a common mental health concern, impacts millions of individuals worldwide. Pet Therapy For Anxiety And Depression … As a Certified Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), I have seen the effect of anxiety on numerous lives. In this post, I will share an in-depth exploration of stress and anxiety through the lens of a recent treatment session with a patient, highlighting symptoms, treatment techniques, and my individual journey as a therapist with my own experiences of stress and anxiety Additionally, we will discuss a research paper by Harvard University that clarifies the complex nature of anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a widespread mental health issue, impacts millions of people worldwide. As a Licensed Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have witnessed the impact of anxiety on numerous lives.}
presentation on strengths-based biopsychosocial techniques to dealing with stress and anxiety and while those are fantastic you understand I thought maybe we should look at you know what’s some of the present research study so I went into PubMed which is I do not know it’s playground for me it’s where you find a great deal of the journal articles and you can arrange and I sorted by articles that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past 5 years so that provides us a concept about present research I mean there’s a lot of things that is still the same like a few of the medications that were understood to work ten years ago are still known to be you understand good first-line treatments however there are also some newcomers that we’ll discuss and there are likewise some changes that we’re going to talk about so we’re going to explore some typical causes for stress and anxiety signs in order to treat it we actually require to and obviously this does play into the biopsychosocial element we actually need to understand type of what triggers it since stress and anxiety that’s triggered by for example someone having a racing heart might be different than stress and anxiety that’s caused for somebody who has desertion problems so we’re gon na treat the two things in a different way so we want to look at some of the common causes we’re gon na take a look at some common triggers for stress and 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 styles that you see that highlight or underlie a lot of your customers stress and anxiety and recognize current finest practices for anxiety management including counseling interventions medications physical interventions and supportive treatments so we care since stress and anxiety.
can be incapacitating and a lot of our customers have stress and anxiety a great deal of our customers have anxiety comorbid with depression and they’re taking a look at us going how can I feel nervous and stressed and like I can’t sit still and depressed at the same time you know when you’re depressed you’re expected to want to sleep well a lot of times individuals who are have both concerns really want to sleep however they can’t so I wish to help customers understand that likewise in some cases anxiety when individuals are anxious for long enough the body begins sort of holding on to the cortisol the body actually recognizes at a particular point this is a losing fight I’m not going to put energy into this anymore so it begins with drawing a few of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and people will begin to feel depressed generally the brain has actually already said this is hopeless this is you’re you’re powerless to alter the circumstance so then individuals start feeling hopeless and helpless which is sort of the definition if you will of anxiety low-grade persistent tension and anxiety emerged energy and individuals’s ability to focus so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we need to help them determine how to resolve stress and anxiety not simply generalized overwhelming debilitating stress and anxiety but also panic social anxiety and those small stress and anxiety sets off that come along that may not meet the limit for a diagnosis anxiety is a significant trigger for addiction regression if you have a client who is self
medicated before or had a dependency for some reason stress and anxiety is a significant trigger increased physical pain when stress and anxiety goes up individuals tend to tense their muscles when they tense their muscles they tend to feel more pain I suggest consider when you’re stressed you tend to have more discomfort like in your neck in your back and things that currently injured might harm more why because serotonin which is among our major anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also one of our significant discomfort modulators so when serotonin levels are too low because stress and anxiety is high then our pain understanding is going to be more intense and people can have sleep issues if you’re stressed out your body thinks there’s a risk you’re not going to have the ability to get into that deep peaceful sleep you might have you might sleep you might sleep a lot however it’s most likely not quality sleep which suggests your neurotransmitters might get out of whack your hormones make it out of whack and your body is going to begin viewing your itself in a relentless state of stress when we’re tired the body understands that we may be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to produce cortisol to keep keep you on alert a little bit so you may again you might be resting kind of like when you have a brand-new infant in the house those first number of months that my children were house from the healthcare facility I slept however I didn’t sleep well I imply the slightest little noise and I was awake and I was looking around and you know I felt it I felt tired and a lot of new parents do so sets off for anxiety desertion and rejection and we’re going to speak about ways we might wish to deal with these things but some of the underlying styles that I have actually seen in a lot of clients and when I do the research what a great deal of what themes that come out consist of low self-esteem
