Anxiety Disorder Therapy
Anxiety Treatment in Fort Lauderdale
Yes, you can shake the feeling of anxiety. Anxiety therapy works.
Anxiety Disorders are the most common of psychological conditions in America. Eighteen percent of the U.S. population is affected each year. Anxiety impacts a lot of us, but there is so much that can be done in anxiety therapy to reduce its impact in your life.
Anxiety is the most common reason why folks reach out to me for therapy. My clients often tell me they once felt so hopeless that they'd ever learn to cope with the constant worry, panic, and physical symptoms of anxiety.
If you feel like you frequently dress-rehearse worst-case scenarios, find yourself worrying about things that are out of your control or just feel overly negative, you will probably greatly benefit from working with me.
Anxiety therapy is one of my areas of expertise along with treating panic attacks, social anxiety, and phobias. I utilize effective therapies (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in my treatment approach which have strong scientific evidence to alleviate symptoms.
What to Expect in Anxiety Therapy
Step 1: Give me a call at 954-488-2933 x1
I offer 15-minute complimentary phone consultations. During the phone consult, you'll describe your situation in a nutshell and I'll walk you through the process of making your first appointment.
Step 2: Show up for your 1st appointment
During our initial appointment, I'll get a much more thorough understanding of what your life is looking like. I'll ask about your background, history and how anxiety is showing up in your life. I'll share with you my first impressions and ideas for a treatment plan.
Step 3: Attend follow-up appointments
This is where the real benefits of therapy begin to take shape. In each session, we will check-in to evaluate your progress. We'll review any homework assignments you might have had and you'll learn new coping skills. After each session, you will leave feeling supported, more mentally flexible, and rejuvenated from learning fresh tools for coping with anxiety.
Step 4: Completion of treatment
Congratulations! At this point, you've reached your goals and are feeling like you got your life back. We can space therapy appointments out to occur on a as-needed basis. My average number of sessions for anxiety treatment is 10 appointments. However, many folks find it helpful to continue meeting with me even after they've met their treatment goals as part of their new self-care regimen.
Want to get a sneak peak of the types of coping skills we'll review in therapy for anxiety? Check out my blog post on 5 Quick Tips to Reduce Stress and Stop Anxiety.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a diagnostic term which describes someone who experiences frequent episodes of nervousness, tension, and worry.
Signs and Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Excessive worry about various topics even when there is little to no evidence to support worrisome thoughts.
- Anxious thoughts that intrusively take over thought patterns.
- Difficulty concentrating due to ruminating anxious thoughts.
- Feelings of dread, impending doom or expecting the worst to happen.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Therapy
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a condition a person may develop after exposure to a life-threatening event or an event that threatens a person’s sense of safety. It is normal to experience symptoms of PTSD following a traumatic event, however if these symptoms do not improve over time, it may indicate a mental health condition.
Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
- Feeling detached or numb.
- Difficulty remembering details of traumatic event.
- Nightmares, flashbacks, or intrusive memories of the trauma.
- Physical abreactions to reminders of trauma (racing heart, sweating, nausea, re-experiencing physical sensations of the trauma).
- Dissociation/Loss of time – inability to recall events or details for hours or days at a time.
- Easily startled or hypervigilant.
Panic Disorder and Phobias
Individuals who struggle with anxiety may also experience panic attacks and/or develop specific phobias. In addition to cognitive behavioral therapy, such anxiety disorders can benefit from supportive exposure with response prevention. Exposure therapy can assist individuals in learning how to interact with a crowd, or extinguish an exaggerated stress-response.
Many symptoms of panic cause physical sensations in the body which may cause an individual to believe her or she is suffering a medical condition. However, these symptoms last for a discrete amount of time, typically diminishing within minutes.
Signs and Symptoms of a Panic Attack
- Racing pulse, heart palpitations, and/or chest pain.
- Difficulty breathing or hyperventilation.
- Fear of losing control, going crazy or even dying.
- Shakes or tremors.
- Feelings of depersonalization or detachment from surroundings.
- Nausea or Gastro-Intestinal upset.
- Feeling dizzy or faint.
- Fear of experiencing a panic attack again and/or avoiding situations that may elicit an attack.
Signs of Phobias
- Phobias are characterized by an exaggerated fear by something specific (e.g., heights, insects, needles).
- Intense fear of something that may pose little to no real threat.
- Avoiding normal activities of life due to a specific fear (e.g., not going to a public place due to fear of germs).
- It is normal to experience stress when exposed to an anxiety provoking situation/object. The biggest sign of fears becoming a phobia is if a person goes to great lengths to avoid the trigger and experiences undue stress.
Signs of Social Phobia
- Intense fear of scrutiny, rejection or embarrassment by others
- Avoidance of situations that may elicit significant distress/fear (dating, public speaking, dining, etc.)
- Anticipatory anxiety prior to a social event, beyond what is expected (worrying for days prior to a dinner date)
- The avoidance, fear, and anticipatory anxiety interferes with the person’s daily routine, social life, and occupational functioning.
- Is social phobia sabotaging your love life? Read how anxiety may be keeping you single on my blog, Finding Cloud9.
