a common psychological health issue, impacts millions of people worldwide. Bay Area Therapists Specializing In Anxiety … As a Licensed Scientific Social Worker (LCSW), I have actually seen the effect of stress and anxiety on many lives. In this article, I will share an in-depth exploration of anxiety through the lens of a recent therapy session with a client, highlighting signs, treatment strategies, and my personal journey as a therapist with my own experiences of anxiety In addition, we will talk about a term paper by Harvard University that clarifies the complex nature of stress and anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a widespread psychological health concern, affects millions of individuals worldwide. As a Certified Scientific Social Worker (LCSW), I have actually seen the effect of anxiety on many lives.}
discussion on strengths-based biopsychosocial methods to addressing anxiety and while those are fantastic you know I thought maybe we should look at you understand what’s some of the current research so I entered into PubMed which is I do not understand it’s playground for me it’s where you find a great deal of the journal short articles and you can sort and I sorted by posts that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past 5 years so that offers us a concept about existing research I indicate there’s a great deal of things that is still the same like some of the medications that were understood to work ten years earlier are still understood to be you understand great first-line treatments however there are also some newbies that we’ll talk about and there are likewise some changes that we’re going to discuss so we’re going to check out some common causes for anxiety symptoms in order to treat it we really require to and obviously this does play into the biopsychosocial element we actually need to understand kind of what causes it due to the fact that stress and anxiety that’s triggered by for example someone having a racing heart might be different than stress and anxiety that’s triggered for somebody who has desertion issues so we’re gon na treat the two things differently so we want to look at some of the typical causes we’re gon na look at some typical triggers for stress and anxiety you understand what are some of these common styles that we see in practice and I will ask you to share a few of the themes that you see that underlie a lot or highlight of your clients anxiety and determine current finest practices for anxiety management including counseling interventions medications physical interventions and helpful treatments so we care due to the fact that stress and anxiety.
can be disabling and a great deal of our customers have stress and anxiety a lot of our clients have anxiety comorbid with depression and they’re taking a look at us going how can I feel anxious and stressed and like I can’t sit still and depressed at the same time you understand when you’re depressed you’re supposed to wish to sleep well a lot of times individuals who are have both problems really wish to sleep but they can’t so I want to assist customers comprehend that also in some cases stress and anxiety when people are anxious for long enough the body begins sort of hanging on to the cortisol the body actually recognizes at a particular point this is a losing fight I’m not going to put energy into this any longer so it begins with drawing some of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and people will start to feel depressed essentially the brain has actually already stated this is hopeless this is you’re you’re powerless to alter the scenario so then people begin feeling defenseless and hopeless which is sort of the definition if you will of anxiety low-grade chronic stress and anxiety arose energy and people’s ability to focus so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we require to help them determine how to address stress and anxiety not simply generalized frustrating incapacitating stress and anxiety however likewise panic social stress and anxiety and those minor stress and anxiety triggers that come along that may not meet the limit for a diagnosis stress and anxiety is a significant trigger for addiction regression if you have a customer who is self
medicated before or had a dependency for some reason anxiety is a major trigger increased physical discomfort when anxiety increases individuals tend to tense their muscles when they tense their muscles they tend to feel more pain I indicate consider when you’re stressed you tend to have more discomfort like in your neck in your back and things that already harmed may hurt more why because serotonin which is among our significant anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also among our significant discomfort modulators so when serotonin levels are too low due to the fact that stress and anxiety is high then our pain perception is going to be more severe and individuals can have sleep issues if you’re stressed out your body thinks there’s a danger you’re not going to be able to enter that deep relaxing sleep you might have you might sleep you may sleep a lot however it’s most likely not quality sleep which implies your neurotransmitters might get out of whack your hormones make it out of whack and your body is going to begin viewing your itself in a relentless state of tension when we’re exhausted the body knows that we might be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to produce cortisol to keep keep you on alert a little bit so you may once again you may be resting sort of like when you have a new child in the house those first couple of months that my children were house from the healthcare facility I slept but I didn’t sleep well I imply the smallest little sound and I was awake and I was looking around and you understand I felt it I felt tired and a great deal of new parents do so triggers for anxiety desertion and rejection and we’re going to speak about methods we may wish to deal with these things but some of the underlying themes that I’ve seen in a lot of customers and when I do the research what a great deal of what themes that come out include low self-confidence
