What is Anxiety and How to get help in San Diego?
by Katherine Pica LCSW
Are you living with constant dread or worry about something bad happening? Do small things send you down a path of emotionally spiraling? Anxiety is very common and can affect anyone at any time in life. Anxiety is an emotion where you feel fear, dread, worry or nervousness. Sometimes it can be in response to a situation that is stressful. Sometimes we know the cause and sometimes it can be difficult to find the cause. The good news is we can treat anxiety whether or not we know what is causing it.
We all have stress or anxiety from time to time. Anxiety can be a normal and helpful reaction to life’s challenges. It is normal to feel anxiety from time to time when something big is happening. However when it starts to interfere with your life then it is becoming more problematic, and it may be time to seek help from an anxiety therapist. Anxiety can become a disorder when it interferes with your ability to function or perform in your job or school or and relationships or other daily activities.
Anxiety is an adaptive emotion that can help us as humans survive and it is designed to keep you aware and ready to act should an immediate threat come around. Anxiety is believed to involve thinking and is future oriented. Anxiety is an increasingly common struggle. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH 2021) about 31 % of U.S. adults experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
There is good news because anxiety disorders are highly treatable! Research has shown us that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is highly effective to help treat anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on building awareness of distorted thinking patterns and changing these patterns. CBT also focuses on replacing undesirable or destructive behavior patterns with healthier behaviors. Working with an anxiety therapist who is trained in CBT can be an effective way to help make changes in your life.
Symptoms of Anxiety
Unable to control worrying
Thinking that something bad will happen
Thinking of the worse case scenario
Racing thoughts
Restlessness
Rumination- thinking over and over again
Feeling on edge
Nervous energy
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can be experienced in many different form. In fact there are several different types of anxiety disorders. Listed beleow are a few that Resilience Counseling works with.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a type of anxiety when you have excessive and persistent worry. This overthinking happens most days. You may often be overthinking many different things. According to the DSM- 5 it can include symptoms of restlessness, easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbance. . According to the NIMH An estimated 5.7% of U.S. adults experience generalized anxiety disorder at some time in their lives.
Panic Attacks or Panic Disorder
Panic Attacks or Anxiety can have physical effects on the body. When you have a bunch of physical symptoms that happen at once then we may call it a panic attack. With panic attacks there is often the fear that they can happen again. You may avoid certain activities, places or spaces that could trigger a panic attack. When panic attacks reoccur then it may classify as a panic disorder. For example you may have: increased heart rate, nausea, dizziness, chest pressure/pain, sweatiness, difficulty breathing,turning red, shaking/ trembling, hot/cold flashes, a fear of dying or going crazy ect. ( It's always good to see your primary care doctor when there are physical symptoms, if they find no medical problems that's when it's important to contact a therapist who specializes in anxiety) According to the NIMH An estimated 4.7% of U.S. adults experience panic disorder at some time in their lives
Phobias or Specific Phobia
A phobia is when you have a marked and persistent fear or anxiety of specific objects or situations. For example a phobia of needles, flying, insects, snakes, dogs, choking,vomiting, heights, going to the dentist, seeing blood or animals. This fear or anxiety almost always causes you to have an immediate anxiety response. This fear is recognized as excessive or unreasonable and attempts to avoid it are made. This avoidance causes significant interference with a person's ability to function. An estimated 12.5% of U.S. adults experience a specific phobia at some point through their lives (NIMH 2021). Phobias respond great to treatem when the right approach is applied. Getting connected with an anxiety therapist who has been trained in exposure and response prevention is the best way to get started tackling phobias.
