Do I need therapy for anxiety?
Did you know that not all anxiety is bad for you?
If you didn’t feel anxious about giving a good first impression, you might not dress up for a job interview or a date. If you weren’t worried about failing your classes, you probably wouldn’t study very much. And, if you didn’t feel nervous about things that could hurt you, like touching a hot stove, you would constantly risk injury.
All of these are examples of helpful anxiety, the kind that keeps you motivated to stay safe and achieve great things.
However, many of us also struggle with unhelpful anxiety, such as:
Left unaddressed, unhelpful anxiety can keep you from achieving your goals, being healthy, and living your best life – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Do you struggle with anxious thoughts or feelings? Have your stressors kept you up at night, tossing and turning? Are you ready to break free from unhelpful anxiety?
My name is Betsy J. Harris, LCSW, and I am here for you!
I provide therapy for teens and adults with anxiety from all over the Columbia, Tennessee area, and I would love to work with you. If you are ready to sign up and get started on your path to wellness, contact me today. To learn more about anxiety and how therapy can help, read on!
How can therapy help with my anxiety?
Unhelpful anxiety makes us try to predict the future.
For example, you might worry about your kids while they are at school. The more you think about it, the more the “what if’s” keep playing through your head – what if they get bullied? What if the teacher is mean to them? What if they do poorly and fail their classes? What if they hang out with the “wrong crowd?” The anxiety drums up all sorts of catastrophes that might happen and before you know it, your nerves feel shot.
Similarly, unhelpful anxiety makes us dwell on the past.
You might think about that embarrassing thing you said at that party. You might rehash bad decisions you made, over and over again, as if it will somehow change the present. The more the ghosts of your past come back to haunt you, the less you can enjoy the life you have today.
Unhelpful anxiety distracts you from the present moment. Just like any other distraction, the symptoms of anxiety can pull your attention away from the things that matter most. To make matters worse, people who struggle with anxiety tend to so much energy worrying that they feel too exhausted to address real-world problems.
Therapy for anxiety helps bring you back to what is happening in the present.
With the right support, you can learn to retrain your brain to devote anxious energy to taking care of business, achieving goals, and living well. Therapists who practice Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are expertly trained to help people be present, use mindfulness, and accept life’s uncontrollable stressors. As you learn to focus on the present moment, your capacity to handle whatever life throws your way will increase.
Therapy for anxiety can help you learn how to:
- Use evidence-based mindfulness techniques
- Gain new insight and perspective
- Change unhelpful ways of thinking
- Feel at ease in social situations
- Enhance interpersonal and social skills
- Discover unique aspects of your personality
- Regain a sense of control and confidence
- Use personally-tailored coping strategies that actually work
If you or a loved one is struggling with anxiety, worry, or fear, let me help. I provide therapy for teens and adults with anxiety because no one should have to suffer the strain of unhelpful anxiety alone.
To learn more about my therapy or to sign up for your first session, contact me today – I would love to hear from you.
What does therapy for anxiety look like with Betsy?
I am here for you.
I provide therapy for people in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Tennessee.
My sessions are entirely confidential and specifically designed to help you meet your goals quickly and efficiently. I work hard to create a safe space where you can share without fear of judgment or criticism because I know how difficult it can be to ask for help.
Our first meeting is called the intake interview, during which I will ask you questions about your story to get a sense of what might be contributing to the problem. This also gives us a chance to get to know each other and answer any questions you might have before moving forward with therapy.
I use techniques from MBCT and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) into therapy to equip you with critical skills for dealing with symptoms of anxiety. You can learn to notice your thoughts and become aware of your inner experiences without letting them control your life. I work to boost your quality of life by bolstering inner strengths, shifting old and unhelpful patterns, and teaching useful skills that can help you achieve your goals.
If you are ready to break free from the worry and the stress, if you are tired of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, contact me today. You deserve a life filled with wellbeing and joy, and together, we can make that happen. Contact me to get started.
Interested? Let’s Connect!
I would love to hear from you.
Click on the contact menu above to send me a message, ask a question, or get started on your wellness journey by signing up for your first session.
I provide individual therapy for teens and adults for issues such as:
- Anxiety
- Divorce
- Relationship problems
- Work stress
- Grief
- Trauma
- Depression
- Adjustment and major life transitions
- And much more
If you’d like to connect, click Contact in the menu above!
You can read more about me here on my Psychology Today profile.
Office phone: 931-954-2853