if someone has low self-confidence they’re seeming externally verified often they’re searching for someone else to tell them you’re adorable you’re alright so that can cause stress and anxiety about not having individuals to tell them you’re alright which makes their relationships rare and can make them inefficient cognitive distortions and unreasonable thoughts might lead people to think that if I’m not best for instance I am not adorable so we’re going to take a look at some unreasonable thoughts and cognitive distortions unhealthy social assistances and relationships when you remain in a relationship it takes 2 to tango and even if your customer is fairly mentally and physically healthy if they remain in a dysfunctional relationship they can fear abandonment and rejection if that other person is always saying if you do not do X I’m going to leave you or if that other person is always cheating on them or whatever so relationships can trigger abandonment anxiety and inadequate interpersonal skills can result in relationship turmoil and social exile if our customers are in relationships even if they’re not completely inefficient if our customers are not able to request what they need and set suitable boundaries and handle conflict successfully because conflict happens in every relationship then they might start to argue more which may lead to fearing may lead to relationships ending in the past and them working out every relationship I get into ends which implies I need to not be lovable so they begin fearing abandonment and rejection so these are 4 areas that we can take a look at one more examining customers another concern is the unknown and loss of control a lot of times unfavorable self-talk and cognitive distortions can contribute to that if I do not have control of everything then it’s all going to be a disaster unfavorable others when clients hang out or when individuals socialize with unfavorable people it type of wears on you after a while you notice that people who are tend to be more negative cynical conspiracy minded tend to socialize with people who are also negative downhearted and conspiracy minded so if you’re hanging out with somebody who tends to be nervous then the stress and anxiety can be palpable and it can kind of penetrate physical complaints can lead people to be nervous because they don’t know what’s triggering it like I said previously in some cases if your heart starts to race if you don’t understand what’s causing it you can start thinking I’m having a cardiovascular disease or I’m gon na pass away when people have panic attacks for example they genuinely believe they’re having a cardiovascular disease and
it’s I have actually had them they are extremely extremely unpleasant experiences but when individuals start having physical complaints and it can be you understand they have an odd rash that they can’t get to disappear or it whatever however when they don’t understand what it is and they can’t manage it they can’t make it disappear they start thinking of all the worst-case scenarios and browsing the web and getting on WebMD which typically offers you all the worst-case circumstances um so physical problems are important we need to stabilize the truth that no one’s pain-free all the time and you understand the reality that you might have a pain or an ache or a lump or a bump or you know a cough most likely you understand when we take a look at possibility the probability of it being something significant is quite small now do you wish to get it had a look at probably but you know the likelihood that is anything to be stressed over is is relatively small and a sense of powerlessness can trigger worry of the unknown and loss of control for someone who does not seem like they have any agency in their life if they have an external locus of control or if they felt victimized all of their life then they might fear not being in control they may be hanging on and stating okay this is the one area of my life I can manage when I grew up you know I matured in an extremely disorderly environment I had no control I was bounced around in the foster system yadda yadda yadda now that I’m an adult you understand I can manage these things and I am going to hold on with white knuckles and if I can’t control everything then that terrifies me death and loss are other triggers for anxiety and it can be family pets or individuals and family pets are very important I do not want to minimize family pets since you know they are little parts of a great deal of our families so making certain we check that my child’s dog for instance is it’s getting old she’s aging she’s 14 now I believe and you understand she remains in decent health we took her to the veterinarian and the vet said yeah she’s got a little heart whispering however that’s expected for a 14 years of age pet and however when she goes out if she doesn’t come back when I call her I have this rush of anxiety for a second oh my gosh I hope this wasn’t the day so stress and anxiety around losing people and you know if she when she crosses the bridge she will and and you understand
I’m okay with that I’m I have a harder time handling my daughter’s emotional turmoil when that happens and due to the fact that she’s grown up with this dog so you know those are the types of things that we wish to discuss with our clients what things are weighing on you that you might not even be considering because I know in the back of my mind there’s constantly that worry about one of our donkeys and her dog jobs and promos can activate anxiety if individuals are afraid they’re gon na lose their job if they’re constantly scared that you know they’re gon na stroll in and get a pink slip or get fired you understand we wish to help them look at how sensible is that are you doing what you require to do in order to attain and keep your job and sometimes it’s difficult to address I indicate the first thought that a great deal of us have is well you understand if you’re doing the ideal thing so just do it however there are those employers out there and I’ve had some really fantastic employers a great deal of them and I’ve had 2 truly horrendous bosses and those 2 managers I could never ever I never felt like I had the ability to do anything right and so going to those tasks there was constantly this anxiety about what I’m what am I going to get in trouble for today so you want to talk with people about does your task cause anxiety what can you do to moderate that anxiety the very same thing with promotions individuals might get anxious about whether they’re going to get promoted security and security you know when you lose security and security you can feel truly anxious so if there’s a burglary at your house next door or a shooting down the road or you start seeing the news you can feel really hazardous and unsecure truly rapidly so we wish to help individuals find out how safe and safe and secure are you actually and a lot of it returns to actually taking a look at facts when individuals lose their dreams and hopes or fear that they’re going to lose their dreams and hopes they can begin to get distressed you understand they have this dream that they’re going to be a medical professional or I simply finished the discussion on helping high school students transition to college and a lot of high school students for example start college with these wide eyes and intends to save the world and they wish to be medical professionals and engineers and this and that and they get into it and they recognize that it’s a lot more difficult than they thought or they understand that you understand what I truly do not like this but I have actually currently dedicated to it so what do I do or I wish to help people however I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you know for me I found out in my second year that I wasn’t going to medical school since I wasn’t going to pass calculus which caused a great deal of anxiety it was like all right what am I gon na do now you understand what career should I select so assisting people find out do you have dreams that have perhaps type of crashed and burned and you have to find new ones you know fine that a person we have actually got to accept it determine that it’s not going to be and what can you do now individuals
