Therapy for Anxiety in Orlando

If you’re struggling with symptoms of anxiety, you are far from alone. An estimated 31% of adults experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, and far more suffer symptoms of anxiety in some way, shape, or form. The prevalence of anxiety is hardly surprising, given the unstoppable pace of life, our weakening connections to supportive communities, and the constant stream of information we digest, which creates fertile soil for worry and despair.

While anxiety is widespread and common, its manifestations can be diverse and unique to individuals. Anxiety comes in many forms, including:

• Generalized Anxiety, or continuous worry and excessive fear about everyday situations, often without a clear reason.
• Panic attacks, which can manifest as sudden, intense episodes of fear with physical symptoms like a fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, and dizziness.
• Social anxiety, significant fear or discomfort in social situations, while often worrying about being judged or evaluated negatively.
• Phobias, or strong fears of specific things like heights, flying, animals, or enclosed spaces.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which can show up as persistent intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors done to ease anxiety.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a form of anxiety triggered by past traumatic experiences, leading to intrusive memories and hypervigilance.
• Existential anxiety, experienced as worries about the meaning of life, often accompanied by feelings of dread and questioning existence.

Anxiety has a variety of other presentations, including health anxiety, perfectionism, performance anxiety, separation anxiety, sleep disturbances, irritability, feeling “on edge”, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and more.

Do you identify with any of these descriptions of anxiety? If so, there is certainly hope for relief from these symptoms. There is a wide variety of evidenced-based therapies that can be effective in treating anxiety both by providing coping skills for immediate relief and for uprooting excessive anxiety from its sources in our mind and body.

At Resonate Counseling, anxiety treatment is approached holistically, considering the many factors that can play into anxiety including:

Your Mind  •  While some level of anxiety is natural, it is common for our minds to blow our worries and fears further out of proportion than is necessary. At Resonate, we use a variety of cognitive therapies and approaches to address dysfunctional thought patterns that create excessive anxiety.

Your Body  •  After prolonged exposure to stress, traumatic or otherwise, our bodies can remain in a state of hypervigilance, or excessive awareness of potential threats. Hypervigilance is our body’s best effort to protect us from further harm, but when it overgeneralizes and assumes threats at every turn, it can be more hurtful than helpful. Body- and brain-focused therapies used at Resonate can help your nervous system restore a baseline sense of safety that is appropriate for your current situation instead of responding to overwhelming stressors from your past.

Your Circumstances  • There is so much pressure to have everything under control at all times, but sometimes, life gives us a bit more than we can handle alone, and we need to receive support and guidance from others. Counseling can help identify hidden stressors and devise creative solutions to problems you may not have been able to solve on your own, or make you aware of resources you might not have known about otherwise.

Your Skills  • For all of these potential origins of anxiety, there are a multitude of coping skills and calming techniques that can be effective. Working with a therapist can help you identify what resources and skills can be most beneficial for you and train you to implement them effectively throughout your life, supporting and coaching you throughout your growth process.

Counseling for anxiety can offer a wealth of support for weary people, and there are many reasons to hope for relief. If you’re interested in receiving therapy for anxiety at Resonate Counseling, fill out our contact form here and you’ll hear back shortly.