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety in which you fear and avoid situations where you feel like it's difficult to escape or where you will feel trapped. You fear in these types of events that panic-like symptoms might make you feel trapped, embarrassed or helpless. You may not want to leave the home, avoid certain places like crowded or theaters, bridges ect or avoid using different types of transportation. About 1.3% of U.S. adults experience agoraphobia at some point in their lives (NIMH 2021). When you struggle with agoraphobia your life becomes very small. It’s important to work with an anxiety therapist who can help you learn tools and skills to start getting your life back. Anxiety therapy is very powerful and can help you get your life back.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder, (OCD) is a mental health disorder where a person has obsessional thoughts as well as rituals and compulsions around those obsessional thoughts. OCD also causes distress and anxiety when rituals are not performed. However rituals are what keeps the OCD around. There is really good treatment available for OCD. Exposure and response prevention (ERP)is evidenced based treatment for OCD. It is important to get connected to an OCD therapist who can provide evidence-based treatment for OCD. It's important to get connected to an OCD therapist who is trained in ERP. OCD affects all different types of people from all different walks of life. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH 2021) 2.3% of adults will experience OCD in their lives. Find out more about OCD . I am a San Diego Based OCD therapist and specialize in using ERP to help you take back control of your life. There is so much hope to be gained in OCD therapy!
Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) is when one struggles with high anxiety or fear of social situations in which a person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to the possibility of being scrutinized or judged by others. The person is afraid of acting in a way that is embarrassing or humiliating. Some examples are not attending social functions due to not knowing anyone there; not speaking up in meetings; avoiding speech class.
An estimated 12.1% of U.S. adults experience social anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. SOcial anxiety can limit your life and make routine situations like work, school or any social events very difficult. When working with an anxiety therapist the goal is to learn tools and skills to help you live life more comfortably.
PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) happens after exposure to a traumatic event. The DSM 5 has now placed PTSD in its own category. After going through event/s there can be nightmares; flashbacks, hypervigilance, increased startle response). Your response to the traumatic event was intense fear, helplessness or horror. You try to avoid re-experiencing the traumatic event by avoiding any memories or triggers that remind you of the event.
Some examples could be sexual assaults, abuse, physical assaults, domestic violence, robberies, being kidnapped, war, car accidents, natural disasters, ect . In the US 6.8%of Adults will have struggled with PTSD in their life (NIMH 2021). At Resilience counseling I use EMDR to treat traumatic events. This is evidence based and has been proven to be very effective in treating trauma. EMDR is an offered form of trauma therapy offered at Resilience Counseling.
Postpartum Anxiety
Postpartum anxiety can go along with postpartum depression or it can occur alone. Having a baby is such a hard stage in life. Normally there can be a hormonal shift that we call the baby blues for for about the first 4 weeks after birth. If you notice anxiety or depressive symptoms happening longer than that then it may be time to reach out for help. Having a baby can already put mothers under A LOT of stress ( trust me I know!). If you find yourself worrying, or constantly feeling overwhelmed that could be a sign of anxiety. If you are feeling like you are not able to control your worries then it may be time to reach out for help. I specialize in anxiety disorders and I am a certified perinatal mental health therapist. Having a young child can be stressful and it can be important to get a therapist who has training and can understand your struggles. You do not have to go through this alone there is hope.
Postpartum OCD
Postpartum OCD can start after childbirth or during pregnancy. Pregnancy and childbirth can be very stressful. Sometimes postpartum anxiety can come in the form of OCD. Postpartum OCD could come in in the form of intrusive thoughts about the baby or constant worry about you or the baby getting sick. Really OCD can take on any form. FInd out more about OCD and the type of treatment we provide. With OCD we see compulsions where there are rituals like handwashing, decontaminating, over thinking over and over. Postpartum OCD is treatable and there is help available. At Resilience Counseling I specialize in OCD therapy and postpartum issues. As an OCD thepraist I work with many Moms who are struggling with OCD and can help you too!
You can learn to overcome anxiety’s hold on your life through Anxiety therapy
Anxiety takes on many forms. There is specialized anxiety therapy available. Whatever form of anxiety you are experiencing there is hope and help available. Working with an anxiety therapist can help you learn tools to manage your symptoms. When meeting with an Anxiety therapist you can learn skills that can help keep your anxiety at bay.
Anxiety treatment and OCD therapy in San Diego
If anxiety is impacting your ability to fully live your life, treatment at Resilience Counseling can help you manage and overcome your worries and get back to living your life. Contact us for a free 15 minute phone call to find out more about my services.
Anxiety & OCD therapy and other areas of focus in the
San Diego based office
Information was adapted from the DSM 5 and statistics are from the NIMH website:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
National Institute of Mental Health (Retrieved June 30, 2021). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
