Anxiety: When Dread Takes Over

Anxiety can make your mind feel as though it is always preparing for something to go wrong. You may replay conversations, anticipate every possible outcome, struggle to relax, or avoid situations that feel uncertain.

Even when you know your fear may be out of proportion to the situation, it can still feel difficult to turn it off.

Therapy can help you understand what your anxiety is trying to protect you from and develop a more flexible way of responding to it.

What Anxiety Can Feel Like

You may notice:

• Constant worry or overthinking

• Difficulty making decisions

• Perfectionism or fear of making mistakes

• Physical tension, restlessness, or trouble sleeping

• Avoidance of people, places, or responsibilities

• Irritability or feeling easily overwhelmed

• Reassurance-seeking or repeatedly checking things

• Difficulty being present because your mind is focused on what might happen

Anxiety can affect school, work, relationships, parenting, and your ability to enjoy daily life.

How Therapy May Help

Therapy can help you recognize the patterns that keep anxiety going and develop tools for responding differently.

Rather than trying to eliminate every anxious thought, we may work on increasing your ability to tolerate uncertainty, understand your triggers, and take meaningful action even when anxiety is present.

We can also explore the experiences, relationships, and expectations that may have taught you to remain constantly alert or responsible.

How We May Work Together

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help identify anxious thinking patterns and gradually change behaviors that reinforce fear and avoidance.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy focuses on changing your relationship with anxious thoughts rather than becoming trapped in an ongoing struggle against them.

Internal Family Systems can help us understand protective parts that worry, plan, avoid, or seek control.

Ketamine-Assisted Therapy supports neuroplasticity and opening the mind and soul to new perspectives that allow for resistance in areas that previously elicited anxiety and dread.

What Change Might Look Like

Progress may mean feeling less controlled by worry, recovering more quickly after stressful moments, making decisions with greater confidence, and participating more fully in your life.

You may still experience anxiety, but it no longer has to make every decision for you.