Am I stressed, anxious, or both? Help!

Did you notice your own experience reflected in these signs? If so, call or text today, or go to online scheduling to start your way to relief.

As you may have noticed stress and anxiety overlap, but are also different. Stress tends to be more of a response based on external stressors and will naturally subside once the stress has passed. Anxiety is more an internal response to those stressors. Anxiety is typically characterized by a “persistent feeling of apprehension or dread.” Both, can be damaging or debilitating depending on the severity and how chronic it is.

Lets explore anxiety first. Anxiety comes in various forms and impacts about 18 million people in the US in a given year. Anxiety can affect your entire being, and hamper your ability to function. You may find yourself avoiding many normal life situations. You may have difficulty concentrating, have stressful thoughts, feel light-headed, restless, break out in a sweat, feel irritable, or nervous. You may experience fear, have difficulty sleeping, and experience heart palpitations, etc. Regardless if you are experiencing Generalized Anxiety, Panic, Social Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsive tendencies, I can help you pinpoint your sources of anxiety and master them. The good news is that as awful as anxiety can feel, it is extremely responsive to treatment. You can be free of the cage anxiety builds around you. I have helped many people work through and conquer anxiety.

Stress, on the other hand, can take the form of headaches, muscle tension or body pain, restlessness, angry outbursts, chest pain, lack of motivation or focus, drug or alcohol misuse, fatigue, feeling overwhelmed, tobacco use, change in sex drive, irritability or anger, social withdrawal, stomach upset, sadness or depression, and exercising less often, according to the Mayo Clinic.

I am highly experienced helping people identify thoughts and feelings which keep them stressed and fearful, and how to manage these thoughts and feelings via Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Self Compassion. I also teach skills of reality acceptance balanced with effective solutions for problematic situations. This way anxiety ridden situations can be resolved. Lastly, I also teach mindfulness based wellness and stress reduction practices, such as meditation, attention to food and exercise, as well as breathing retraining, body-mind relaxation techniques, and visualization.

Feel better! There is no need to continue suffer. Call or text today, or go to online scheduling to start your way to relief.

“If you're not sure if stress is the cause, or if you've taken steps to control your stress, but your symptoms continue, see your doctor. Your healthcare provider may want to check for other potential causes. Or, consider seeing a professional counselor or therapist, who can help you identify sources of your stress and learn new coping tools.

Also, get emergency help immediately if you have chest pain, especially if you also have shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, pain radiating into your shoulder and arm, sweating, dizziness, or nausea. These may be warning signs of a heart attack and not simply stress symptoms.” -Mayo Clinic