• Do you experience constant worry or dread? Are you always preparing for the worst?

• Is it hard for you to “get out of your head” and be present?

• Do you feel tenseness in your body throughout the day (and night)?

• Do you avoid things for fear of rejection, embarrassment, or disappointment?

The Problem

Stress is a normal response to a present, external circumstance. Mild levels of stress can be be helpful to motivate you to respond to a need.

However, when you start to internalize stress and begin to worry about a hypothetical or future circumstance, that is when anxiety arises.

Anxiety is the brain’s attempt to take control of unsafe, unfamiliar, or uncontrollable situations. It can feel uncontrollable, overwhelming, and just plain annoying.

Anxiety is expressed in the form of [1] racing thoughts and [2] somatic/body sensations.

Racing thoughts can take the form of :

• “What if… [insert worst case scenario here]”

• Negative self-beliefs (e.g., “My friends don’t actually like me;” “I suck at my job”)

• Planning for every possible situation

Somatic sensations of anxiety can take the form of:

• Fast heartbeat

• Shallow breathing

• Chest tightness

• Knot in stomach

• Shaking leg

• Decreased focus

• Struggles sleeping

These symptoms can lead to you avoiding loved ones, having emotional breakdowns, holding yourself back from trying something new, or making mistakes in sport or performing arts. It can keep you from experiencing the fullness of life that you want to live.

Because of these things, you may beat yourself up and have more worry about how you “need to” do better.

The Path Forward

Your brain is doing its best to protect you, but it can get stuck in these patterns of racing thoughts or physical tension. Thus, the goal of psychotherapy is to help get the brain “unstuck” from a vigilant state to a calm one.

Verbal & emotional processing helps you observe your fears & worries without judgment. We explore your core concerns and the past experiences that have shaped your present fears. Sitting in the heaviness of an emotion or experience can help you recognize that you won’t be consumed by it. Then, we find a way to reframe your thoughts and views of self to remind yourself that you are safe and capable of moving forward.

At the same time, I teach you practices that help you learn how to regulate your brain and body when you get overwhelmed. You are able to control your thoughts and not be controlled by them. It is a skill that can be learned and mastered just as any other. Over time, you can learn to work with your brain & body and not against it.

You are able to show up in life with presence, focus, and enjoyment. You can “get out of your head,” let your guard down, and show up as your full self. And even though stress will inevitably return, you can have the self-assurance and tools to know how to confidently navigate the unknown.