Many of us, also, don't have the language or skillset for identifying emotions and understanding how we can influence and change them. So, we turn to yoga, exercise, or other relaxation strategies for short-term relief. We may even turn to unhealthy distractions, like over-relying on food, alcohol, or TV to get through the days.
The truth is that healing from anxiety requires understanding the specific thought and behavioral patterns that perpetuate anxiety. For this, we need support and resources, which is why anxiety therapy makes so much sense. It gives you clarity about what’s keeping you stuck, tools for changing how you feel, and concrete steps you can take toward finding long-term relief from anxiety.
Questions? Contact Us Today
Anxiety Therapy Is About Building The Life You Want To Live
Many people living with anxiety get stuck in a place where stress and worry become a normal way of life. However, anxiety counseling allows you to slow down, step back, and understand the forces at play that are keeping you caught in that negative cycle. It offers you a space to develop tools for managing symptoms while also breaking down step by step how you can best work toward your goals.Working with an anxiety therapist offers you accountability between sessions, a coach to troubleshoot stuff with, and a dedicated space and time to practice self-care. Most importantly, you’ll have someone to talk to—someone who will listen and walk beside you on your journey toward lasting change.
What Can You Expect From Our Anxiety Therapy Sessions
First, we’ll get a thorough picture of what's currently going on, working to identify factors that may be keeping you stuck, including unhelpful thought and behavior patterns. We'll see if cultural or societal factors have played a role in how you feel or how you navigate your life. And we’ll look at any past experiences that may inform your current anxiety responses.
That being said, anxiety disorder treatment prioritizes getting your symptoms under control (e.g., panic attacks, social phobias, etc.) and moving forward rather than spending a lot of time dissecting the past. Our goal is to help you learn to live with and accept unpleasant thoughts and emotions so you can work toward a value-driven life unrestricted by anxiety.
What Kind Of Tools Do We Use in Anxiety Counseling?
Our approach to anxiety disorder treatment is deeply rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT for anxiety provides you with education that demystifies the experience of having intense emotions, creating a framework for understanding anxiety and what prompts it and maintains it.We also utilize a specific kind of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety called Exposure Therapy. Exposure Therapy targets situations you may be avoiding out of fear and helps you gradually approach them in a safe, controlled way.
Building mastery over situations you fear or avoid creates a sense of confidence that will allow you to live a more expansive life. When helpful, we’ll also incorporate mindfulness skills to help anchor you in the present moment as we work with unpleasant thoughts and feelings.
Anxiety Is One Of The Most Well-Researched Areas Of Mental Health
That means there are many effective approaches capable of bringing relief. At Elevate CBT, we don’t believe in applying the same general anxiety treatment techniques to everyone. Rather our anxiety counselors will focus on understanding your specific situation and draw from a range of evidence-based strategies to make sure your path to feeling better is uniquely your own.After anxiety counseling, you'll be able to approach situations you’ve been avoiding. You’ll feel like you can control your response to anxiety instead of anxiety controlling you. And you can finally have the freedom to live the life you’ve been wanting.
Perhaps You’re Thinking About Anxiety Therapy But Still Have Concerns…
Compared to other people, my anxiety doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant counseling.
Just because you can imagine someone else struggling more than you doesn't mean that you're not in pain, too. Many people look like they're doing okay from the outside, but are really suffering internally.That's part of what makes many anxious/perfectionistic people so exhausted: trying to keep up the appearance that they're doing okay. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed, you deserve support and the chance to live a more satisfying and productive life.
My schedule is so full—I worry I can’t attend anxiety treatment sessions consistently.
We understand that building something else into your busy schedule probably seems impossible. However, we offer online anxiety treatment sessions so you don’t have to worry about running around taking care of “one more thing.”
Plus, CBT is meant to be short-term because it gives you tools you can continue practicing on your own long after therapy for anxiety ends. Just prioritizing one hour a week to care for yourself will offer ideas and solutions that can help make the rest of your life feel less stressful and more manageable.
I’ve tried to change my thinking/behavior on my own, and it hasn’t worked. How will this be any different?
That's awesome that you've tried this on your own! It's very common for people to get stuck when they try to implement CBT concepts without the support of a CBT anxiety therapist. Our counselors are experts in anxiety treatment, and we help people learn to thrive day after day. Just like you might go to a personal trainer/financial planner to get help with something you could also attempt on your own, professional support makes things easier and often more successful.