if somebody has low self-confidence they’re seeming externally confirmed oftentimes they’re trying to find somebody else to tell them you’re lovable you’re all right so that can result in anxiety about not having people to tell them you’re all right which makes their relationships rare and can make them dysfunctional cognitive distortions and irrational thoughts might lead people to think that if I’m not ideal for example I am not adorable so we’re going to look at some unreasonable ideas and cognitive distortions unhealthy social supports and relationships when you’re in a relationship it takes 2 to tango and even if your client is relatively psychologically and physically healthy if they are in a dysfunctional relationship they can fear abandonment and rejection if that other individual is constantly stating if you do not do X I’m going to leave you or if that other person is always cheating on them or whatever so relationships can activate desertion stress and anxiety and inadequate interpersonal abilities can lead to relationship chaos and social exile if our customers remain in relationships even if they’re not completely inefficient if our customers are not able to request for what they require and set proper limits and handle dispute successfully since conflict takes place in every relationship then they might begin to argue more which might result in fearing might result in relationships ending in the past and them going well every relationship I get into ends which suggests I need to not be adorable so they start fearing abandonment and rejection so these are 4 areas that we can take a look at another examining customers another problem is the unknown and loss of control a great deal of times negative self-talk and cognitive distortions can contribute to that if I do not have control of whatever then it’s all going to be a disaster negative others when clients hang out or when people hang out with negative individuals it type of endures you after a while you discover that individuals who are tend to be more unfavorable downhearted conspiracy minded tend to socialize with people who are likewise unfavorable downhearted and conspiracy minded so if you’re socializing with someone who tends to be nervous then the stress and anxiety can be palpable and it can sort of permeate physical complaints can lead individuals to be nervous because they don’t understand what’s causing it like I stated previously sometimes if your heart starts to race if you do not understand what’s triggering it you can begin thinking I’m having a heart attack or I’m gon na pass away when individuals have anxiety attack for instance they truly believe they’re having a cardiovascular disease and
it’s I’ve had them they are really extremely unpleasant experiences but when individuals start having physical complaints and it can be you understand they have a strange rash that they can’t get to disappear or it whatever however when they do not know what it is and they can’t control it they can’t make it disappear they begin considering all the worst-case circumstances and browsing the web and getting on WebMD which normally offers you all the worst-case scenarios um so physical problems are necessary we require to normalize the truth that nobody’s pain-free all the time and you know the fact that you may have an ache or a discomfort or a lump or a bump or you know a cough more than likely you know when we look at likelihood the likelihood of it being something significant is pretty small now do you wish to get it took a look at probably but you know the likelihood that is anything to be worried about is is reasonably small and a sense of powerlessness can set off fear of the unknown and loss of control for somebody who does not seem like they have any firm in their life if they have an external locus of control or if they felt taken advantage of all of their life then they may fear not remaining in control they may be holding on and stating fine this is the one area of my life I can manage when I matured you know 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 understand I can control these things and I am going to hang on with white knuckles and if I can’t control whatever then that terrifies me death and loss are other triggers for anxiety and it can be individuals or pets and pets are very important I don’t want to lessen family pets due to the fact that you know they are little parts of a lot of our families so making sure we inspect that my daughter’s canine for instance is it’s getting old she’s aging she’s 14 now I think and you know she remains in good health we took her to the veterinarian and the veterinarian stated yeah she’s got a little heart murmur however that’s anticipated for a 14 years of age dog and however when she heads out if she does not return when I call her I have this rush of anxiety for a second oh my gosh I hope this wasn’t the day so stress and anxiety around losing people and you understand if she when she crosses the bridge she will and and you know
I’m alright with that I’m I have a more difficult time handling my child’s psychological chaos when that happens and due to the fact that she’s matured with this canine so you know those are the kinds of things that we wish to discuss with our clients what things are weighing on you that you may not even be thinking of due to the fact that I understand in the back of my mind there’s constantly that worry about one of our donkeys and her canine jobs and promos can trigger anxiety if individuals are afraid they’re gon na lose their job if they’re constantly afraid that you understand they’re gon na walk in and get a pink slip or get fired you understand we wish to help them take a look at how sensible is that are you doing what you require to do in order to accomplish and keep your task and often it’s not easy to address I suggest the very first thought that a great deal of us have is well you understand if you’re doing the best thing so just do it however there are those employers out there and I’ve had some actually amazing employers a lot of them and I’ve had two truly horrendous employers and those 2 bosses I might never I never seemed like I had the ability to do anything best and so going to those tasks there was constantly this stress and anxiety about what I’m what am I going to get in trouble for today so you want to talk with people about does your task cause anxiety what can you do to moderate that anxiety the exact same thing with promotions people might get anxious about whether they’re going to get promoted safety and security you understand when you lose safety and security you can feel actually nervous so if there’s a burglary at your house next door or a shooting down the road or you start watching the news you can feel unsecure and extremely hazardous truly rapidly so we want to help individuals determine how safe and safe and secure are you really and a lot of it goes back to truly 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 begin to get anxious you know they have this dream that they’re going to be a physician or I simply ended up the presentation on helping high school students transition to college and a great deal of high school students for example start college with these broad eyes and wants to conserve the world and they wish to be medical professionals and engineers and this and that and they enter it and they realize that it’s a lot more difficult than they believed or they recognize that you know what I really do not like this but I have actually currently committed to it so what do I do or I wish to assist individuals but I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you know for me I found out in my 2nd year that I wasn’t going to medical school because I wasn’t going to pass calculus and that caused a great deal of anxiety it resembled okay what am I gon na do now you understand what profession needs to I pick so helping people find out do you have dreams that have maybe kind of crashed and burned and you have to find brand-new ones you know alright that a person we’ve got to accept it find out that it’s not going to be and what can you do now people
