15 Parkway, Katonah, NY 10536 | Tel: (781) 819-0304 | I provide telehealth services exclusively at this time
Carolyn D. Greene, Psy.D., P.C.
Anxiety Treatment
Is Anxiety Keeping You In A Loop Of Distracted, Fearful Thinking?
Are you feeling “stuck” during a transitional time of your life—perhaps adjusting to a new career, relationship, or living situation? Are fears about your ability to perform or succeed getting in the way of your daily functioning? And do you feel ashamed or embarrassed that you’re unable to manage the stress on your own?
Anxiety is a common issue, especially amid the milestones of life, including big changes, significant losses, and new beginnings. If you’re college-aged or a recent graduate, you may be feeling the pressures of school or starting a new career. Maybe your work-life balance has fallen out of whack, causing you to feel regularly stressed and worried about your responsibilities. Similarly, if you have taken on a new role at home—maybe you’ve recently become a new parent or caretaker for an aging relative—you might be feeling overwhelmed by your obligations.
Perhaps your anxiety has less to do with your performance and more to do with your identity. Still figuring out who you are and how to navigate new identities with old expectations—possibly relating to your culture, gender, or upbringing—you may feel like your self-esteem has been impacted and your relationships jeopardized.
Common Symptoms Of Anxiety
There are a variety of symptoms associated with anxiety, including looping, uncontrollable worry, trouble relaxing, and feeling nervous in social situations. You may often be restless or fidgety, always trying to tackle the next thing on your to-do list. Or perhaps your anxiety often escalates to panic, causing uncomfortable physical symptoms and an impending sense of doom.
You may have a hard time remembering the last time you felt at ease or like your “old” self. Instead of feeling safe and cared for, you’re used to being fearful, hypervigilant, and isolated. But anxiety treatment is an opportunity to restore a sense of security in your life as you work with a skilled therapist who can offer skills and perspectives that can relieve your symptoms.
Anxiety Disorders Are The Most Common Mental Health Concern—Both In The US And Worldwide
There’s no question that anxiety is on the rise, not just in the US but throughout the world. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that over 40 million adults—at least 19 percent of the American population—struggle with anxiety.¹ However, those numbers reflect research done before the onset of Covid-19. Since the pandemic began in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has seen a 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression worldwide.²
Of course, anxiety derives from environmental factors, including global crises, political tension and unrest, and increased violence. But there are also individual factors that contribute to anxiety. Many studies have shown that anxiety disorders run in families; according to the epidemiologists at UNC Heath, “Children of parents who have a diagnosed anxiety disorder can be as much as seven times more likely to develop an anxious disorder themselves.”³ There’s also evidence to suggest that anxiety disorders disproportionately affect young adults and women of all ages.
Despite its prevalence, anxiety is highly treatable. Without the help of a skilled therapist, it can be difficult to identify anxiety’s signs and root causes. Yet, therapy can help you clarify symptoms, understand their impact on your functioning, and develop the tools needed to manage anxiety.
Supportive & Skilled Treatment Can Help You Manage Anxiety Symptoms
Anxious thinking is often the opposite of feeling safe, but the counseling atmosphere is an open, nonjudgmental space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and experience of the world. As you develop new narratives about yourself and your environment and learn new skills to manage your anxiety, you will develop greater self-confidence and deeper self-compassion. Together, we can help you enhance feelings of safety in your life, cope better, and identify solutions to your life’s unique obstacles.
What To Expect In Our Sessions Together
While I am trained in psychodynamic theory and will emphasize bringing awareness to the unconscious thoughts that drive behavior, my clinical style blends skills and techniques from a range of other treatment modalities. My approach to treating anxiety is both relationship-based as well as skills-based. Our work may explore your early relationships and other influential attachments affecting your current symptoms. We will work together to resolve unfinished business from your childhood contributing to and maintaining your symptoms.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another meaningful tool I regularly use to treat anxiety. I will work with you to recognize and challenge anxious thoughts, encouraging you to create more realistic, balanced perspectives which reduce your suffering.
When paired with mindfulness and grounding exercises, which help bring you to the present moment, psychodynamic interventions and CBT give you an opportunity to create a new relationship with yourself, your environment, and those around you so that you can be more present and less fearful about what’s next.
A Personalized Approach to Anxiety Treatment
An essential element of anxiety treatment is the therapeutic relationship itself. I take a personalized approach to treating each client, because I understand that the relationship is the most important factor for determining the outcome of treatment.
Whatever your anxiety treatment goals might be, I will tailor the therapeutic process to meet your needs. Over time, you are likely to see that as you apply new coping skills, you’re better able to tolerate difficult emotions. Instead of feeling “stuck” inside looping fears and worries, you’ll learn how to develop new, effective ways of thinking, behaving, and relating to others. Not only will your work and everyday experience improve, but you’ll also develop a healthier relationship with yourself, others, and the world around you.
Anxiety has probably made you feel alone and unworthy, but your symptoms can be managed with professional support. Therapy that artfully blends a range of modalities and theories while emphasizing relational safety and the unique therapist-client relationship can offer you a successful equation for the treatment of your anxiety. I would be honored to work with you on your journey.
Perhaps You Still Have Questions About If Counseling Can Help With Your Anxiety…
01
I’ve tried many strategies, but I am afraid that I will never find a solution to my anxiety or panic attacks—can treatment actually help me?
Studies demonstrate that psychotherapy is among the most effective treatment interventions when it comes to anxiety disorders and/or panic attacks. The most important step of your healing is showing up and engaging in self-care. I am confident that as long as you meaningfully commit to anxiety treatment, you will be able to identify concrete solutions in counseling.
02
I’m worried that I am going crazy.
The concern about going “crazy” or being destabilized is just another negative belief that your anxiety perpetuates. Having anxiety or admitting you need treatment does not mean that you are going crazy. Therapy can help your anxiety and your life feel more under control. There is ample evidence that therapy can help you manage anxiety symptoms or reduce them significantly.
03
I’m afraid of losing control once I start addressing my anxiety in therapy.
The fear of losing control is very common among those struggling with anxiety. While anxiety often clouds our judgment, the idea that anxiety causes a complete loss of control simply isn’t the case. In fact, treatment is an opportunity to regain the control in your life that anxiety has taken away.
Free Yourself From Anxious Thinking
Anxiety has impacted your daily functioning, self-esteem, and experience of the world around you, but therapy can help you adjust your perception and heal. Please visit my contact page to schedule an appointment or find out more about my approach to anxiety treatment.
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