An Anxiety Therapist Shares Everything You Need to Know About Anxiety
You’re feeling overwhelmed, nervous, and on edge. You’ve heard people talk about anxiety before but you’re not sure if this is what you’re experiencing or not. You want to find answers and more importantly, you want to feel better and in control of your emotions again.
You’re curious… Do you have anxiety? And, if so, what can you do about it?
My name is Elizabeth Chambers, I am a specialized anxiety therapist in Orlando, FL. I am here to provide information on the different types of anxiety that are commonly seen in counseling. I will review common symptoms associated with each type of anxiety as well as ways we help you heal from anxiety and feel calmer and in control.
Generalized Anxiety
One of the more common types of anxiety is known as generalized anxiety. This refers to having excessive worry about many different topics. Do you ever feel like your brain is jumping from one thing to another to worry about? Like you’re playing whack-a-mole with each new topic your anxiety brings up? This can be similar to what generalized anxiety feels like.
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety
Each person may experience generalized anxiety differently, but here are common symptoms associated with this type:
Excessive worry that you find difficult to control
Feeling on edge or restless
Fatigue
Trouble concentrating
Feeling more irritable
Tension/tightness in your muscles
Difficulty sleeping
These symptoms generally last for an extended period of time, 6 months or more, and can make it difficult to function at work, school, home, or other important areas of your life.
Social Anxiety
This type of anxiety refers to feeling excessively worried during social situations. Feeling a bit nervous when meeting people can be normal. However, social anxiety occurs when these feelings are disproportionate to the situation. Or, they interfere with your ability to function in a social setting. There is often a strong fear of being negatively perceived by others by those who have social anxiety. This anxiety may lead to avoidance of social situations as a way to cope with the high amount of distress that interacting with people may bring.
Symptoms of Social Anxiety
Common symptoms seen in social anxiety include the following:
Excessive fear of being in a situation where you are exposed to scrutiny by others
Examples include: conversing with others, meeting new people, being observed eating or drinking by other people, or giving a speech
Fear of acting in a way that you will be negatively judged by others
Being in any social situation causes fear
When having to be in a social setting, this is either avoided or experienced with intense fear
The fear/anxiety is disproportionate to the social situation at hand
Like generalized anxiety, these symptoms typically occur for 6 months or more. They also lead to a decrease in being able to function in important areas of your life. Social anxiety can be isolating and impact your ability to form connections with others because of the high amount of distress that it can bring.
Panic Attacks vs Panic Disorder
Having a panic attack is often a terrifying and out-of-control experience. A panic attack refers to an intense and sudden increase in anxiety. These are often accompanied by physical symptoms. Such as increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, shaking, and many other possible symptoms.
Panic attacks can lead to what is known as panic disorder. If you begin to have a persistent fear of having another panic attack or avoid situations that you worry may cause you to have one, this may lead to panic disorder.
Symptoms of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
Panic attack symptoms often vary based on the person. However, in addition to the symptoms listed above, these are also symptoms frequently seen with panic attacks:
Feeling like you’re choking
Chest pain
Nausea
Dizziness
Changes in temperature - feeling cold or feeling hot
Tingling or numbness
Feeling detached from yourself
Fear of being out of control
Fear of dying
If panic attacks continue and escalate to panic disorder, the following symptoms are commonly experienced:
Recurrent worry about having another panic attack or potential consequences of having another attack (for example, fear of having a heart attack when heart rate increases; fear of losing control)
Changing or limiting your behavior to avoid having another panic attack. Such as avoiding certain people, places, or activities that may lead to having another one
These symptoms often produce a high amount of distress and last about 1 month or longer. Although panic attacks can be scary to experience, there are ways of treating and overcoming them.
Agoraphobia
Because of the fear of having another panic attack, some individuals may isolate themselves at home or be afraid to leave their house; this is known as agoraphobia. This can often (but not always) be experienced in combination with panic disorder. Due to this being used as an attempt to limit the possibility of having a panic attack in public or somewhere outside the home. Agoraphobia refers to the fear of leaving one’s home, going to crowded places, or being somewhere you feel you can’t escape.
Symptoms of Agoraphobia
The following situations are commonly endured with high anxiety or avoided altogether when experiencing agoraphobia:
Taking public transportation, such as a bus or plane
Being in an enclosed public space, such as a store or movie theater
Standing in a line or a crowd of people
Going outside the house by yourself
These situations are often avoided due to fear that it will be hard to leave or escape if panic symptoms occur. The anxiety that these situations bring for someone with agoraphobia is typically disproportionate to the true threat of the situation. It may feel nearly impossible to feel at ease when trying to leave the house or do any of these activities when you have agoraphobia.
Specific Phobias
Agoraphobia is one type of phobia, however, there are other common phobias as well. A specific phobia refers to extreme fear of a specific situation or object. There are 5 categories of specific phobias that are typically seen:
Animals - such as insects, spiders, dogs, etc.
Natural environment - environmental conditions such as thunderstorms, water, heights, etc.
Blood injection/injury - needles, dentist, seeing blood, etc.
Situational - flying, being in an enclosed space, elevators, etc.
Other - extreme fear of another situation or object that may not fit into the above categories and are therefore categorized as “other”
Having a phobia can lead to a disruption in the ability to function if the feared situation or object is encountered. Additionally, you may avoid the situation or object altogether because of the extreme fear and anxiety that occurs with having a specific phobia.
