Anxiety treatment and therapy in Washington, DC and across Virginia and North Carolina

Your fears do not have to hold you back

Is anxiety and worry taking over your life?

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the subjective experience of worry, fear, nervousness, and apprehension, often about things that we cannot control. Although anxiety is a normal human emotion that we all feel from time to time, there are instances where anxiety can begin to take a life of its own and become a debilitating force in one’s life and relationships.

Many emotional disorders are anxiety related, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, and the various Phobias.

The prevalence of anxiety is high, with anxiety disorders affecting over 40 million adults in the US each year. Anxiety is often associated with medically unexplained medical symptoms/pain, such as migraines, fibromyalgia, chest pains, tension headaches, asthma, and gastrointestinal upset. 

Common Symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety is characterized by distinct physical experiences. These include:

  • Excessive worry or apprehension that interferes with your life

  • Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge

  • Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank

  • Irritability

  • Muscle tension

  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless sleep.

  • Panic attacks

  • Fearful of certain situations or places (flying, heights, elevators, etc.)

  • Tension throughout the body

  • Tension headaches

  • Stomach upset, nausea

  • Heart palpitations or increased heat rate

  • Sweaty hands and palms

  • Trouble concentrating, mind going blank

  • Shortness of breath

  • Chest pain

Treatment for Anxiety

​Often our mind tries to makes sense of why we feel anxious and we will try to find meaning or reasons for our anxiety. “I am just nervous about my test next week” or “I just have a lot on my plate right now” are some examples of this.  

In therapy, however, it can be misleading to overly focus on these external reasons, as I have found this can lead to superficial results, because once the fearful “event” has passed or been resolved, then the mind will find something else to be anxious about. This can go on for years, and is one of the reasons why client’s often feel like their life is never stable or in control.  

 That is why I feel it is important to get to the root of your anxiety and resolve what is really driving it. In other words, to help you make sound and solid internal changes within yourself, which allows you to be more emotionally calm and secure when life (which it always does!), throws difficult situations our way. In therapy, we examine the internal emotions, feelings, and urges that the anxiety is covering up and blocking. We examine the thoughts that might be exacerbating your anxiety. We examine the behaviors that might be exacerbating your anxiety, and look to how we can make lasting changes in each of these areas. 

Anxiety Therapy can Help you:

  • Discover what’s causing you to feel anxious

  • Learn coping skills to manage anxiety

  • Reduce distressing memories, thoughts, and images 

  • Increase your self-esteem

  • Improve the way you think and talk to yourself  

  • Reconnect in your relationships

  • Better express you emotional needs

  • Sleep better & feel better physically

Outcomes associated with Anxiety Therapy:

Before Therapy:

  • Trouble relaxing and being present

  • Trouble falling asleep or having restful sleep

  • Constant worries and ruminations

  • Emotionally detached from others and oneself

  • Negative patterns in relationships

  • Self-critical thoughts

After therapy:

  • Greater sense of calm and peace

  • Increase in self-esteem and self-compassion

  • More comfortable and confident around others

  • Improvement in sleep quality

  • Greater sense of purpose and excitement in life

  • More confident to set healthy boundaries with others