Anxiety Counseling

What anxiety does...

​

Anxiety depletes our body, mind and our energy.  Though, the fact is we live in a world that easily triggers anxiety. On the physical level, our response to anxiety is actually healthy and necessary. The problem is our anxiety response is supposed to be temporary, but in our modern age, the time spent in our anxiety response is much longer and more intense. In the wellness research, it has been determined that chronic stress and long-term anxiety is the cause of 90% of health problems. Anxiety impacts us physically and energetically.  Though, there are many things we can do to help balance out this response so we can live healthier and happier lives.      

​

First, its important to understand how anxiety impacts your nervous system, overall body functioning, and energy system. As humans, we have a lot in common with how anxiety impacts our body, though, there are also many differences between us all. Listed below are some common symptoms of how anxiety can impact the mind-body and emotions, but again everyone will have a different response at different times. Noticing when anxiety shows up in our body gives us the opportunity to counter its physical effect. There are many different ways to counter it effects, again it varies person to person. 

​

Anxiety is fueled by the unknown (among many things)

​

Anxiety also has a strong foundation in being associated with the unknown.  The unknowns can create this sense of uneasiness and unsettledness in our minds.  Anxiety usually increases when we are fearful or unsure of the future. Lets face it, what is currently happening in our world does make the future seem scary! Its important yes to learn how to cope and its vital to learn how to live with anxiety in a balanced manner.   Each person's experience of anxiety is so different due to one's perspectives of life, past and current experiences and willingness to embrace something new. As such sometimes treating anxiety can be complex due to our differences, but at the same time it is manageable. Its important to remember that anxiety is a natural response to our environment. Anxiety is actually healthy and normal.  But....Its learning how to ride the waves of anxiety vs. fighting it or hoping it will just go away. Anxiety can be a great resource if we learn how listen to it in a new way and react to the physical states in a more evolved manner. 

Common physical symptoms not otherwise caused by a medical condition or nutrient deficiency 

• Vertigo

• Tachycardia 

• Depersonalization/dissociation

• Imposter feeling

• Nausea

• Disorientation 

• Fatigue

• Insomnia

• Increase or decrease in heart rate

• Mild shaking

• Adrenaline increase

• Tense muscles

• Change in blood pressure

• Lowered immunity

• Digestive problems - all of them!

• And of course, always check in with your doctor or nurse practitioner to rule out any concerns for systematic conditions causing these conditions besides anxiety.  Just a word of advice, if you haven't had a yearly check up with blood work, talk to your provider about your symptoms.

Emotional symptoms

• Racing thoughts or intrusive thoughts

• Sadness, and overwhelm, 

• Dread 

• Restlessness or to much energy

• Fears of the future and the known

• Shame

• Confusion

• Yelling

• Shouting

• Short tempter

• Terror

• Numb

• Fear

• Anger

• Hate

• Helplessness

Common habits we cope with anxiety

• Perfectionism

• Worst case scenarios

• Isolating or patterns of avoidance

• Crying

• Shallow breathing

• Monotone voice

• Fast speaking

• Low motivation

• Slow thinking due to anxiety

• All or nothing thinking

• Self-shaming - the "shoulds"

• Focusing on the "what ifs"

• Self-criticizing and quick to criticize or judge others

• Numbing out to TV, food and substances. 

Why I use holistic methods

​

A holistic perspective utilizes ways to calm ones body via a variety of options as emotional freedom technique, certain movements from yoga, gentle stretching, exercises or movement,  breathwork, neuropsychology techniques, nutrition, gut microbiome regime, sleep and even variety of energy techniques - I am not a massage therapist, but I recommend them for added wellness benefit.

​

I do understand that western cultures are not exposed or familiar with the concept of "energy systems" or energy techniques from energy psychology,  but if interested in working with the charka system or meridian system (probably heard from acupuncture)  it can be an added benefit to your overall wellness.  But... either way our mind will follow the state of our body. 

​

If your body is tense, then your thoughts and emotions will also be "tense". The mind and emotions are another piece to this holistic approach to wellness. It includes using self-compassionate practices, meditation, mindfulness, and understanding how your thought patterns and automatic stories you tell yourselves impact your mental health.   Its important to reexamine these stories and begin to bring conscious awareness to them so you can begin to rewrite a different story about yourself.  

​

The stories we tell ourselves

One of the foundational aspects to any healing is learning how to apply a new narrative to your self-identity. This is a deeper existential exploration of how you can begin to find more compassion for yourself as you explore your experiences and patterns in our time together. Coaching and counseling is also a process of self-discovery, self-forgiveness and gaining new insights into your own personal understanding of yourself. The fact is, you have all your own answers and solutions.  Through therapeutic conversations and intuitively sculpted questions, my hope for all my clients is that I can help remind you to listen to your voice and wisdom within yourself 

​

Few ways I hope to be helpful to you 

I am a meditation teacher, yoga teacher, health/nutrition coach and a counselor.

​

As a teacher, I can teach you practical ways to manage the stress response and as your meditation and yoga teacher, we can retrain your mind and body to relax. As a health coach we can (if interested) look at how your health habits can increase your ability to adapt to stress. Finally, as a counselor, we further explore your patterns and the stories that have shaped your automatic thoughts and beliefs about your core self.  

​

 I do spend a good amount of time in education in the early sessions to help you have the tools to help yourself.  :-)   

​

​

Please note: If you are in a crisis,  suicidal thoughts or uncontrolled racing thoughts - then outpatient therapy is not warranted.  You may need a higher level of care as an intensive outpatient or inpatient until you feel stable or another therapist.   It's important we always put a sense of safety first. I can give you resources!    When someone is in a very overwhelmed state, it's hard to take in information and my method is best for individuals who feel stable and can take in information (as I teach as well),   be open-minded to try new things and enjoy exploring deeper aspects of your stories.