Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues facing our modern world today. In the United States alone, anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults each year. While anxiety is incredibly common, its symptoms can truly detract from an individual’s quality of life. Because of its commonality, many people assume that anxiety symptoms are normal, but that simply isn’t true! It is possible to live a healthy, high-functioning life without the presence of excessive anxiety.

Anxiety is defined as the reaction of the mind and body to stressful, dangerous, or unknown life circumstances. Anxiety is the general feeling of overwhelming fear in response to a threat. However, with anxiety, this threat may or may not be real. Oftentimes anxiety is a condition where the mind creates illusory threats that trigger a nervous system response in the body that then produces the anxiety symptoms. The brain does not know if the threat is real or false, and thus the body responds as if the threat is actually happening. While fear and anxiety are evolutionary emotions that help to keep us safe, they are not meant to impair our wellbeing in work, school, and relationships. Those who face anxiety find that their condition interferes with their daily life.

Anxiety disorders describe an individual facing excessive fear and anxiety related to some kind of perceived threat, impending or not. This sort of fear triggers physiological symptoms that interfere with the health and wellbeing of the individual. Anxiety is the broad umbrella term under which are several anxiety-related disorders. Anxiety can be experienced in various ways.

Whether you struggle with social anxiety, people-pleasing behavior, panic attacks, or intrusive thoughts, therapy is available that can help you shed the shackles of anxiety and live a more fulfilling, value-based life.

 Reach out to us today to set up a consultation to discuss treatment for anxiety.