Is Your Daily Life Consumed by Excessive Worry or Fear?
Do you wonder why you feel overwhelmed, nervous and tense in ordinary situations? Or, maybe you toss and turn all night, and wake up in the morning with a sense of dread. You might feel uneasy, but you’re not even sure why. Perhaps you suffer from recurring, intrusive negative thoughts that cause you fear and distress. You just know that you’re tired of feeling this way and you want it to stop-like right now!
Are you scared that there's something seriously wrong with you? For example, why do you have heart palpitations, tightness in your chest, feel dizzy, or have difficulty catching your breath? Maybe you’ve even gone to the emergency room because you thought you were having a heart attack. The doctor reassured you that you’re “fine,” but you don’t feel “fine!” The doctor tells you "it's just anxiety" or "you had a panic attack" and sends you on your way, often with a prescription for anti-anxiety medication and no other recommendations. It seems like no one is really listening or helping you, other than to give you a quick fix and send you on your way. You want to actually understand and overcome your anxiety because you want to have more control and improve the quality of your life.
So, when is it normal to experience anxiety and when should it be a cause for concern? It’s normal to feel worried or anxious when facing a challenging or threatening situation. But sometimes the situation or circumstance is long gone, while the symptoms remain. If your worries and fears are excessive, irrational, or interfering with your daily life, you may be suffering from generalized anxiety, panic attacks or phobias. The symptoms of anxiety can be debilitating, but anxiety therapy can help you find serenity and peace of mind as you regain control over your life.
Anxiety Treatment
Anxiety responds very well to treatment in therapy, and often resolves in a relatively short period of time. The specific treatment approach depends on the type of anxiety you have and the severity of the problem. I have worked with hundreds of clients over the last 30 years who “worried” that they would never feel normal again. In the beginning of the counseling process, we explore the roots of your fears and develop a step by step plan to help you overcome your anxiety. Together we create a tool box filled with practical and effective coping skills and resources to help you find freedom from your anxiety. Anxiety treatment is very effective for all forms of anxiety, including panic attacks, specific phobias, OCD, PTSD, and social anxiety. Treatment for anxiety is also very effective for pre-teens and teens as well as adults.
You Are Not Alone!
Many people struggle with at least one of the many types of anxiety, including Generalized Anxiety, Panic Attacks, OCD, PTSD, Phobia, and Social Anxiety Disorder. Anxiety affects over 40 million adults in the US over the age of 18, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Unfortunately, many people do not seek professional help and continue to suffer from their debilitating symptoms of anxiety, panic attacks and phobias. You might think you can just “get over it” and it will go away in time. Sometimes that is true, but the problem can also escalate and cause great distress and be more difficult to resolve.
Why Not Just Take Medication?
If your anxiety is severe and interferes with your daily life and ability to function, you may choose to take medication to relieve your symptoms. However, anxiety medications can be habit forming, may have negative side effects and don’t address the root of the problem. Research indicates that therapy and lifestyle changes can work just as well if not better than medication, especially for mild or moderate anxiety. This is a personal decision that should be discussed with your doctor, and your therapist if you are working with one. Often a combination of medication and anxiety therapy can be most helpful for more serious or extreme cases of anxiety, phobias, and panic attacks.
There Are So Many Therapists- Why Should I Choose You?
You’re right- there are so many local therapists to choose from in CA. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in CA who has been in private practice since 1994. I work with people located all over the stare, from San Diego to Orange County, San Francisco and San Jose. I offer phone, FT or zoom sessions for your convenience. Please see my About Me page if you are looking for more information about my approach and my credentials.
My clients choose me because they know I am passionate about helping them achieve their goals. They know that I’m deeply committed to their mental health and well-being, and that I respect their time, energy and financial resources while addressing their deepest concerns.
I provide a safe and supportive environment in order to build trust and rapport. Together we will create a step by step road map to conquer the anxiety and stress you’re feeling. Once you feel better, you may choose to stop therapy, or begin to address other areas of concern. You’re always welcome to return at a later date for a tune up.
Do I Really Need Therapy to Address My Anxiety?
You may be able to reduce your mild anxiety symptoms by making some lifestyle adjustments, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising on a regular basis. However, if you have moderate to severe anxiety, panic or phobias that have plagued you for months or even years, it may be wise to seek professional help to learn about other strategies and solutions that can provide relief and peace of mind.
Isn’t Therapy Expensive and Time Consuming?
I encourage you to think how your struggle with anxiety, panic attacks or phobias are affecting your life. As “the solution therapist,” my goal is to help you achieve results efficiently and effectively. Even if you’ve tried therapy before, my solution focused approach may improve your results. The tools, coping skills, resources and information you receive will continue to be useful even when you finish with anxiety treatment, and may be beneficial in addressing other areas of concerns in your life. Only you can decide if the time is right to find relief for the anxiety that negatively affects your life. If you are motivated and ready to begin the process, you may find that the investment in your mental health and well-being will result in positive benefits in a relatively short period of time. The number of sessions depends on the nature and severity of anxiety symptoms, but after we meet, I can usually give you an estimate of how many sessions you may need to find relief and achieve results.
How to Contact me for Anxiety Treatment:
Are you ready to finally regain control of your life and find relief from the anxiety and stress in your life? The way out of the chaos is to just take the first step. I will guide you from there……
Please email me for a free 15-minute phone consultation to see how I may help you and to determine if we are a good fit.
All sessions after the free consultation are offered virtually by phone, FaceTime or Zoom if we decide to work together.
Phone: (949) 261-8299
Shellee Moore, LMFT
“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”