Anxiety & Depression
I had a client who struggled with panic attacks for while before we began working together. When I met him, he had just dropped out of college and things were bleak. The first few weeks were tough, and honestly I didn't know how it would turn out. But he was determined. After experiencing how effective one simple breathing strategy could be, he came back with renewed hope and began soaking up even more strategies for relaxing his body and brain. He was super teachable after that and learned all about the nature of his anxiety. In the end, he began to no longer fear it. I think that's what ultimately turned it into such a smaller problem.
When Does Anxiety Become A Problem?
Everyone experiences difficult emotions from time to time: worry, sadness, anger, or lack of motivation. But for some, negative emotional experiences can become so intense and/or last for so long that significant interference occurs in your life. Your relationships suffer, and your work or school performance is compromised. Eventually, your own internal sense of joy or satisfaction is all but gone.
When stress ratchets up to an actual anxiety disorder, emotional and mental symptoms such as the following may occur:
Worrying about many things, which seems impossible to control
Anxiety for an event that is strongly out of proportion
Difficulty concentrating or staying focused
Worsening problems with indecision and uncertainty
Over-thinking plans and solutions, though never moving forward
Increased perfectionism, fear of failure
Fixation on worst-case-scenario results, despite being very unlikely
Racing or obsessive internalized thoughts
Compulsive behaviors that seem out of control
The Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
In addition to these emotional and mental challenges of anxiety, many of the following physical symptoms also occur when anxiety is a significant problem:
- Trouble sleeping
- Muscle aches & physical tension
- Headaches, nausea, diarrhea
- Worsening fatigue
- Feeling restless, keyed up or on edge
- Increased Irritability
- Panic attack symptoms
Understanding Depression
Let’s also talk about depression. While it can exist in and of itself, worsening depression is often the destination one arrives at when anxiety isn’t effectively treated. Our bodies and brains can only handle so much. Eventually we begin to shut-down, lose hope and our overall mood may darken. Like a change in climate, a perpetual rainy season may settle in – our overall mood becomes depressed. When depression turns clinical, many of these specific problems show up:
- Sleep problems
- Loss of pleasure
- Decreased energy and motivation
- Physical agitation or slowing-down
- Frequent or intense sadness and/or anger
- Significant weight change
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Diminished ability to concentrate
- Thoughts of death, dying or suicide
Treatment for Anxiety & Depression
Many people will suffer the symptoms of clinical anxiety or depression at some point in their life. Others will face big life adjustments that bring these issues on for a season. Either way, it’s a hard reality to be sure. Yet, the best news about these unfortunate experiences is often widely under-reported: Anxiety and Depression are both widely treatable illnesses.
Medication may or may not be a part of the treatment process, but counseling with a trained clinician can offer proven strategies that help you feel more how you’d like to feel, and live more how you’d like to live. We are committed to staying up to date on the best strategies to help our clients achieve their goals, especially when anxiety and depression get in the way. We primarily use cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) as well as interpersonal (relationship-based) counseling approaches, since these have the best evidence behind them.