Anxiety Therapy in Atlanta and Roswell
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental health condition in the United States today, which means if you are struggling with anxiety, you are not alone. Anxiety disorders occur when feelings of fear or worry are intense, and at times even debilitating. Anxiety may stop you from doing the things you enjoy, or at the very least rob you of being fully present with the experiences you once loved. When left untreated, anxiety disorders get worse over time, not better.
However, anxiety disorders are also incredibly treatable, which is why we at Restorative Counseling Services are passionate about helping adolescents and adults overcome anxiety and get back to living life to the fullest.
All of our clinicians are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which is recognized as the most effective form of therapy for anxiety disorders. Additionally, we treat anxiety through a specialty subset of CBT called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) – the leading treatment for anxiety disorders.
Clients come to Restorative Counseling because they want to reduce and eliminate the symptoms of anxiety that make living difficult. For our clients, anxiety has gone beyond the normal stress or nervousness we all feel in certain situations, such as at a job interview or when meeting someone new for the first time. If your feelings of anxiety are extreme, are prolonged for a significant amount of time, or are interfering with your ability to live your life the way you want, you may have an anxiety disorder.
Reach Out to Us: Book Now in Atlanta or Roswell
Our team of therapists at Restorative Counseling Services are ready to help you not only understand your anxiety, but also provide the tools necessary to reduce and eliminate your anxiety. By using evidenced based approaches such as CBT, DBT, and ERP, your therapist will create a customized treatment plan to directly address your anxiety effectively.
Please reach out today to get connected to one of our expertly trained therapists and begin to gain control over your anxiety.
Treatment for Anxiety Disorders
We know how crippling it can be when you worry constantly, dread social interactions, struggle with obsessive thoughts and compulsions, or experience panic attacks. While taking deep breaths and trying to calm down may sound like a good approach, it doesn’t really work. At least not in the long run.
Our evidence-based approach teaches unique techniques and skills to face anxiety head-on. This approach creates lasting change. We create a customized treatment plan for each client, which dramatically reduces the amount of time spent in treatment. Our goal is to get you back to your life, ready to be fully present and engaged.
Our therapists will pull from the following forms of therapy to treat your specific anxiety disorder.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
CBT is an evidenced-based treatment approach for a range of frequently presenting concerns. CBT will allow you to see the links between the ways you think and act, and how this impacts your emotional experience. This style of therapy helps you notice your thoughts, challenge unhelpful thinking, and reconstruct thought patterns. This in turn changes your emotions and behaviors. When you begin to challenge old patterns of thinking and ways of seeing your world, you see hope in places where you previously felt stuck.
CBT is built on the premise that it is the meaning you ascribe to events in your life that often cause you the most pain, not necessarily the events themselves. By challenging these meanings, you will be able to change your emotional experience. For example, you might sometimes tend to engage in “black and white”, or “all or nothing”, thinking. You may feel that you have to be absolutely perfect or you might as well not have even tried, without a realistic middle ground. CBT helps you evaluate distorted ways of thinking and find a more healthy, helpful, and true way of seeing yourself and the world around you.
Through CBT, we will help you process how distorted ways of thinking hurt you more than they help. By recognizing these unhelpful thought patterns, you will begin to increase your awareness of how often you think in these terms. We’ll then help you develop skills to identify not only when you engage in this style of thinking, but also create change in the way that you think about yourself. This in turn creates a more helpful emotional response and experience along with a change in your behavior.
Through CBT, we will help you process how distorted ways of thinking hurt you more than they help. By recognizing these unhelpful thought patterns, you will begin to increase your awareness of how often you think in these terms. We’ll then help you develop skills to identify not only when you engage in this style of thinking, but also create change in the way that you think about yourself. This in turn creates a more helpful emotional response and experience along with a change in your behavior.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
A subset of CBT, ERP is a specialized therapy used to treat a variety of anxiety disorders, including OCD, social anxiety, and phobias. Anxiety often makes one avoid the things they feel nervous about. Social settings feel daunting. New people and new places can seem scary and overwhelming. You might avoid interpersonal conflict at all costs, finding it difficult to use your voice and stand up for yourself. And yet, all the avoiding has not been able to reduce your anxiety. In fact, the avoidance of certain triggers actually makes anxiety worse in the long run.
Exposure and Response Prevention provides a way out of the avoidance-anxiety cycle. After learning the ins and outs of how anxiety operates, you’ll create a hierarchy of anxiety triggers from which you wish to be free. Your therapist will teach you specific skills and techniques for leaning into the triggering experience in order to allow your brain to rewire and re-label the trigger as not dangerous, and thus not in need of an anxious response. Working slowly and at a comfortable pace, you will begin engaging the lowest level of your hierarchy until you no longer feel anxious about what was once a very anxiety provoking situation.
