a prevalent mental health concern, affects millions of individuals worldwide. Anxiety Therapist Kent … As a Licensed Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have actually experienced the impact of stress and anxiety on countless lives. In this post, I will share an in-depth exploration of anxiety through the lens of a recent therapy session with a client, highlighting symptoms, treatment techniques, and my personal journey as a therapist with my own experiences of stress and anxiety Additionally, we will talk about a term paper by Harvard University that sheds light on the diverse nature of stress and anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a prevalent psychological health issue, impacts millions of people worldwide. As a Certified Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have seen the effect of stress and anxiety on numerous lives.}
presentation on strengths-based biopsychosocial methods to resolving anxiety and while those are fantastic you know I believed maybe we should take a look at you understand what’s some of the current research so I went into PubMed which is I do not understand it’s playground for me it’s where you find a great deal of the journal posts and you can sort and I sorted by posts that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past 5 years so that offers us a concept about current research study I mean there’s a lot of things that is still the very same like a few of the medications that were known to work 10 years ago are still known to be you know excellent first-line treatments however there are likewise some beginners that we’ll speak about and there are also some changes that we’re going to discuss so we’re going to check out some common causes for anxiety signs in order to treat it we actually need to and of course this does play into the biopsychosocial aspect we really need to comprehend type of what causes it due to the fact that anxiety that’s triggered by for example somebody having a racing heart may be various than anxiety that’s caused for someone who has abandonment concerns so we’re gon na treat the two things in a different way so we wish to look at a few of the common causes we’re gon na look at some typical triggers for anxiety you know what are some of these typical themes that we see in practice and I will ask you to share some of the themes that you see that underlie a lot or underline of your customers anxiety and recognize current finest practices for anxiety management consisting of counseling interventions medications physical interventions and encouraging treatments so we care due to the fact that anxiety.
can be crippling and a lot of our clients have anxiety a great deal of our customers have stress and anxiety comorbid with anxiety and they’re looking at us going how can I feel distressed and stressed out and like I can’t sit still and depressed at the same time you know when you’re depressed you’re expected to wish to sleep well a great deal of times individuals who are have both concerns really want to sleep however they can’t so I wish to help customers understand that also sometimes stress and anxiety when individuals are anxious for long enough the body starts type of hanging on to the cortisol the body really acknowledges at a certain point this is a losing battle I’m not going to put energy into this anymore so it starts with drawing a few of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and individuals will begin to feel depressed generally the brain has actually currently said this is hopeless this is you’re you’re defenseless to alter the scenario so then individuals begin feeling defenseless and helpless which is sort of the definition if you will of depression low-grade chronic tension and anxiety arose energy and people’s capability to focus so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we require to help them find out how to deal with stress and anxiety not simply generalized overwhelming incapacitating anxiety but likewise panic social anxiety and those minor stress and anxiety triggers that come along that might not fulfill the threshold for a diagnosis stress and anxiety is a major trigger for addiction regression if you have a client who is self
medicated prior to or had a dependency for some reason anxiety is a significant trigger increased physical pain when anxiety goes up individuals tend to tense their muscles when they tense their muscles they tend to feel more pain I imply think about when you’re stressed out you tend to have more pain like in your neck in your back and things that already harmed might hurt more why since serotonin which is among our significant anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also one of our major pain modulators so when serotonin levels are too low due to the fact that anxiety is high then our discomfort perception is going to be more intense and people can have sleep issues if you’re stressed out your body believes there’s a risk you’re not going to be able to get into that deep restful sleep you might have you might sleep you may sleep a lot however it’s probably not quality sleep which implies your neurotransmitters may leave whack your hormonal agents make it out of whack and your body is going to start viewing your itself in a relentless state of stress when we’re exhausted the body understands that we might be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to produce cortisol to keep keep you on alert a bit so you might once again you might be resting type of like when you have a new baby in your home those very first couple of months that my children were house from the health center I slept however I didn’t sleep well I mean the smallest little sound and I was awake and I was taking a look around and you know I felt it I felt exhausted and a lot of brand-new parents do so sets off for anxiety abandonment and rejection and we’re going to discuss methods we might wish to deal with these things however a few of the underlying themes that I have actually seen in a great deal of clients and when I do the research study what a lot of what themes that come out consist of low self-confidence
