Sometimes our body’s way of protecting us gets in the way. Instead of fighting it, work with it.
Do I Need Therapy for Anxiety?
In the simplest sense, anxiety is a form of worry. How you experience anxiety depends on a ton of factors such as genetics, your life’s experience, your current life stressors, and many others. Some experience anxiety as lots of intrusive thoughts about something in particular while others have panic attacks where it becomes difficult to breathe, and everywhere in between.
Keeping an anxious mind’s thoughts organized and under control can be like trying to separate 5 intertwined balls of yarn that all look and feel exactly the same. I like to think of it as a little sibling poking you in the head trying to make you think about something, even if you may not want to think about that something.
That can quickly go from helpful when you need it to crippling when it gets out of control. Because of this, high anxiety is very distressing due to the fact that it is a biological helper for us. It can definitely cause a lot of problems if gone unaddressed.
Anxiety can come from anything, which is what makes it such a complex problem! There is not a single person out there that has not experienced it in some form or another. It is also because of this that many people will not need to seek teletherapy for it or try to downplay it in an attempt to ignore it and hope it goes away.
You may get anxious from a single event or responsibility lingering in the future. You also may have more severe and chronic anxiety that can stop you from living the life you want that has seemingly no cause. At any point you realize you may have anxiety, it is appropriate to turn to a therapist for some deeper help.
How is Anxiety Treated in Teletherapy?
No matter what, the first step is to breathe when you begin to feel that dark cloud of anxiety creeping up. Breathe from the belly for at least 60 seconds or 10-15 breaths and try to think about how your belly is expanding.
You can also try to whisper or think of soothing words to yourself while breathing for an extra level of calm. This small technique sends a message to the stress response center of your brain and soothes it.
If you are interested in online teletherapy treatment for anxiety, this is the place to start. Starting online treatment for anxiety looks very different for everyone, which means there are tons of treatment options for it.
Talk therapy like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are great therapies for anxiety, among many others. Even EMDR therapy, which I touch on in the trauma page, is a good therapy for anxiety of all levels. Mindfulness from DBT is where I like to start for self-regulation, which is the key proponent of treating your anxiety.
You will learn about the process of anxiety in your brain and how it affects you specifically. Then we work on skills and plan how to address it in the future.
The bittersweet fact about anxiety is that it is our brain’s way to protecting us from something. Our intuition is to fight it because it’s distressing, which in most cases makes it worse over time. In online teletherapy, you will learn to lean into it and explore your anxiety in a safe space.
I would love to discuss your questions regarding online mental health counseling further. Please use my contact form to schedule your free consultation.
References
https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/dialectical-behavior-therapy