The experience of anxiety is different from person to person. For you, it may be a constant worry that something is wrong. It may be a tightness in your chest that makes it feel like you can’t breathe. Perhaps it is a feeling of nausea that you can’t seem to shake. However you experience anxiety, chances are it isn’t pleasant. The good news is that therapy for anxiety can help. During therapy for anxiety, you and your therapist will work together to understand the unique ways that anxiety affects you. With that knowledge you will develop the tools to use anxiety to your advantage, increasing peace and decreasing overwhelm.
Therapy for anxiety will help you find and master new tools that can better equip you to decrease your symptoms of anxiety.
Your first step is to identify how anxiety shows up for you so that you can learn which tool from your toolbox would be most helpful, just like when you are picking a tool for a home improvement project. You and your therapist will begin to unravel your anxiety by gaining more understanding about how it shows up for you.
Below are some examples of how therapy for anxiety can help.
Sometimes anxiety feels like a small child nagging at you… “LOOK AT ME!” The thoughts are so loud, chaotic, and overwhelming that you just feel like screaming. It feels like the more you try to look away and ignore it, the harder it tries to come at you. But sometimes, giving our attention-seeking anxiety a moment of our undivided attention might be exactly what it needs to quiet down. Generally, when you fight your anxiety it gets bigger. While it may seem counterintuitive to turn toward your anxiety and offer it the attention it often just needs to be seen and heard to rest a bit more – just like a small child yelling. They need to be seen and heard and known. Anxiety is similar.
Therapy for anxiety can help you practice and master befriending your anxiety so that it doesn’t negatively impact your life any longer.
At first, this might seem counterproductive and uncomfortable, and that’s okay.
Take a seat somewhere new and give yourself an allotted “worry time.” This is used as a few moments to think about the things that feel overwhelming and stressful and allow them to show you the thing they’ve been trying to get your attention for. You can write your thoughts down, talk them out loud, or just think to yourself. This can be two minutes, five minutes, or however long you decide to give it. Be sure to keep the allotted time relatively short, and once “worry time” is over, get up from the space you’ve chosen to sit in and intentionally tell those thoughts that they no longer have your attention. And remember, it might be helpful to throw away anything you might have written down during this time to avoid overthinking.
Grounding techniques are another great way to help cope with anxiety, as they allow you to bring your attention back to the present moment and away from the things that are causing stress.
Therapy for anxiety can help you develop grounding techniques that work for your unique system.
One common way to ground yourself can be as small as gently rubbing your fingers together. As you do this, be mindful of how it feels. Are your fingers cold? Dry? Rough? Notice how your skin feels as your fingers rub together and the sensation it brings about. Being in touch with your physical being can help to shift your thoughts to the present moment, and this technique can be done anywhere!
If your anxiety presents as tension, what can you do?
If you find your experience of anxiety is in your body, some simple stretching is a perfect way to help your body release some tension. Another technique to try is progressive muscle relaxation, and you can find guided videos for this online. Essentially, this technique works to help you intentionally tense and relax different parts of your body to help notice where the tension lies, and to then release it. Some guided practices also involve meditation to assist in quieting loud or intrusive thoughts while performing this exercise.
Anxiety doesn’t show up in the same way for everyone. When you understand how you experience it you are one step closer to finding the best tools to release its hold on you.
Therapy for anxiety is a great way to learn more about your anxiety and to learn the tools to help you overcome its negative impacts.
Therapy for anxiety is a great way to learn more about your anxiety and to learn the tools to help you overcome its negative impacts.If your experience of anxiety is in your physical being, finding ways to release tension and practice relaxation techniques is one way to help decrease those symptoms. Racing thoughts and other symptoms of anxiety that present as cognitive symptoms might call for mindfulness and thought-challenging techniques.
If you find yourself unable to battle anxiety on your own, therapy for anxiety can be an ally. Therapy can help you further dig into your symptoms of anxiety and work through them with someone trained to do so. Someone who gets it. Anxiety can be scary, and therapy for anxiety is here to help.
Ready to Start Therapy for Anxiety in Florida?
Beginning the journey to your best self is easier than most of the things we’re all doing right now! Anxiety therapy does not have to wait. You can get the mental health support you need with a skilled therapist in St. Pete or with online therapy in Florida. To begin, just follow these simple steps:
- Contact us to request an appointment
- Meet with one of our experienced therapists.
- Get support & begin your journey toward mental wellness & connection today!
Other Mental Health and Wellness Services at ME-Therapy
At ME-Therapy, we believe in the importance of mental, emotional & physical wellbeing. Our therapists want to help your mind but also want to feed your soul. This means we take a holistic approach to mental health. In order to do this, we offer a wide range of mental health services in our St. Petersburg office and online including therapy for women, therapy for men, trauma therapy, and holistic, spiritual therapy. For couples and relationships, we want you to know that our relationship therapists are here for you ALL. In addition to marriage counseling, we provide sex therapy, affair recovery counseling, and poly-friendly kink aware therapy.