We specialize in ERP for one reason: It is highly effective. We’ve found that self-soothing, deep breathing, and trying to regulate emotions in the face of anxiety just doesn’t offer clients the relief they need. Clients find the evidence-based approach of ERP incredible rewarding, and all of our clinicians are trained in this modality.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT skills are powerful tools because they can help you relate and respond to emotions and situations more effectively. DBT is a skills-based therapy that is comprised of four modules. Our therapists select the most helpful skills from each module so you can immediately begin changing your relationship with anxiety.
Emotion Regulation
At times it may feel your emotions control you. This is when emotion regulation skills are useful because they teach you how to recognize emotions, increase positive emotions, become more mindful of your emotions, avoid giving into emotional urges, and solve problems in helpful ways. These skills are particularly helpful for clients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder.
Distress Tolerance
Distress Tolerance skills teach you how to move through painful circumstances that are beyond your control without making things worse. These skills are excellent if you are struggling with Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Phobias. Anxiety often revolves around situations that you cannot change or fix, and so distress tolerance skills help you navigate these anxiety-provoking situations effectively and efficiently.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
We teach clients skills to strengthen and repair healthy relationships, navigate social situations with greater ease, and find and build new relationships. You’ll learn to be skillful in getting what you need and want from others, as well as learning to say to no unwanted requests. These skills are essential if you are experiencing Social Anxiety.
Mindfulness
It’s critical to develop awareness and acceptance regarding what is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness will help you to be aware of, and accept, your thoughts and feelings without any judgment. These are known as the “What” skills of mindfulness. The “How” skills of mindfulness will show you how to balance these emotions and thoughts with things you know to be true. Using mindfulness skills on a regular basis will help you accept your thoughts and feelings for what they are without allowing them to completely control your reactions and responses.
While mindfulness and distress tolerance skills help you work toward acceptance of your thoughts and behavior, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness skills help you work toward changing your thoughts and behaviors. You will learn concrete skills that you can apply outside of the therapy office to create lasting change in your life.
By pulling the most applicable skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, your therapist will empower you to create change in useful and tangible ways.
Symptoms of Anxiety
There are many different forms of anxiety that we help clients overcome, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias, and Panic Disorder. Depending on the type of anxiety you are experiencing, you may exhibit some of the following symptoms:
Heart palpitations
Racing thoughts
A sense of impending doom or danger
Uncontrollable worry
Involuntary sweating
Difficult breathing, or feeling a weight or heaviness on your chest
Trembling in hands, arms, legs and feet
Gastrointestinal distress
Feeling a “pit” or “butterflies” in your stomach
Dizziness
Headaches
Urges to avoid anxiety triggers
A sensation of your skin “crawling”
Difficulty falling asleep due to racing thoughts
Early waking due to racing thoughts
It is important to note that the way anxiety manifests is unique to each person. Some people experience anxiety primarily in their thoughts, while others are much more connected to anxiety through their bodies. Regardless of which symptoms you experience, anxiety is very treatable, and our therapists are equipped to help you overcome your anxiety.
Types of Anxiety
Below is a list of the subtypes of anxiety disorders and their symptoms. We regularly treat all of these conditions.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
It is common for people to feel anxious about things every once in a while. We all experience stress about relationships, finances, and school or our careers. But a person who has Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) worries uncontrollably about a number of things, and they find it difficult to control these worrisome thoughts.
If you worry more than seems rational for real situations where concern is warranted or worry about scenarios that are unlikely to occur, you may be experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder. People with GAD find that the intensity, duration, or frequency of their anxiety is out of proportion to the likelihood or impact of the anticipated event. You may even be aware that there is no reason for you to worry, but you still find it difficult to not be anxious.
This excessive, unrealistic worry can be frightening and can interfere with relationships and daily activities. People with GAD are unable to stop their worrying and feel their thoughts are beyond their control. Therefore, it is common for people with GAD to try to plan or control situations, which often causes problems in relationships.
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Feeling nervous, irritable, or on edge
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
• Trouble concentrating or your mind going blank
• Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or restless sleep
• Feeling fatigued and exhausted
• Muscle tension
• Restlessness
Social Anxiety Disorder
If you experience intense anxiety particularly in social settings, you may have Social Anxiety Disorder, which is also sometimes referred to as social phobia. This is more than just being shy. People with social anxiety feel that the stress of social situations is unbearable. Social anxiety can affect one’s ability to go to school, develop meaningful relationships, and work effectively with colleagues. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of American (ADAA), it is estimated that 15 million Americans have Social Anxiety Disorder1. Symptoms may start to develop as early as 13 years old.
