Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is what your nervous system produces when it registers danger. A certain amount of it works in your favor, sharpening your focus before a test or keeping you alert when you walk to your car at night. An anxiety disorder develops when the reaction fires without a clear trigger, stays on far longer than the situation warrants, or grows loud enough to reshape how you live.

Anxiety has a few different forms, including:

• Generalized anxiety disorder, marked by persistent worry across many areas
• Panic disorder, which brings on abrupt waves of fear your body reacts to physically
• Social anxiety disorder, centered on being watched or judged
• Specific phobias tied to an object or situation
• Separation anxiety, which affects adults as well as children

Pinpointing which one you have determines where treatment starts.

How does anxiety feel?

Anxiety lives in your body as much as your head, and the physical symptoms often feel more alarming than the worry itself. Common signs include:

• Racing heart or chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Stomach trouble and nausea
• Muscle tension and headaches
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Avoiding situations that trigger the feeling

Tell Tammie about the physical symptoms along with the mental ones, since both shape your diagnosis.

What treatments work for anxiety?

Tammie builds your plan around how severe your symptoms are and what has or has not worked for you before.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT teaches you to catch an anxious thought and respond to it differently. 

Exposure therapy

When avoidance has shrunk your world, exposure work walks you back into those situations gradually so your nervous system learns the threat is not what it predicted.

Medication management

Tammie may recommend starting with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). She explains the timeline and side effects upfront, then adjusts your dose based on how you respond.

Lifestyle support

Sleep, caffeine, alcohol, and exercise all affect your baseline anxiety level, so Tammie works through those with you alongside everything else.

If you live with constant worry or fear, now is the time to reach out to Mindful Mental Health. Call or book your appointment online to schedule an in-person or telehealth visit.