if somebody has low self-confidence they’re looking to be externally confirmed often they’re searching for somebody else to tell them you’re lovable you’re alright so that can cause anxiety about not having individuals to tell them you’re alright which makes their relationships tenuous and can make them inefficient unreasonable thoughts and cognitive distortions may lead people to think that if I’m not perfect for example I am not lovable so we’re going to look at some illogical ideas and cognitive distortions unhealthy social assistances and relationships when you remain in a relationship it takes 2 to tango and even if your customer is relatively psychologically and physically healthy if they are in an inefficient relationship they can fear abandonment and rejection if that other person is always saying if you don’t do X I’m going to leave you or if that other person is constantly cheating on them or whatever so relationships can activate abandonment stress and anxiety and ineffective interpersonal abilities can result in relationship turmoil and social exile if our customers are in relationships even if they’re not entirely inefficient if our clients are unable to request for what they require and set suitable boundaries and handle conflict successfully because conflict occurs in every relationship then they might start to argue more which might lead to fearing may lead to relationships ending in the past and them working out every relationship I enter ends which implies I must not be lovable so they begin fearing desertion and rejection so these are 4 areas that we can take a look at another examining customers another concern is the unknown and loss of control a great deal of times unfavorable self-talk and cognitive distortions can contribute to that if I don’t have control of everything then it’s all going to be a disaster unfavorable others when clients hang out or when individuals hang out with unfavorable people it type of endures you after a while you notice that people who are tend to be more unfavorable pessimistic conspiracy minded tend to hang out with people who are likewise unfavorable downhearted and conspiracy minded so if you’re hanging out with somebody who tends to be nervous then the anxiety can be palpable and it can type of penetrate physical complaints can lead individuals to be anxious since they don’t understand what’s triggering it like I stated previously in some cases if your heart begins to race if you do not know what’s triggering it you can begin believing I’m having a cardiac arrest or I’m gon na die when people have panic attacks for example they really think they’re having a heart attack and
it’s I have actually had them they are really really unpleasant experiences but when individuals start having physical grievances and it can be you understand they have an unusual rash that they can’t get to disappear or it whatever but when they don’t know what it is and they can’t manage it they can’t make it disappear they begin thinking of all the worst-case circumstances and going on the internet and getting on WebMD which normally gives you all the worst-case circumstances um so physical complaints are essential we need to normalize the fact that no one’s pain-free all the time and you know the truth that you might have an ache or a pain or a swelling or a bump or you know a cough probably you understand when we look at likelihood the likelihood of it being something considerable is pretty small now do you want to get it took a look at probably however you understand the probability that is anything to be stressed over is is reasonably small and a sense of powerlessness can activate fear of the unknown and loss of control for someone who does not seem like they have any agency in their life if they have an external locus of control or if they felt victimized all of their life then they might fear not being in control they may be holding on and saying all right this is the one area of my life I can manage when I matured you understand I matured in a really disorderly environment I had no control I was bounced around in the foster system yadda yadda yadda now that I’m an adult you know I can control these things and I am going to hang on with white knuckles and if I can’t control whatever then that frightens me death and loss are other triggers for anxiety and it can be pets or individuals and pets are very important I don’t wish to minimize animals due to the fact that you understand they are little parts of a lot of our families so making sure we examine that my child’s pet dog for example is it’s getting old she’s aging she’s 14 now I believe and you know she remains in decent health we took her to the vet and the veterinarian said yeah she’s got a little heart murmur however that’s expected for a 14 year old pet and but when she goes out if she doesn’t come back when I call her I have this rush of stress and anxiety for a second oh my gosh I hope this wasn’t the day so anxiety around losing people and you understand if she when she crosses the bridge she will and and you know
I’m all right with that I’m I have a harder time dealing with my daughter’s emotional turmoil when that occurs and because she’s matured with this pet dog so you understand those are the kinds of things that we want to speak about with our clients what things are weighing on you that you might not even be considering due to the fact that I know in the back of my mind there’s constantly that stress over among our donkeys and her pet tasks and promotions can activate anxiety if individuals hesitate they’re gon na lose their job if they’re always afraid that you know they’re gon na stroll in and get or get a pink slip fired you understand we want to help them take a look at how practical is that are you doing what you need to do in order to achieve and keep your job and in some cases it’s not easy to answer I imply the first idea that a lot of us have is well you know if you’re doing the best thing so just do it but there are those bosses out there and I’ve had some really amazing employers a great deal of them and I have actually had two actually horrendous employers and those 2 managers I could never I never felt like I had the ability to do anything right therefore going to those jobs there was always this anxiety about what I’m what am I going to get in trouble for today so you want to talk with individuals about does your task cause anxiety what can you do to moderate that anxiety the same thing with promotions individuals might get distressed about whether they’re going to get promoted safety and security you know when you lose security and security you can feel truly nervous so if there’s a burglary at your house next door or a shooting down the road or you start enjoying the news you can feel very hazardous and unsecure actually quickly so we want to assist people find out how safe and safe and secure are you actually and a great deal of it returns to actually taking a look at truths when people lose their dreams and hopes or fear that they’re going to lose their dreams and hopes they can start to get anxious you understand they have this dream that they’re going to be a medical professional or I simply ended up the presentation on helping high school trainees shift to college and a lot of high school students for example start college with these broad eyes and hopes to save the world and they wish to be doctors and engineers and this and that and they get into it and they recognize that it’s a lot harder than they believed or they understand that you understand what I truly do not like this however I have actually currently committed to it so what do I do or I wish to assist people however I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you understand for me I found out in my 2nd year that I wasn’t going to medical school due to the fact that I wasn’t going to pass calculus and that triggered a lot of stress and anxiety it was like alright what am I gon na do now you know what career must I pick so helping individuals determine do you have dreams that have possibly sort of crashed and burned and you need to discover brand-new ones you understand okay that a person we’ve got to accept it figure out that it’s not going to be and what can you do now individuals
