THERAPY FOR ANXIETY
Typically, anxiety is a normal reaction of your body to stress, designed to temporarily activate our instinctive 'fight, flight, freeze' response in our brain to keep us safe from perceived harm. But what happens when you are no longer able to enjoy everyday life? When you feel panicked seemingly out of nowhere, or you avoid previously enjoyed situations because you feel like your body is out of your control? When there is no “off” switch for the ever-present worry?
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The therapists at Defining You Counseling understand how difficult it can be to live with anxiety. We can help you learn tools to use and strategies to cope with anxiety when it occurs.
WHAT DOES ANXIETY LOOK LIKE?

​Symptoms of anxiety vary from person to person, with some common symptoms including, but not limited to, the following:
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Panic Attacks
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Increased heart rate
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Rapid breathing
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Increased sweating
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A strong desire to avoid the things that trigger your anxiety
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Irritability
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Difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly
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Trouble falling asleep
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Restlessness
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Feeling tense
TYPES OF ANXIETY
Experiencing feelings of out-of-control anxiety that interfere with your every-day life may indicate struggles with one of the following common anxiety disorders:
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder: excessive worry about everyday, routine events
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Panic Disorder: sudden episodes of intense feelings of panic and fear that peak within minutes
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Social Anxiety Disorder: avoidance of social situations due to intense feelings if embarrassment or self-consciousness
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Separation Anxiety Disorder: excessive fear for a child around leaving the presence of a caregiver
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Specific Phobias: anxiety when presented with a specific object or situation with an intense desire to avoid it

OUR APPROACH TO ANXIETY TREATMENT
At Defining You, our therapists work with you to determine specific tools and coping strategies that help you overcome the feeling of powerlessness you have over your anxiety. We use a tailored Cognitive-Behavioral approach, along with elements of Solution-Based, Dialectical Behavioral, Mindfulness and Psychoeducation in our client-centered approach to therapy. In doing so, we focus on how your thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence each other while emphasizing how being mindful can help you find ways to regulate your emotions.
Specifically for those struggling with anxiety, we first focus on the influence your thoughts have on your feelings and behavior. We help you recognize the physiological cues that your 'fight, flight, freeze response' is being activated, focus your attention on your thoughts, and work with you to change how you relate to those thoughts. Concurrently, we work on coping skills you can use to physically calm your body when intense feelings of anxiety are triggered.
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At the end of treatment, you will have specific tools to help you continue to succeed. Our goal is for you to conclude therapy feeling empowered, motivated, and filled with hope.