Symptoms of Specific Phobia
Your specific symptoms may vary, based on your individual experience as well as the specific phobia. Frequently seen symptoms are:
Persistent and excessive fear when in the presence or anticipated presence of the situation or object
Exposure to the feared object immediately causes an anxiety response
Recognition that the fear is excessive
The feared situation is avoided or excessive anxiety is caused when experiencing the feared situation
Because feared situations are often avoided, specific phobias often lead to people limiting their lives in an effort to avoid what they fear. For example, someone with a flying phobia may avoid doing any sort of traveling that would require getting on a plane. Even if it meant missing an important event or family vacation. Phobias can seem impossible to work through. However, with an effective counselor, you can overcome your specific phobia.
Separation Anxiety
This type of anxiety is more commonly seen in children and adolescents. However, some adults may experience this as well. Separation anxiety refers to feeling excessively worried when separated from a parent or primary caregiver.
Symptoms of Separation Anxiety
Symptoms may vary depending on individual experiences and age, but common symptoms associated with separation anxiety are:
Excessive worry when separated from a primary caregiver
Persistent distress about losing attachment figures or something harming them
Consistent worry about something happening that would cause separation from a parent (getting lost, being kidnapped, etc.)
Reluctance to be away from home because it leads to separation from a primary caregiver
Refusal or reluctance to sleep away from home or sleep without being near the primary caregiver
Repeated nightmares about being separated from a parent
Recurring reports of physical symptoms when separation occurs or is anticipated to occur
Anxiety Treatment
Did any of these types of anxiety resonate with you? If so, I encourage you to take a look at how we treat anxiety here at Mindful Living Counseling in Orlando, FL. Anxiety, in any form, can seem overwhelming to tackle on your own. This is why our highly trained therapists are here to help you navigate this. Our anxiety therapists use a variety of techniques to support you in your journey to healing from anxiety.
We tailor our approach to your specific needs, as we recognize no two people are alike in their experience of anxiety. Two of the modalities we utilize most often in our sessions are mindfulness and EMDR. Both of which have been shown to improve anxiety symptoms, in research studies and in our own clinical experience with clients.
Mindfulness for Anxiety
Using mindfulness can be a great way to cope with anxiety and the research supports this as well. These skills can be applied to many of the types of anxiety listed above, to help you feel present and calm. Mindfulness consists of two key components: attention and acceptance.
Attention refers to bringing your focus to what is happening right here, right now, in the present moment.
Oftentimes with anxiety, our brain is focused on things in the past that caused these symptoms or trying to predict what will happen in the future. For example, with panic disorder, you may be worried about predicting when the next panic attack will occur or focusing on the last time you had one and how awful it felt. Implementing mindfulness is a way to bring your focus back to the present moment rather than being stuck in the past or trying to tell the future. This usually entails bringing awareness to your current thoughts, how your body is feeling, or your breath.
The second component of mindfulness is acceptance.
This involves accepting what is brought into your awareness without judgment. Have a nagging thought that keeps asking for attention? Mindfulness helps you acknowledge the thought is there and accept it, rather than reacting to it or having a negative emotional response to it. Acceptance also refers to acknowledging any physical sensations that you may feel as well.
Mindfulness skills can be helpful to regulate the different types of anxiety described above. Your anxiety therapist will help determine mindfulness skills that are most beneficial to you based on your specific symptoms and needs.
EMDR Therapy for Anxiety
At Mindful Living Counseling, we give you skills to cope with anxiety while also helping you identify the root cause behind your anxiety. EMDR is a great tool to help trace back to where your anxiety stems from. One of the main beliefs with EMDR is that our current symptoms are rooted in past memories that are unprocessed. So, they impact present-day thoughts, emotions, and body sensations.
With social anxiety, you may find that you become fixated on past social encounters that did not go so well. Which then impacts your ability to perform socially in the present. If you have memories of experiencing the overwhelming sensations of a panic attack, you may believe that any sensations that resemble these are destined to be another panic attack. These are just some examples of how our brain holds onto past information that impacts how we feel in our present-day lives.
Using EMDR, we identify what memories, thoughts, or physical sensations are being held onto that lead to you experiencing anxiety. We reprocess what your brain and body are holding onto. Which allows you to be free from the anxiety symptoms that are caused as a result.
A Word About Medication for Anxiety
At Mindful Living Counseling, we don’t prescribe medication. However, we sometimes get questions from our clients regarding if medication would be helpful. We believe that medication for anxiety often treats the symptoms rather than the root of the problem. However, there are situations where medication can be very helpful. In our work with clients, we have seen great progress when combining therapy with medication.
We are not for or against medication. As we emphasize supporting the specific needs of each of our clients. We help support clients who choose to not explore the medication route, who want to get off medication, as well as individuals who want to start medication. Deciding to start medication or not is a personal choice. It is also one that should be discussed with your medical provider. Your doctor can assist you in weighing the pros and cons of medication. They can also help you make that decision based on your specific needs and symptoms.
Begin Anxiety Therapy in Orlando, FL
You've learned more about common types of anxiety and you’re ready to start feeling calm and in control again. You don’t have to face your anxiety alone. Our therapists at Mindful Living Counseling in Orlando, FL are here to help. Our highly trained team will help you gain tools that work for you and heal the roots where your anxiety started, leading to a calmer and more fulfilling life. To get started with one of our anxiety therapists:
Fill out our New Client Consultation Form
Schedule a consultation call with our Client Care Coordinator
Start healing from anxiety!
Other Therapy Services Offered at Mindful Living Counseling in Orlando, FL
Our therapists at Mindful Living understand that anxiety may just be a part of the challenges you are facing. This is why we offer a variety of therapy services. Our therapy services include Anxiety therapy, Trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, Eating Disorder Therapy, Toxic Relationship Therapy, and Teen Therapy. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!