might likewise have dreams about relationships they get into relationships and they see themselves with this individual permanently and after that this relationship ends and or begins to get rocky and they resemble however that’s my dream what takes place if my that’s got to happen since it’s my dream I do not understand how to function if that goes away we wish to assist individuals have the ability to rewrite their narrative and after that sickness spiders and other fears type of goes in with death a great deal of times when people get sick they begin getting anxious that oh my gosh what if this is terminal oh my gosh what if this is you understand incurable if I get bit by a spider it’s gon na kill me and which is rare you know there are really couple of spiders that are really that dangerous exact same thing with snakes going over bridges I have actually shown you all that is not one of my irrational worries you understand I am just horrified that you understand something’s going to happen and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is totally unreasonable however we need to assist individuals look at those and identify the ideas that they’re telling themself about those phobias and deal with that anxiety failure is another trigger for anxiety especially in this culture our culture American culture in in large part puts a high premium on success and perfectionism so when individuals recognize that they’re not ideal they may begin to get distressed due to the fact that they feel like if I’m not perfect then I’m a failure you know those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they start with that unfavorable self-talk you know you can’t do anything right so those are a few of the concerns that you understand we often see in therapy sessions so what do we do you know someone can be found in and it like I can’t live in this manner doc anxiety depression and substance disorders in addition to a variety of physical disorders are frequently comorbid so this is the first thing we need to recognize we require to realize that we’re really rarely handling an extremely easy medical diagnosis you understand when someone can be found in we need to determine you understand if they come in and they exist with depression all right let’s speak about that and
Understanding Stress And Anxiety: A Client’s Experience:
In my current session with Emma (name changed for personal privacy), a 32-year-old woman, I had the opportunity to delve into the intricate layers of stress and anxiety. Emma described experiencing consistent concern, a racing heart, and invasive thoughts. She discovered it challenging to focus at work and often felt a sense of impending doom. These symptoms were interfering with her life, relationships, and general well-being.
Emma’s Treatment Strategy:
To address Emma’s anxiety, we developed a detailed treatment plan customized to her special requirements. Here are some crucial elements of her strategy:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about stress and anxiety and its psychological and physiological manifestations helped her gain a much deeper understanding of her signs. This knowledge empowered her to acknowledge and verify her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based approach that concentrates on determining and challenging illogical ideas and beliefs. Emma discovered to reframe unfavorable thoughts and establish a more well balanced viewpoint, gradually decreasing anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Methods: Integrating relaxation strategies such as deep breathing workouts, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation helped Emma control her tension response and promote a sense of calm.
Exposure Therapy: As Emma expressed avoidance habits related to specific triggers, we gradually exposed her to those scenarios in a regulated manner. This exposure permitted her to challenge her fears and develop strength versus anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Lifestyle Modifications: Emma acknowledged the importance of self-care practices in managing her anxiety. She focused on regular workout, healthy eating, quality sleep, and engaging in activities she took pleasure in to promote total well-being.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My choice to end up being a therapist was deeply affected by my own struggles with anxiety. My individual journey has actually offered me with unique insights and compassion when dealing with clients dealing with similar challenges. Having experienced anxiety firsthand, I am able to associate with my patients’ worries, worries, and the impact stress and anxiety can have on various aspects of life.
Harvard’s Research on Stress and anxiety:
A critical research paper entitled “Comprehending the Complexity of Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Research Study” by Harvard University provides important insights into the complexity of stress and anxiety disorders. The study followed a friend of people over a period of 10 years and examined various aspects adding to the development, upkeep, and treatment of anxiety.
The paper stressed that stress and anxiety conditions arise from a combination of genetic, environmental, and mental aspects. It highlighted the value of early intervention, evidence-based treatments, and holistic techniques in managing anxiety efficiently. The findings further highlighted the significance of a therapeutic alliance and customized treatment plans in addressing stress and anxiety. Bay Area Therapists Specializing In Anxiety
Conclusion:
Stress and anxiety is a multifaceted and deeply individual experience that affects individuals in extensive methods. Through restorative interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation strategies, exposure treatment, and self-care practices, individuals like Emma can gain control over their stress and anxiety and lead satisfying lives. As a therapist, my individual journey with stress and anxiety allows me to supply effective and thoughtful care to my clients. The research study performed by Harvard University sheds light on the intricate nature of stress and anxiety, strengthening the importance of tailored treatments and early intervention in promoting mental well-being. Together, we can navigate the labyrinth of stress and anxiety and find the course to a more tranquil and empowered presence.