might also have dreams about relationships they get into relationships and they see themselves with this individual forever and then this relationship ends and or begins to get rocky and they resemble but that’s my dream what happens if my that’s got to happen because it’s my dream I don’t understand how to function if that goes away we want to assist individuals be able to reword their story and then illness spiders and other phobias kind of goes in with death a great deal of times when people get sick they start getting nervous that oh my gosh what if this is terminal oh my gosh what if this is you understand incurable if I get bit by a spider it’s gon na eliminate me and which is rare you understand there are very couple of spiders that are in fact that poisonous very same thing with snakes reviewing bridges I have actually shared with you all that is not one of my illogical fears you understand I am just terrified that you understand something’s going to take place and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is entirely unreasonable however we require to assist people take a look at those and identify the thoughts that they’re informing themself about those phobias and handle that anxiety failure is another trigger for stress and anxiety specifically in this culture our culture American culture in in large part puts a high premium on success and perfectionism so when people understand that they’re not ideal they may start to get anxious because they seem like if I’m not best then I’m a failure you know those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they begin with that negative self-talk you know you can’t do anything right so those are some of the problems that you know we often see in counseling sessions so what do we do you understand someone is available in and it like I can’t live in this manner doc anxiety depression and substance disorders as well as a variety of physical conditions are typically comorbid so this is the first thing we require to understand we need to understand that we’re very seldom dealing with an extremely easy medical diagnosis you understand when someone comes in we need to find out you understand if they come in and they exist with depression all right let’s talk about that and
Comprehending Anxiety: A Patient’s Experience:
In my recent session with Emma (name changed for personal privacy), a 32-year-old woman, I had the chance to delve into the elaborate layers of stress and anxiety. Emma described experiencing relentless worry, a racing heart, and invasive thoughts. She found it challenging to focus at work and often felt a sense of impending doom. These signs were disrupting her every day life, relationships, and overall well-being.
Emma’s Treatment Strategy:
To address Emma’s anxiety, we developed a thorough treatment strategy customized to her distinct requirements. Here are some crucial elements of her strategy:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about anxiety and its physiological and psychological manifestations helped her gain a deeper understanding of her symptoms. This knowledge empowered her to acknowledge and verify her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based method that concentrates on identifying and challenging irrational thoughts and beliefs. Emma learned to reframe unfavorable thoughts and establish a more well balanced viewpoint, slowly reducing anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Techniques: Integrating relaxation strategies such as deep breathing workouts, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation assisted Emma control her stress reaction and promote a sense of calm.
Exposure Treatment: As Emma expressed avoidance behaviors connected to particular triggers, we gradually exposed her to those situations in a controlled manner. This exposure permitted her to challenge her worries and establish durability versus anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Way Of Life Modifications: Emma acknowledged the significance of self-care practices in handling her stress and anxiety. She focused on regular exercise, healthy eating, quality sleep, and taking part in activities she delighted in to promote general well-being.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My decision to end up being a therapist was deeply influenced by my own struggles with anxiety. When working with clients dealing with similar challenges, my individual journey has actually supplied me with unique insights and empathy. Having actually experienced anxiety firsthand, I am able to associate with my patients’ fears, concerns, and the impact anxiety can have on different aspects of life.
Harvard’s Research on Anxiety:
An influential term paper titled “Understanding the Complexity of Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Research Study” by Harvard University provides important insights into the intricacy of stress and anxiety disorders. The research study followed a cohort of people over a span of ten years and taken a look at different factors contributing to the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety.
The paper stressed that stress and anxiety disorders emerge from a mix of hereditary, ecological, and mental aspects. It highlighted the value of early intervention, evidence-based treatments, and holistic techniques in handling anxiety successfully. The findings further highlighted the significance of a restorative alliance and customized treatment strategies in addressing stress and anxiety. Anxiety Therapist Kent
Conclusion:
Anxiety is a deeply personal and multifaceted experience that affects individuals in profound ways. Through healing interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation methods, exposure treatment, and self-care practices, people like Emma can gain control over their anxiety and lead satisfying lives. As a therapist, my individual journey with anxiety enables me to provide reliable and thoughtful care to my clients. The research study carried out by Harvard University clarifies the complex nature of stress and anxiety, strengthening the significance of customized treatments and early intervention in promoting mental well-being. Together, we can navigate the maze of stress and anxiety and discover the course to a more peaceful and empowered existence.