Anxiety Therapy

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Social Anxiety is most often characterized by extreme preoccupation with how you look, what you will say and how you will act in social situations. People experiencing this often believe they will be judged negatively or do something deemed stupid in front of others.  This could include fear of blushing, tripping or falling, sweating or shaking and fear of others noticing it, Having social anxiety does NOT mean you are antisocial.  Often quite the opposite and you really want to connect and socialize with other but your fears and anxieties get in the way.

You can read more by clicking here:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353567

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This type of anxiety is characterized around the intense fear of being sick or getting sick.  People suffering with this often think they are sick with something and go the doctor often and are told they are fine. However, their doctors reassurance that they are fine only decreases their anxiety for a short time.  Then they go back to thinking they might be sick and/or convinced something is terribly wrong with them and the doctors just do not know it yet and their anxiety increases again,  They may take their temperature excessively or excessively google their symptoms.  Sometimes people with health anxiety think they have some disease or problem after hearing about it from someone else, or seeing it on tv.  A perceived change in their heartbeat, sweating, a stomach or headache leaves someone with health anxiety very anxious.  They might also be seeking reassurance from others that they are not sick.

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These are sudden and intense feelings of anxiety and/or fear that can last minutes, hours or days.  There are subtle differences between a Panic Attack and an Anxiety Attack but many people use them interchangeable.  Panic attacks usually come on suddenly and intensely but do not last as long.  Anxiety attacks may come on slower or more gradually, be less intense but could last longer.  In some attacks, what is causing the panic or anxious reaction is not clear. Both often include rapid heartbeat, sweating, shallow breathing. People experiencing panic or anxiety attacks may think they are having a heart attack,  feel tingling in part of their body, or a fear of losing control or dying. If they happen very frequently or severely impact the quality of someone's life they may be diagnosed with Panic Disorder or Anxiety Disorder. People with panic or anxiety often develop a fear about having another panic or anxiety attack.

You can read more by clicking here:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4451-panic-disorder

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People with a Panic Disorder or Anxiety Disorder are experiencing symptoms that are severely interfering with their lives.  The symptoms are similar to anxiety or panic attacks but the intensity and duration of the attacks are stronger, more intense and constant.  In Panic Disorder or Anxiety Disorder, the feelings of anxiety or panic are persistent and pervasive in their lives.  The anxious feelings do not go dissipate like they do with a panic or anxiety attack.

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Therapy can help!

Stress...everyone feels stress sometimes.  But occasionally it can get out of hand or so bad that it can cause impairment to you living your life.  Stress can be caused by almost anything even just a change to a routine.  It can overwhelm you, keep you frozen or stuck and unable to make any decisions or you can even develop physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches from too much stress.  If it goes untreated for a long period of time you can even develop more severe physical symptoms such as heart problems.

Sometimes stress is from facing or dealing with a new or uncomfortable situation. It should then decrease once you face whatever it is.  But if it doesn't, therapy can help. Therapy helps you learn coping techniques and strategies  to deal with or decrease short or long term stress.  

Having someone to talk to who is not your family member or friend can be helpful in learning to deal with your stress.

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People-pleasing is an often overlooked type of anxiety.  On the outside it might not even look like anxiety at all! But it often is.  People pleasers are nervous or afraid of other people's reactions so they try to please them. They say yes to doing things for others, even at their own expense! They say yes, even if doing so does not feel good to them for fear of someone else being mad, upset or unhappy with them.

People-pleasers are often looking for validation from others. They are typically unable to find validation internally within themselves so are constantly seeking validation and reassurance from others.  People pleasers often apologize to others even if they have not done anything wrong and will do just about anything to avoid conflict.

If this sounds like you, contact us. 

Therapy can help!

Perfectionists are never happy or satisfied with anything they have done because they do not deem it perfect.  Interestingly, perfect never happens.  Perfection is unable to be accomplished no matter how hard or how much they try.  This leads to a feelings of frustration, stress or anxiety and of never being good enough. Using social media has led to a rise in perfectionism because people are often comparing themselves to the images they see of others on line.  Social media sets a fake, high standard that no one can reach, but it doesn't stop perfectionists from thinking they should be able to do that, look like that, have that, etc. People are left feeling less than or not good enough when they are unable to achieve the high standards they see and think others are achieving. 

Perfectionists second guess themselves often. At work or school this might look like someone who is always missing a deadline because they don't think their work is good enough or perfect. They often see themselves as failure if they are not able to be what they think is perfect.  

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Therapy can help!

Rumination is when your brain gets stuck thinking the same thoughts over and over. When someone is ruminating, they cannot see any other way of thinking about whatever their problem or issue it.  When people are ruminating, it often causes them significant distress, anxiety or even depression.  People often feel they have no control over any of it and have no way to stop the ruminating thoughts. So, the thoughts go round and round in their brains and always seem to be there with no way out or of letting go. Interestingly, rumination is not followed by making a plan of action and then following through with it to decease the associated anxiety or depression. They really are just stuck in their thoughts. The thoughts then seems to spiral downward and the thoughts get more and more negative  or anxious and deeper.  This makes the cycle even harder to stop.  But there is help available!

We can help.

Therapy can help!

Feeling stuck can be very troublesome.  Not feeling like you can make a decision.  Sometimes you are not even exactly sure what the problem is. Sometimes you are aware of the problem and what it is but a solution is not visible to you.  Other times, the solutions can seem out of reach.  For example, if you are having difficulty at work but feel your boss is not approachable to talk to, you want to quit but you need the money, and you tried to get another job but haven't found anything.....you can feel stuck in your situation with no way out.  Other people may feel stuck in a bad relationship but they feel like can't leave because of finances or children or other commitments.  Being stuck can lead to feelings of resentment towards the object they have assigned as their reason for being stuck.  Other people are just stuck trying to figure out what they want to do with their life, whether they are 18, 28,38, 48, 58, 68 or 78 or even 88!!

  In addition, when you feel stuck, you are often thinking so much about your problem or issue, that you are unable to see that there are any possible solutions.  

Here is what Psychology Today has to say about feeling stuck https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-personal-renaissance/202109/feeling-stuck-and-frustrated

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Therapy can help!

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that results when someone has had a trauma and has not processed or resolved their trauma effectively.  

If you have PTSD you might have: 

Re-experiencing the trauma (in a flashback or a dream).

Avoidance of situations you feel might trigger you. Over time this often means avoiding more and more things.

Blaming yourself for what happened to you. You start to see or feel that everyone and everything is a possible threat so you avoid them. This effects your social life. 

Sleep disturbances are also common.

It should be noted that many people  experience traumas and never go on to develop PTSD.  Many people process their trauma within themselves, with their family, friends or their therapist. PTSD involves unresolved trauma.

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Therapy can Help!

This page does not list all the ways anxiety can feel or look.  If you feel anxious, stressed, unhappy or stuck for any reason, reach out to us and get started on your therapy journey today.  

Meeting with an online anxiety therapist  can help you start feeling less stressed and anxious. Through anxiety therapy you can start to feel happier and more fulfilled in your life. 

We can help you!

If you are ready to begin your healing journey, with me, click the link below to schedule an appointment. 

QUESTIONS? 

 If you have any questions, please send us an email at perspectives@optonline.net or call/text at 516-349-1708. 

We look forward to helping you on your journey to better mental health, healing, less stress and less anxiety.

Please visit the other pages on our website for other pertinent information