Anxiety
John Mathews, LCSW offers anxiety counseling in Midlothian, VA, and online counseling for anxiety in the state of Virginia.
Anxiety is a response to a threat — real or imagined. Anxiety can clamp down and make you unable to do the things you want to do, or keep you from trying new things, growing, and forging relationships. If this is you, know that there is hope — a better life is closer than you think.
When you master anxiety management skills you will learn in counseling, you will be able to live the life you want despite your anxiety.
Anxiety will never go away completely (and you wouldn’t want it to). It is a deeply ingrained survival mechanism, and is perfectly healthy in moderation. It only becomes problematic when it grows out of proportion with the perceived threat. If you’re reading this, you probably recognize that your anxiety is overreacting to the events of your daily life.
With counseling, you can make remarkable progress on your anxiety in as little as a few months. Once you gain the skills to manage it, you will gain agency over it. Think of it like a backpack or suitcase– you know it’s there, and some days it’s heavier than others, but it doesn’t keep you from doing the things you need and want to do — it doesn’t hold you back. That’s what your relationship with anxiety can become.
Anxiety is healthy and adaptive — an anxiety disorder isn’t so much a bad thing as it is too much of a good thing.
We all worry sometimes. We’ve all felt or stomach flutter when we met someone new, or our hearts race in the moments before our names were called to give a presentation in school. Believe it or not, this is a good thing — anxiety keeps you alert, and makes you try your best. It’s our body’s built-in performance-enhancer. Remember, its origin is functional — it lets us know when a challenge is ahead, so we can be physically and mentally prepared to meet that challenge.
While it’s normal to worry on occasion, or to have a sleepless night during a time of stress, it isn’t normal to feel distressed over your anxiety on a daily basis — to worry about worry. When is it time to do something about your anxiety?
- you’ve abandoned things you used to enjoy because of anxiety
- you’re feeling lonely because your anxiety is preventing you from meeting your emotional needs
- you’re regularly losing sleep from excessive worry
- you find it hard to relax
- you’re always tired or fatigued
- you’re having physical symptoms like restlessness, headaches and physical pain, muscle tension
Often, the first step towards reducing anxiety is to welcome it. Understanding that it is there to help you, and not to hurt you, is a powerful realization. From there, counseling will allow you to process and learn coping skills to manage panic and anxiety. With counseling you will gain insight into the modes of thought that create and perpetuate unnecessary worry and stress. Once you have these skills, you will be able to channel anxiety positively and use it to your benefit. That’s not to say it won’t ever feel uncomfortable — at times, it will. But it won’t keep you from being you, and that’s the important thing. So think about seeking counseling for your anxiety. The sooner you take action, the sooner you will reap the benefits!
Want to learn more? Take a look at Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder symptoms.
Want to learn more about my approach to therapy? Check out my approach to therapy page.
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If you have more questions or want to schedule an appointment, message me.
Let’s talk more about how I can help.