Have you ever been driving down the road when someone veers into your lane? What do you find yourself doing? It might feel like your body takes over your mind. You veer the other direction, maybe honk on your horn, or maybe slam on your brakes or the gas to get as far away from the danger as possible.
You just experienced a fight-or-flight response. This fight-or-flight response is essentially a burst of adrenaline and anxiety designed to keep you alive. It is essential, natural, and important. But what happens when that fight-or-flight response can’t turn off?
Anxiety is not a fun experience. When it is chronic or severe, it can be crippling. It can change your thought patterns, emotions, behaviors, and your simple enjoyment of life! Having chronic and/or severe anxiety is like an alarm bell living in your head that doesn’t turn off. It’s exhausting!
There is hope, though. Anxiety is treatable- it’s one of the most treatable mental illnesses out there. With Thriveworks Toms River, you don’t have to live with anxiety. Therapy isn’t magic, it’s still hard work and processing and perseverance, but it can speed up your recovery process and help build a brighter future all together.
Call 732-852-4977 for more information or to schedule an appointment today.
What Is Anxiety?
There is no one answer to this question. Anxiety will look different in every situation and with every person. Some people experience what is called ‘specific anxiety’, often signs of an underlying phobia. These people might experience anxiety only in specific situations, such as seeing a dog, driving, or talking to strangers. Then there is the more common and generalized form of anxiety called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is where there is a pervasive sense of danger throughout your life without a ton of patterns. It just exists, no matter what you do.
How exhausting! Anxiety feeds on our very life, making it a crippling experience. It can stop you from chasing your dreams and being happy, but it doesn’t have to have control forever. Thriveworks Toms River is here with proven, effective tools so that, together, we can live a better life.
As always, the first step is to recognize the problem. Common symptoms of anxiety are:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Digestive issues
- Sweaty palms
- Restlessness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Dizziness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dry mouth
- More frequent urination
- Experience of dread or avoidance of particular situations: social settings, being in the public/crowds/spotlight, new environments
- Obsessive thinking
- Anxiety/panic attacks
A client once described anxiety like driving down the highway in 2nd gear while everyone else was in 5th gear and wondering what was so wrong with her that she couldn’t keep up.
When you’re stuck in 2nd gear your engine is working twice as hard to go half as fast. Your car is overheating, breaking down, losing parts. It’s not sustainable, and neither is anxiety. With the specialized anxiety counselors at Toms River, you don’t have to live with it forever. There is never a reason too big or too small for our counselors- if you have a problem that you think a counselor could help with, call us! We want to help you in whatever way we can.
How Does Anxiety Treatment work?
The basis of counseling is the client-therapist relationship. It’s not easy opening up about mental health struggles, and it’s even harder to take steps to overcome it. Having a counselor, you trust is vital for the therapeutic process.
That’s why at Thriveworks Toms River we take extra care to practice a client-first mentality. Your goals, worries, personality, dreams, fears, and lifestyle will all help shape and guide every session of our practice. Afterall, therapy is about you and where you want to go with your life.
At a Thriveworks Toms River anxiety counseling session, you might discuss:
- Cognitive Behavioral work (addressing negative thoughts and the behaviors associated with them and putting a stop to them)
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing- a very cool new counseling technique that draws on your body’s natural ability to heal)
- Proactive ways to recalibrate your nervous system (healthy foods, meditation, exercise, journaling)
- Assessing physical ramifications and how to address them
- Experiential work to release the past
- Reframing
- Redefining
- Visualization
- Mindfulness
- Group support
Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders, and it’s also highly treatable. That doesn’t mean it is easy or enjoyable. No one deserves to live with anxiety. Counseling in Toms River is just one tool you can use to break free of anxiety and live the happy, fulfilling life you deserve.
Thriveworks Toms River wants to thank you for the courage and vulnerability it takes to even think about reaching out. It’s not an easy step, but it’s a step that can change your life for the better. If you are ready to leave anxiety behind, give us a call at 732-852-4977.
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