Anxiety Therapy in Walnut Creek

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue. About 30% of adults struggle with anxiety at some point. Anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and more. Though symptoms can vary from one anxiety disorder to another, they all include excessive worry and fear in circumstances that are non-threatening. When left unmanaged, anxiety can impair a person’s ability to do everyday things like socialize, work, or sleep.

Grounding exercises can provide people with temporary relief. Interventions such as Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Work, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can help reduce symptoms in the long term. Let’s look at the possible causes of your anxiety, common symptoms, as well as how they manifest in everyday life.

Common Anxiety Symptoms

• Feelings of danger, panic, or impending doom

• Panic attacks

• Trembling

• Sweating

• Rapid heart rate

• Nervousness or restlessness

• Difficulty concentrating Insomnia

• Digestive issues

• Desire to repeat behaviors

• Avoidance of things that trigger anxiety

Possible Causes of Your Anxiety

• Emotionally taxing events that felt unmanageable and overwhelming

• Little or no opportunities to physiological regulate through caregivers during childhood

• Ongoing pursuit of personal or professional standards that can’t ever be met

• Bullying or gaslighting at home, work, or school

• Social or economic oppression or insecurity

• Untreated PTSD

• Inundation of negative political, environmental, social, and economic news through media

Manifestations of Anxiety in Everyday Life

• You’re afraid to try something new because you could fail at it.

• It’s hard to make decisions because you fear making a mistake.

• You tend to think of the worst case scenario.

• Even when you’re in safe environment, you can’t seem to feel safe.

• You prefer activities that are structured and predictable. You avoid activities that are varied and unpredictable.

• You avoid people, places, or activities that you feel will trigger your anxiety and possibly send you into a panic attack.

• When people interrupt you while you’re engaged in a task, you instantly feel overwhelmed and want them to leave.

• You experience gastrointestinal issues, headaches, and muscle tension.

• You don’t want to engage in activities that make you feel trapped; you want to know that you have the option of leaving.

• Occasions when you have felt relaxed or fully present are infrequent.

• The quality of your sleep and diet tends to be poor.

Elese Lorentzen is a psychotherapist who is located in Walnut Creek, CA. She treats people who are struggling with anxiety using therapeutic modalities such as EMDR, ACT, Family Systems, somatic practices, and CBT.