may likewise have dreams about relationships they enter relationships and they see themselves with this person permanently and then this relationship ends and or starts to get rocky and they’re like but that’s my dream what occurs if my that’s got to take place due to the fact that it’s my dream I do not know how to function if that disappears we wish to help people be able to reword their narrative and after that sickness spiders and other fears kind of goes in with death a great deal of times when individuals get ill they start getting nervous that oh my gosh what if this is terminal oh my gosh what if this is you know incurable if I get bit by a spider it’s gon na kill me and which is uncommon you know there are extremely few spiders that are really that poisonous same thing with snakes reviewing bridges I have actually shown you all that is not one of my irrational worries you know I am simply frightened that you know something’s going to take place and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is totally irrational however we require to assist people look at those and recognize the thoughts that they’re informing themself about those phobias and handle that stress and 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 recognize that they’re not ideal they may begin to get anxious since they seem like if I’m not ideal then I’m a failure you understand those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they begin with that negative self-talk you understand you can’t do anything right so those are some of the issues that you understand we often see in therapy sessions so what do we do you understand someone is available in and it like I can’t live by doing this doc stress and anxiety depression and substance disorders in addition to a series of physical conditions are often comorbid so this is the first thing we need to recognize we require to realize that we’re really rarely dealing with a very basic diagnosis you understand when someone is available in we require to find out you understand if they can be found in and they exist with anxiety all right let’s talk about that and
Comprehending Anxiety: A Client’s Experience:
In my current session with Emma (name changed for privacy), a 32-year-old female, I had the opportunity to explore the detailed layers of anxiety. Emma explained experiencing relentless worry, a racing heart, and invasive ideas. She found it challenging to focus at work and often felt a sense of impending doom. These symptoms were interfering with her every day life, relationships, and overall well-being.
Emma’s Treatment Plan:
To deal with Emma’s stress and anxiety, we established a thorough treatment plan customized to her distinct requirements. Here are some crucial elements of her plan:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about anxiety and its mental and physiological symptoms helped her gain a much deeper understanding of her symptoms. This understanding empowered her to recognize and validate her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based method that focuses on determining and challenging illogical ideas and beliefs. Emma discovered to reframe negative thoughts and establish a more well balanced point of view, gradually reducing anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Methods: Incorporating relaxation strategies such as deep breathing workouts, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation assisted Emma manage her tension reaction and promote a sense of calm.
Direct exposure Treatment: As Emma revealed avoidance habits related to certain triggers, we slowly exposed her to those circumstances in a regulated way. This exposure enabled her to face her worries and establish durability against anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Way Of Life Adjustments: Emma recognized the importance of self-care practices in handling her stress and anxiety. She prioritized routine workout, healthy eating, quality sleep, and participating in activities she took pleasure in to promote total well-being.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My decision to become a therapist was deeply affected by my own struggles with anxiety. When working with clients facing comparable obstacles, my individual journey has provided me with distinct insights and compassion. Having experienced anxiety firsthand, I am able to relate to my clients’ fears, worries, and the effect stress and anxiety can have on various aspects of life.
Harvard’s Research study on Anxiety:
A seminal term paper titled “Comprehending the Complexity of Stress And Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Study” by Harvard University offers important insights into the complexity of stress and anxiety disorders. The research study followed an accomplice of people over a span of 10 years and examined different aspects adding to the development, maintenance, and treatment of stress and anxiety.
The paper emphasized that anxiety disorders develop from a combination of hereditary, ecological, and psychological aspects. It highlighted the importance of early intervention, evidence-based therapies, and holistic methods in managing anxiety efficiently. The findings further highlighted the significance of a healing alliance and individualized treatment strategies in dealing with stress and anxiety. Pet Therapy For Anxiety And Depression
Conclusion:
Stress and anxiety is a diverse and deeply personal experience that affects individuals in profound ways. Through healing interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation techniques, exposure therapy, and self-care practices, people like Emma can gain control over their anxiety and lead fulfilling lives. As a therapist, my individual journey with anxiety enables me to offer compassionate and reliable care to my clients. The research study conducted by Harvard University clarifies the intricate nature of stress and anxiety, reinforcing the significance of customized treatments and early intervention in promoting psychological well-being. Together, we can browse the maze of anxiety and discover the course to a more peaceful and empowered presence.