Anxiety

Anxiety can steal your joy. It can make each day feel like a chore.

Your family and your friends just don’t seem to get it… and you feel as if you must suffer alone. They tell you to “stop worrying”, but you just can’t seem to do that. Why does it seem so easy for them?

Are any of the following preventing you from living a full life?

  • Racing thoughts and trouble concentrating
  • Constant worry about anything and everything
  • Feeling restless, on-edge, or keyed-up
  • Panic attacks (heart racing, sweaty palms, trembling, nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, feeling like you’re dying or having a heart attack)
  • Being afraid to leave home because you might panic, pass out, or be embarrassed
  • Obsessive thoughts you can’t get out of your head
  • Muscle tension, headaches, or butterflies in your stomach
  • Trouble sleeping and exhaustion
  • Irritability
  • Avoidance of crowds, public speaking, interstates, going out, etc.
  • Intense fear of specific things (certain animals, elevators, heights, etc.)

Get this! Anxiety is the most common mental health concern. Americans visit their doctors for anxiety symptoms more often than for colds or infections (3)! More than 25% of Americans experience crippling anxiety in a year’s time (5). That’s at least 1 in 4 of us that really need help with our anxiety!

The bad news is that most of us who suffer with anxiety don’t get the help need (1)… and untreated anxiety really hurts us. It causes problems at work (2), marital and family problems (3), and even financial problems (2)!

So don’t let pride or fear stand in the way of getting help. Anxiety is treatable and manageable. Call me today to discuss your treatment options!

References

1. Barlow, D.H. (1998). Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic. New York: Guilford Press.

2. Greenberg P.E., Sisitsky T., Kessler R.C., Finkelstein S.N., Berndt E.R., Davidson, J.R., Ballenger, J.C., Fyer A.J. (1999). The economic burden of anxiety disorders in the 1990s. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60 (7), 427-35.

3. Kaslow, F. (Ed.). (1996). Handbook of Relational Diagnosis. New York: John Wiley.

4. Keeton, C. T. (2013). Benefits of child-focused anxiety treatments for parents and family functioning. Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269), 30(9), 865-872.

5. Kessler, R.C., Chiu, W.T, Demler, O., & Walters, E.E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 617-627.