ANXIETY
Does anxiety control your life?
Do you struggle with persistent racing thoughts, almost like your brain is unable to turn off?
Does anxiety hinder your social life and ability to form new relationships?
Are you constantly worrying or predicting the worst case scenario in your head?
Do you feel a need to mentally prepare for conversations and interactions on repeat before seeing anyone or doing anything?
It can be challenging and sometimes even debilitating to go through everyday life carrying the weight of constant worrying and an overall sense of unease. Anxiety can feel like you’re constantly spiraling out of control and cannot turn off your brain. As a result, this can cause issues with sleep, relationships, school, work, self-esteem, and overall health and wellbeing.
How are trauma and anxiety connected?
You may feel that stressors in your life can cause a level of worry so intense that it feels disproportionate to the problem. Anxiety can manifest in ways that are influenced by your background, past experiences, and family systems. Essentially, trauma and anxiety are more related than many may think. While not always the case, sometimes anxiety can stem from a traumatic experience. Trauma can cause a physiological response to a threat, and individuals who have experienced trauma are usually responding to a perceived threat rather than an actual threat. When you live with trauma and/or instability for elongated periods of your life, your body becomes accustomed to reacting in a way that helps you survive. Anxiety occurs when your body continues to behave in this way, even when the original stressors are no longer present. For example, if someone was involved in a terrible car accident, they may experience chronic anxiety about driving, even for years after the incident.
Trauma-induced anxiety can range anywhere from losing your mom in the grocery store as a child, to experiencing physical or emotional abuse. The severity of the trauma you have gone through likely varies from case to case, but the magnitude of perceived threat is what drives these anxious thoughts and feelings.
Examples of anxiety triggers
Some common stressors that may trigger anxiety can include:
family conflict
friendship issues
financial obligations
new romantic interests
life transitions
new jobs or classes
social gatherings
moving
exams and school work
insecurities or comparisons to others
Some less obvious stressors that also may trigger anxiety could look like: specific sounds or visuals, leaving the house, eating at a restaurant, meeting new people, cooking, energetic dogs, and driving.
These lists are just to name a few examples but are nowhere near exhaustive. People who have anxiety often face triggers multiple times a day.
Anxiety is more common than you may think
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 31.1% of individuals in the US experience anxiety at some point in their lives. In the past year, around 19% of individuals in the US reported having an anxiety disorder. That’s almost one out of five people! Although anxiety is common, it is not very commonly addressed. People living with anxiety, especially BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals, struggle with the stigma related to anxiety or mental health issues in general. It can be difficult for some individuals to feel safe or supported in seeking help for their anxiety with fear that they may be perceived as “broken” or inadequate, especially by their families and friends.
If you’re experiencing any of these challenges, seeking therapeutic support for anxiety may be beneficial for you. Working together with a therapist to explore coping skills and unpack the roots of your anxiety can greatly improve your quality of life.
Stages in anxiety therapy
Admit there is a problem. While most people experience some level of stress every day, it can be hard to differentiate between stress and anxiety. The main difference is that anxiety significantly impairs functioning on a daily basis.
Identify these anxious symptoms and what causes them. Work with your therapist to find effective strategies and coping skills to reduce each symptom. This way, anxiety can exist in your life without completely consuming you.
Work on maintenance and application of these new skills. Understanding the sources of your anxiety will be imperative for continued wellbeing and happiness. After therapy, you will likely feel more confident overcoming obstacles that used to get in your way.
Find fulfillment in your life again
Below are some modalities and approaches that we use at Garden Counseling & Wellness Group to treat anxiety.
Mindfulness based cognitive therapy
This approach uses meditation, grounding techniques, and mind-body connection to become aware of our thought patterns that directly impact our emotions and behaviors. This may involve identifying where in your body you feel anxiety or tension and how to nurture these areas.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy
The main idea of ACT is accepting all thoughts and feelings without pushing them away. When you can acknowledge and hold space for anxious thoughts, it makes it easier to observe and resolve them. This can help you take the power away from destructive beliefs rooted in anxiety by identifying that these are just thoughts. ACT brings awareness to your perception of the absolute truth and creates space for a shift in perspective.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT can help with anxiety in that it focuses on evaluating the accuracy of the anxious thoughts that pop into your head. For example, if you are telling yourself that your friends don’t like you, this may cause you to cancel plans with them and isolate yourself. CBT will bring the anxious thought to the surface and challenge them with counter arguments or facts. What proof do you have that your friends don’t like you? Where does that information come from? What are some examples of reasons to believe your friends do like you? Once you have challenged your anxious thoughts, this can help shift your behavior and in this case, encourage you to go out with your friends.
But what if…?
I don’t feel like I’ve been through any real trauma, but I still experience chronic anxiety. Do I deserve therapy?
Everyone deserves and can benefit from having an emotional support outlet such as therapy. It’s important to keep in mind that trauma comes in many different forms and may not be recognizable to you yet. Also, anxiety can stem from genetics, sleep or nutrition deficiency, or comorbidity with another mental disorder.
Why Garden Counseling and Wellness Group?
At Garden Counseling & Wellness Group, we work from an integrative approach, utilizing skills and ideas from multiple modalities depending on client needs and goals. We listen to understand your needs and work with you to build skills that make a concrete difference in your life and ability to function.
If you are experiencing ongoing anxiety and seeking support to reclaim power over your anxious thoughts seems like a good next step, you can schedule a complimentary phone consultation with one of our therapists by clicking on the button below. This phone consultation will give you a chance to learn more about our services and be matched with a provider who can support you.
Works Cited
Evans S; Ferrando S; Findler M;Stowell C; Smart C;Haglin D; (n.d.). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of anxiety disorders. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17765453/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Any anxiety disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder