Traverse City, MI Counseling for Anxiety and Depression—Therapists
Have you ever thought something like this…
“Why do I feel nervous all the time? I don’t even know what I’m jittery about, but I can’t calm down. My friends do not understand what it is like to live with this feeling—all the time.”
“There is a voice inside me that knows all my insecurities and vulnerabilities and fears. It never stops talking. It is so loud that it is the only thing I can hear.”
“A classmate texted and asked if I wanted to go to a movie. I’m busy. I lied. Kind of. In some ways, it was the truth. I’m busy breathing…reassuring myself…apologizing.”
If you can relate to these thoughts, you may know what it is like to struggle with anxiety. Best-selling author Jodi Picoult illustrates anxiety, saying, “Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.” If you can relate, you are not the only one. Anxiety disorders are the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses in the United States, and they are often diagnosed with depression. Although they are separate illnesses, as many as half of people who have anxiety will also suffer from a form of depression. These mental illnesses make everyday functioning more difficult if not impossible. They also have treatments. There are many options for treatment that can combat the symptoms and effects of anxiety and depression. Often, the first step in healing is acknowledging the illness and asking for help.
Thriveworks Traverse City has helped many clients find the diagnosis and the treatment they needed for their anxiety and depression. Each person is unique, and our office gives each client personalized care. We know what it is like to heal from anxiety and depression, and we walk side-by-side, offering our clients support and guidance.
Anxiety and Depression: Signs and Symptoms
People are whole beings, and just as physical illnesses take their toll on people’s mind and emotions, so mental illnesses take their toll on people’s bodies. Depression and anxiety have many signs and symptoms that display themselves in people’s bodies. Yes, anxiety and depression mean that people experience sadness or worry, but they may also experience insomnia. The effects of these mental illnesses are far reaching, and they may include…
- Disrupted Appetite – Many people experience a significant increase or decrease in their appetite when they are fighting anxiety and/or depression. Sometimes, people’s taste buds change, and food can taste like dirt. Other people’s body changes so that they are hungry all the time and want to eat constantly. People frequently lose or gain weight accordingly.
- Irregular Sleep Patterns – Anxiety and depression can also disrupt people’s sleeping patterns. Some may experience the disruption as insomnia—the inability to stay asleep, fall asleep, or have restful sleep. Others may experience the disruption as hypersomnia and sleep more hours than they are awake each day.
- Lethargy – Battling depression and anxiety require a substantial amount of energy and can leave people depleted. Fatigue and lethargy are common side effects. The sleep disruptions can be a contributing factor toward the lethargy, but people can experience one without the other.
- Difficulty Focusing – Difficult emotions and negative thoughts bombard people who have anxiety and/or depression, and these thoughts are distracting. They can make clear thinking impossible, and people often have difficulty focusing.
- Indecisiveness – Anxiety and depression can undermine people’s confidence and their ability to make decisions. Even seemingly small decisions, like where to eat dinner, can overwhelm people and leave them feeling stuck. Indecisiveness often plagues people and makes it difficult for them to make important decisions that keep them moving forward in life.
More than Jitters and the Blues
“Depression is like a bruise that never goes away. A bruise in your mind. You just got to be careful not to touch it where it hurts. It’s always there, though.”
– Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot
Within their lifetime, about 25 percent of adults will receive a diagnosis of anxiety and about 15 percent will receive a diagnosis of depression. They are the most widespread and common mental illnesses in the United States, and despite their iniquitousness, there are many myths and misunderstandings about what they are and how they function. Many people see them as phases of sadness or worry or the blues or jitters. However, anxiety and depression are severe illnesses that often require treatment from a mental health professional. Signs and symptoms may include….
- Experiencing indifference about relationships and activities that were once enjoyable.
- Challenge and hard emotions like emptiness, worthlessness, hopelessness, and sadness that are difficult to control.
- Psychosomatic pain—psychological pain that is experienced as physical pain.
- Thoughts of suicide and death.
Therapy Thriveworks Traverse City, MI for Anxiety and Depression
If you recognize the signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression within your own life, you may be ready to meet with a counselor or therapist. If so, know that the mental health professionals at Thriveworks Traverse City are ready to help. When you contact our office, you may have your first appointment the following day. A person (not a voicemail) will answer your call and help you schedule a session. Weekend and evening appointments are available. You will never be put on a waitlist—because we don’t have one. But we do accept most forms of insurance.
Let’s work together for healing and relief. Call Thriveworks Traverse City today.
