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Anxiety Therapy

Is it hard for you to stop worrying?

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Do 'what if' scenarios flood your thoughts?

 

Do you have trouble falling asleep, wake up in the middle of the night, or wake up before your alarm?

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Do you feel nervous or on edge a lot of the time?

 

Are you often looking over your shoulder out of fear?

 

Do you frequently overthink?

 

Do you replay past scenarios in your head?

 

Do you feel like you need to do everything perfectly?

 

Do you reread texts or emails over and over again before sending them?

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Have you been regularly avoiding people, places, or things out of fear that something bad will happen?

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Do you experience frequent muscle tension, headaches, or stomach aches?

 

Do you ever use drugs or alcohol to help calm your nerves?

 

Are you afraid of what others think of you?

 

Does your anxiety lead to feelings of panic?

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Therapy for Anxiety

While it’s natural to experience occasional anxiety—like before an important meeting, exam, or public speaking event—too much anxiety can really get in the way. Whether you're struggling with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic, or a combination of these, the right anxiety therapy can support you in your journey toward a calmer, more focused, and fulfilling life.

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What Is Anxiety, and How Does It Affect Us?

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Anxiety is the result of your brain responding to something it perceives as a threat, whether real or imagined. This response is part of the body’s natural “fight or flight” mechanism, designed to protect you in life-threatening situations. If you’re in danger, anxiety helps you react quickly—either by escaping the threat or preparing to face it. While this survival mechanism is helpful in extreme scenarios, when anxiety becomes chronic, it can start to interfere with your everyday responsibilities and emotional well-being.

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For many people, excessive worry, fear, and anxiety dominate their thoughts, causing them to become distracted, tense, and overwhelmed. The constant cycle of worry can rob you of your ability to be fully present in your life, making it difficult to focus on work, relationships, or other important tasks. As anxiety intensifies, it can lead to physical symptoms such as fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, and even digestive problems. If left untreated, anxiety can also increase your risk of developing other mental health issues, including depression.

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How Can Anxiety Therapy Help You?

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While the effects of anxiety can be deeply challenging, therapy offers an effective way to manage, reduce, and ultimately overcome these feelings. By working with a qualified therapist, you can explore the root causes of your anxiety and gain the tools you need to reclaim control over your life. Anxiety therapy isn’t just about talking through your worries—it’s about learning new skills and approaches that will help you feel calmer and more focused.

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Anxiety Therapy Can Help You:

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  1. Develop New Coping Mechanisms: Therapy helps you identify your current coping mechanisms for anxiety, which might include avoidance, overthinking, or excessive worry. Once you understand how these patterns are impacting your mental health, you can work with your therapist to develop healthier coping strategies that align with your strengths, values, and circumstances.

  2. Challenge Negative Thought Patterns: One of the core aspects of anxiety is negative thinking—thoughts that spiral out of control and make a situation feel worse than it actually is. Therapy can help you challenge those thoughts, replacing them with more balanced, realistic perspectives that allow you to manage your anxiety more effectively.

  3. Increase Self-Awareness and Insight: Working with a therapist helps you become more self-aware of your anxiety triggers, patterns of behavior, and underlying fears. As you gain more insight into how anxiety affects your life, you can begin to take proactive steps toward change.

  4. Gain Motivation and Support: Therapy provides an empathetic, nonjudgmental space where you can feel supported while you work through difficult emotions. Your therapist can offer encouragement and guidance as you learn new tools to manage your anxiety consistently, both during and between sessions.

  5. Learn Effective Anxiety Management Tools: Anxiety therapy teaches you concrete tools and techniques that you can use in your daily life to stay calm and centered. These tools can include mindfulness exercises, deep breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and strategies for managing anxious thoughts in real time.

 

Common Types of Anxiety Therapy

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When seeking treatment for anxiety, different therapeutic approaches can be helpful depending on your unique needs and preferences. Here are some common types of anxiety therapy that might help you overcome your anxiety:

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most widely used and effective therapies for treating anxiety. The goal of CBT is to help you identify and challenge negative thought patterns that contribute to your anxiety. In CBT, you’ll work with your therapist to examine how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected. By identifying irrational or distorted thoughts (such as catastrophizing or overgeneralizing), you can replace them with more realistic, helpful beliefs.

 

With practice, you can begin to reframe the way you see the world and yourself, reducing the level of fear and worry you experience. CBT also teaches you valuable coping skills, such as relaxation techniques, exposure exercises, and behavioral experiments, to gradually confront your fears and gain confidence in managing anxiety.

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

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Another effective therapy for treating anxiety is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is particularly helpful for individuals whose anxiety stems from past trauma or difficult experiences. It is often used for people who have been in accidents, experienced abuse, or suffered from other emotional wounds that continue to affect their mental health.

 

EMDR helps to reprocess distressing memories by using bilateral stimulation (such as guided eye movements) while the client recalls the traumatic event. This process helps the brain reprocess the memory, reducing its emotional charge and helping the person view the experience from a more neutral perspective. As a result, the person feels less anxious about the past and more empowered in their present and future.

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In addition to helping reprocess memories, EMDR can teach clients valuable self-calming techniques that can be used when anxiety arises. It’s a powerful tool for those who need to address the roots of their anxiety while learning to manage it in the present.

 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a therapeutic approach that combines the principles of mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavioral techniques. This form of therapy teaches you to stay present and aware of your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without judgment. By developing mindfulness skills, you can reduce the impact of anxious thoughts and avoid the cycle of rumination that often exacerbates anxiety.

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MBCT has been shown to be effective for individuals with chronic anxiety, depression, and even panic attacks. Through regular practice, you can become more adept at observing your anxiety without becoming overwhelmed by it, which helps you stay grounded and focused.

Like any new skill, managing anxiety requires practice and persistence. Therapy is a powerful tool, but it’s most effective when combined with a commitment to applying the tools and strategies you learn in therapy to your everyday life.

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This is where the support of a skilled Longmont therapist becomes invaluable. Weekly therapy sessions allow you to stay accountable to your progress, gain insight into your experiences, and refine your strategies for managing anxiety. As you work together with your therapist, you’ll gradually build a toolbox of techniques that work best for you, allowing you to tackle anxiety with greater confidence.

 

Consistency and commitment are key to making lasting changes. Over time, the skills you learn in therapy will become second nature, and you’ll begin to notice a significant reduction in your anxiety levels.

Contact Me For a Free Consultation

How can I help you?
We accept 3 types of insurance & also accept private pay clients. Please check the box that applies to you.

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Longmont Counselor

Lauren Borkowski, MA, LPC

2204 18th Ave. Suite 243 

Longmont, CO 80501

720-617-7817

info@soundmindcounselingandwellness.com

© 2024 Sound Mind Counseling and Wellness

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