Understanding Therapy for Anxiety

Anxiety can have an abundance of symptoms that present in ways that disrupt everyday life.

Maybe you find yourself struggling with racing thoughts.
Maybe sleep no longer comes easily or you wake multiple times per night with worries about the next day.
Maybe physical symptoms have risen in ways you aren’t used to.
Maybe everything feels uncertain and that alone feels scary.

Anxiety is common — especially during transitional times in one’s life. However, when worry becomes constant, intrusive, or physically exhausting, it is not sustainable or healthy.

Anxiety is your nervous system attempting to send you a message and keep you safe, sometimes even when there is no logical or real threat. Past trauma, personality characteristics, or even situational factors can leave one prone to increased vigilance.

The good news: anxiety responds extremely well to structured, evidence-based therapy. You don’t have to just accept that you will feel this way forever.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a response to uncertainty or perceived danger that manifests in fear, dread, or excessive worry. It becomes clinical when it begins to disrupt everyday life. This might mean that going to work or school becomes difficult, physical symptoms such as headaches and/or stomachaches become more frequent, or it can feel like you can never turn “off” the worry.

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms that disrupt schedules and are generally uncomfortable or even painful, such as: tension, chest pain or heart palpitations, stomachaches or nausea, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, exhaustion, or even mood disturbances.

Types of Anxiety Commonly Treated

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

This anxiety diagnosis is often best described by anxiety about various, unrelated issues every day or almost every day.

Panic disorder

Anxiety characterized by panic attacks and fear of having panic attacks.

Social anxiety disorder

Anxiety focused on fear of judgment from others and struggling in social settings as a result of anxiety. This can cause the sufferer to avoid social settings altogether.

Adjustment disorder

This anxiety disorder is often a result of life transitions such as moving, divorce, welcoming a new child into the family, death of a loved one, changing jobs, etc. Even positive life transitions can cause in increase in anxiety and difficulty coping.

What to Expect in Therapy for Anxiety

Therapy for anxiety focuses both on understanding the cause of and triggers for anxiety, as well as learning coping skills to manage distress when it occurs. It is unrealistic to think that we can avoid distress at all costs and we have to be prepared to manage it.

In therapy sessions we will look at patterns in anxiety, typical coping patterns (including whether these are healthy or unhealthy), and ways in which to regulate the nervous system. Treatment for anxiety involves increasing distress tolerance and developing a level of confidence regarding coping, as opposed to trying to avoid triggers altogether.

Evidence-based treatment for anxiety can include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and exposure-based interventions.

If you feel stuck in anxious thought patterns, exhausted from overthinking, or noticing an increase in uncomfortable physical symptoms accompanying worry, therapy provides structured support and a way to increase confidence in coping.

You do not need to wait until anxiety becomes unmanageable