When suffering from social anxiety, you may dread certain social situations because you fear being judged by others, being embarrassed or humiliated in front of people, accidentally offending someone, or being the center of attention. You may have trouble not only meeting new people, but also find it difficult to have a conversation with others you know well, even your closest friends. Making small talk and looking others directly in the eye can feel so uncomfortable and awkward that you feel paralyzed and unsure of yourself. This can lead you to avoid social situations all together. Social anxiety can also can low self-esteem, depression, and negative self-talk that only further compounds the problems caused by the condition itself.
Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder
Not all symptoms of social anxiety occur in every situation. Some people only experience social anxiety around a particular trigger, such as eating in front of people, dating, or talking to strangers. When social anxiety is extreme, symptoms can occur in almost every social setting.
Psychological symptoms
• Avoiding social situations
• Missing school or work due to anxiety
• Worrying intensely for days or weeks before an event
• Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself
• Worrying that others will notice how anxious you are
• Needing alcohol or drugs to calm your nerves
Physical symptoms
• Nausea
• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• Blushing
• An “out-of-body” sensation
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and irrational, excessive urges to do certain actions (compulsions) to avoid a feared outcome.
Obsessions are upsetting or disturbing thoughts, images, or urges that occur frequently despite the fact that you do not want to think about them. You may try to ignore or suppress these thoughts, but ultimately feel anxious that these thoughts may come true if nothing is done about them. This anxiety can become overwhelming, and so people with OCD often engage in compulsions to temporarily relieve their anxiety.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or actions that briefly relieve the stress and anxiety brought on by an obsession. Often, people who have OCD believe that these rituals will prevent something bad from happening. Although people with OCD may know that their thoughts and behaviors don’t make logical sense, they find it difficult to stop them.
Subtypes of OCD
OCD typically focuses on a particular area of your life that is important to you.
The following subtypes are common focus areas of OCD:
• Contamination
• Symmetry
• Perfection
• Accidentally Causing Harm to Others
• Relationships
• Sexual Orientation
• Scrupulosity (Religious OCD)
• “Real” Event
OCD is a unique form of anxiety and requires specialized training to treat it effectively. Our OCD therapists are extensively trained in Exposure and Response Prevention, the gold standard treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. For a more expanded explanation of OCD and our treatment approach, read more below.
Phobias
A phobia is an excessive and/or irrational fear about a specific place, situation, or object. People with phobias experience a deep sense of dread or panic whenever they encounter anything that is remotely connected to their feared object or experience.
The impact of experiencing a phobia can range from slightly annoying to severely disabling. Individuals who experience phobias often recognize that their fear is irrational, but they feel as if they cannot do anything about it. These fears can impair your life and interfere with day-to-day living.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Society of America (ADAA), it is estimated that nearly 19 million Americans have a phobia that disrupts their lives*.
Common phobias include:
• Fear of flying (aerophobia)
• Fear of vomiting (emetophobia)
• Fear of injections (trypanophobia)
• Fear of germs (mysophobia)
• Fear of heights (acrophobia)
• Fear of thunder and lightning (astraphobia)
• Fear of blood (hemophobia)
• Fear of confinement or crowded spaces (claustrophobia)
• Fear of dogs (cynophobia)
The most common symptom of a phobia is a panic attack when around the feared stimuli.
Panic Disorder
If you experience recurrent and unexpected panic attacks, you may have a Panic Disorder. A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort that peaks within minutes, but some may last for more than an hour. Those with panic disorder live in fear of having another panic attack. The American Psychological Association reports that 1 out of every 75 people will experience panic disorder**. Typically, signs of panic disorder often begin to appear in teens and young adults.
Even though the symptoms of this disorder can be quite overwhelming and frightening, they can be managed and improved with therapy.
Symptoms of Panic Attack:
The symptoms of a panic attack often occur for no clear reason. Because these attacks cannot be predicted, they can significantly affect your functioning. Fear of a panic attack or recalling a panic attack can result in another attack. If you have panic disorder, therapy can help reduce or eliminate your panic attacks.
• Shortness of breath
• Increased heart rate
• Shaking or trembling
• Chest pain or tightness
• Dizziness
• Feeling faint
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Trembling or shaking
• An impending sense of doom or sudden death
Reach Out to Us: Book Now in Atlanta or Roswell
Our team of therapists at Restorative Counseling Services are ready to help you not only understand your anxiety, but also provide the tools necessary to reduce and eliminate your anxiety. By using evidenced based approaches such as CBT, ERP, and DBT, your therapist will create a customized treatment plan to directly address your anxiety effectively.
Please reach out today to get connected to one of our expertly trained therapists and begin to gain control over your anxiety.
* Facts and Statistics, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics/, (accessed 28 December 2020)
** Answers to Your Questions About Panic Disorder, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/panic-disorder/, (accessed 28 December, 2020)
