What is anxiety anyway?

According to the AADA more than 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety, but less than 40% of those people get help for anxiety.

Anxiety is a common experience, but it goes beyond worries and fears. Everyone experiences some anxiety from time to time, but how we choose to deal with anxiety makes all the difference.

A little bit of anxiety is healthy because this tells your brain that you need to take some action. Often we recognize we are anxious because of physical changes in our body sensations. You might feel a sudden drop in your stomach or your heart rate suddenly increase as a result of anxiety. But sometimes those feelings in your body spark behaviors that might not be helpful. Once we start to notice those sensations in our body, some unhealthy behaviors could take place to reduce those feelings. Some people may opt for a substance (alcohol or xanax, for example) while others may try and avoid the situation altogether (think of a flight or fight response).

As a therapist, my goal is to help you learn to notice these bodily sensations and try to implement healthier behaviors to reduce these feelings. Some tricks might be to take some deep breaths, count backwards from 10, or imagine water gently flowing down a stream. Taking a time out from whatever is making you anxious can be a good thing, but avoiding the situation entirely is probably not an option in most cases.

Together we can explore what works for you. In the meantime, check out what Mel Robbins has to say about anxiety.