Anxiety Therapy in Augusta, GA
As soon as you wake up, the first thing you think is “it’s back,” that knot of anxiety greets you before you’re even out of bed.
Do you feel like anxiety is controlling your life and you’re constantly worrying even when you know everything is fine?
Are you worried that if you don’t get your anxiety under control, your friends are going to start avoiding you and you’ll end up all alone?
Does constant anxiety prevent you from being truly present in your life so that no matter what you’re doing, you’re always worrying about something else?
You’ve reached the point that it feels like anxiety is robbing you of your life.
You wake up anxious, you go to sleep anxious, and you’re anxious every moment in between. Anxiety is consuming you and it feels like you can’t escape it.
It feels like the walls are constantly closing in around you. You’ve tried coping skills and grounding exercises, but somehow anxiety always sneaks back in no matter what you try.
You have your “good” days, but even then, you’re working SO hard just to prevent anxiety from taking over that those days still don’t feel easy.
On top of being anxious, now you’re also frustrated AF about how much of your life is spent trying to manage anxiety and you wonder if it will ever just go the ‘eff away.
If anxiety has taken over your life, Anxiety Therapy in the Augusta area can help you get to the root of the problem and heal from the inside out!
Anxiety is normal (well…sometimes).
Most of us living in Augusta and the surrounding CSRA, experience anxiety at some point. It naturally surfaces when we’re doing something scary or outside our comfort zone. Things like skydiving, giving a big presentation at Augusta University, or having a really difficult conversation with a signficant other.
These aren’t things that we generally do on a daily basis so anxiety tends to be manageable in these circumstances and goes away pretty quickly as soon as the situation is over.
But this isn’t the case for most people deciding to work with an anxiety therapist. They aren’t seeking treatment because they occasionally feel anxious, they’re seeking treatment because they’ve been anxious for so long that they can’t even remember what it feels like not to be.
Anxiety can get in the way of living.
Whether you live in Evans or downtown Augusta, when anxiety shows up, it tends to show up everywhere. From overthinking work presentations at Savannah River Site (SRS) or school presentations at Wellstar MCG, to replaying conversations with friends and family members worrying whether you said the “right” thing. With so many mental tabs open, it’s no wonder you end each day feeling exhausted!
Anxiety Disorders are actually among the most prevalent of mental health diagnoses and are a very common reason that people seek counseling in the first place.
Anxiety can show up differently for different people. Some people experience more of the mental anxiety…chronic worrying, racing thoughts, overthinking, or difficulty concentrating. While others experience more of the physical anxiety…heart racing, shortness of breath, sweating, or feeling jittery. And then some people experience a combination of these symptoms.
No matter how anxiety shows up for you, anxiety treatment can help you find relief so that you can enjoy living life in the greater Augusta area. With the right support, anxiety becomes a background actor while you take the lead role in your own story! #maincharacterenergy
Anxiety Therapy can help transform your inner world to a place that feels peaceful and stable.
When you’ve experienced anxiety for years, it can be hard to imagine life without it. You might even be afraid that therapy won’t help and that thought leaves you feeling even more hopeless.
It’s normal to feel anxious about starting therapy and exploring your hesitations to starting can be a good place to begin your work with an anxiety counselor. It allows us to dive right into your unique experience with anxiety and uncover the underlying thoughts and beliefs that are feeding it.
Working with an anxiety counselor can help you understand your anxiety and yourself at a deeper level. That understanding alone can lead to a reduction in symptoms, but together we can still go deeper.
When we find the parts of you that carry the most anxiety and allow them space to truly heal, we often see an even bigger improvement in your overall well-being. When your anxiety isn’t running the show, you have more mental space to enjoy local events like the Masters Tournament or Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival!
What to Expect in Therapy Sessions
Before your first session, you’ll be asked to complete new client paperwork through an online portal. This paperwork covers your history, current struggles, and what you’re hoping to get out of therapy.
In our initial session, my focus is to get to know you as a person and understand how anxiety has been impacting your life. We’ll create a plan for anxiety treatment together.
Throughout the process of counseling, we will continue exploring how anxiety impacts you specifically. We’ll work on identifying your anxiety triggers and what to do when your body is triggered into fight-or-flight. We are often able to uncover the root cause(s) of your anxiety and heal the parts of you that have been burdened with it for too long.
My Treatment Approaches
I am a holistic and non-religious counselor that treats anxiety by integrating a mind-body-spirit approach with evidence based practices, including:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us explore your inner world. We get to know the parts of you that are carrying anxiety and learn what they need in order to release anxiety.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps you recognize and reframe the thinking patterns that contribute to your anxiety.
Body-Based Awareness helps you connect to what is happening in your body when anxious thoughts come flooding in.
Polyvagal Theory (PVT) helps us approach anxiety counseling in a nervous system friendly way and helps you manage your response to anxiety triggers more effectively.
Reiki Energy Healing (optional) is an energetic approach that helps you clear out anxious energy so you feel more grounded and peaceful. Reiki can be offered as a standalone service, but can also be integrated into in-person therapy sessions at my office in West Augusta.
Any combination of these approaches can help you release the anxiety that has been controlling your life!
Your anxiety isn’t new, but the idea of working with a therapist might be and you might have questions before beginning anxiety treatment.
1. Is my anxiety severe enough to see a counselor?
Whether you live in downtown Augusta, Evans, Martinez, or Grovetown, if anxiety is getting in the way of you living your best life, then you could benefit from working with an anxiety therapist. Therapy can help address anything from chronic worrying up to full blown panic attacks.
2. Would I be wasting a counselor’s time when other people have more severe problems than me?
Absolutely not! Even if people do have “bigger problems” than you, they’re not any more likely to attend counseling just because you don’t. Showing up to counseling, as a person that wants to heal and grow will NEVER waste a counselor’s time.
3. What if I stop overthinking and then become a mean person?
This is a common fear. It’s based on the belief that your overthinking is the only thing that causes you to be nice to people when you’re actually nice to people because you ARE a nice person. Being mean is a choice and will still be a choice even after you stop overthinking!
Healing happens when anxiety has a voice, but not all the power.
If you’re tired of anxiety running your life and you’re ready to start anxiety therapy, you can Schedule a Session here.
If you have questions or would like to book a 15-minute complementary phone consultation, you can use my Contact Form.
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