Anxiety Therapy

Are you having a difficult time relaxing or shutting down your thoughts at the end of the day? Do you feel more wound up than usual, even over the smallest inconveniences? Are you constantly worrying about your own wellbeing or those around you? Perhaps your sleep quality has been affected, only complicating the matter?

Anxiety is a basic human reaction to a perceived threat. Although a very helpful emotion when we are in real danger, anxiety can take over our life, making us hyper-alert and preoccupied with relatively small stressors. Problems with managing anxiety are one of the most common mental health complaints among people today.

Anxiety concerns can fall into any of the below categories:

Generalized Anxiety: People with generalized anxiety tend to worry about anything (and everything) from money to health, to family to friends, to driving to everyday activities. These worries are out of proportion to the impact of the event and can often cause the person to feel chronically tense and “on edge”.

Social Anxiety: People with social anxiety tend to excessively worry about other people’s negative judgements of them and are uncomfortable when being in public settings or interacting with others.

Health Anxiety: People with health anxiety have a preoccupation with somatic illness and are constantly checking or seeking reassurance that they are not seriously ill or developing a chronic condition (such as googling symptoms or making doctor’s appointments).

Phobias: Phobias are intense fears about one specific object or situation, such as spiders, heights or driving. Phobias are usually coupled with extreme avoidance of the feared stimulus.

Post Traumatic Stress: After a terrifying event or situation, people can have a complicated mix of emotional and behavioural responses even long after the event happened. The person may have thoughts or sensations as if they are “re-experiencing” the event (such as bad dreams or flashbacks), and usually avoid triggers that remind them of the event.

Panic: Although many people experience the emotion of panic from time to time, some people experience sudden and unprovoked panic attacks on a frequent basis. The person experiences intense discomfort, fear and sense of losing control, and this can seem to come out of nowhere.

What does therapy for anxiety look like?

Anxiety is usually treated with a course of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with helps with client better understand their triggers and learn about the relationship between their thoughts, emotions, body sensations and behaviours. Great emphasis is put on being able to think more realistically, challenging anxious thoughts, and behaving in more effective ways (eliminating avoidance). The person is also taught many relaxation strategies and ways to mitigate an anxious response.

Treatment for anxiety varies greatly, and the length of time spent in therapy depends on many factors including the nature of the anxiety and how it’s affecting the person’s life. The client is asked to practice many strategies at home between sessions to help speed up the process! Typically, people report feeling better anywhere from 4 to 12 therapy sessions.

How will my life look different?

Anxiety is not simply just about the worrying. It negatively affects many areas of our life, including sleep, work and school, eating habits, relationships and sex life, ability to exercise or participate in hobbies, hygiene, parenting, physical health, and overall enjoyment of life. People who excessively worry tend to be less “in the moment” and have difficulty fully engaging in pleasant activities, which also greatly impacts their mood. In addition, frequent avoidance may keep the person from accomplishing their dreams and/or building up a proper social network.

Therapy for anxiety can help you feel more in control. Imagine feeling ‘lighter’ and more able to fully participate in life.

Therapy for Anxiety at Brookhaven

Our clinicians having significant experience treating anxiety with best practices. We work with you to map out your anxiety symptoms and teach relatable and effective strategies for managing your anxiety each and everyday. We teach you to challenge the negative scripts that are running through your head, and push you to be brave in the scenarios that scare you.