Los Angeles & Costa Mesa Anxiety Therapy
what is anxiety?
Anxiety has many faces.
Are we differentiating from panic or anxiety attacks or generally feeling unsettled that isn't necessarily striking at your heart but is ever present? Anxiety is often a nagging feeling about not being content with what's happening in life.
Anxiety is an opportunity to explore our unconscious responses to the world around us. To get to know yourself. It may not be as important as what it is per se.
when is anxiety a problem?
Anxiety is a problem when you determine it is. It's a problem when it starts impeding your ability to progress or live optimally.
Being able to live normally, to function, doesn't mean anxiety isn't a problem. It's a problem when you start thinking about what's causing the anxiety, or more broadly about the anxiety. That's where the opportunity lies...when your body tells you something is there. It may not be the thing you're vociferating over. Your body will/may tell you when there are things you may not be thinking of that's a problem about the way you live your life, a problem in your life.
before finding a therapist to help with my anxiety, is there anything i can do?
It depends on what the anxiety is and how you define it.
Generally, there are a lot of things you can do-cognitive behavioral interventions that can help minimize anxiety. Change life situations as much as you can to minimize the triggers.
One way that of addressing anxiety that is often overlooked is dedicating time to yourself, by yourself, for yourself. This can be through meditation, deep breathing, or prayer. Prayer in silence preferably, where you're not necessarily asking for anything...aside from greater insight.
Pay attention to your diet and sleep hygiene. What's your routine before you tog to bed? How well are you sleeping through the night? Pay attention to and reflect on your dreams. And your fantasies though the day. Things you're wishing for and hoping for...the places your mind goes when you're not paying attention. This could give a lot of anxiety. Pay attention. Value it like you'd value someone who's important to you. This may be one of the most important things you can do outside of therapy and analysis.
is therapy necessary to help with anxiety?
No. It can provide resources and tools. What I provide is not simply therapy. I like to provide analysis and depth work, which I find is much longer lasting than tools provided in typical therapy.
Analysis and depth work seeks to address the unconscious process that brings about the anxiety...to bring greater familiarity to what's going on. It doesn't necessarily eliminate anxiety. It brings greater awareness and potential for comfort. It doesn't eliminate the negative feelings often associated with anxiety.
You may need to feel anxiety:
to help get yourself in gear
to ask that question to your wife or girlfriend that you know will not be liked and may cause problems
to address a problem that may change your life
You're always going to have uncomfortable feelings. That's universal.
will my anxiety problem go away?
It depends. If it the anxiety is about an event that will happen once, such as a test, then it usually goes away. If it's about something that may happen with regularity, like a series of tests, then it will not go away without being more comfortable with the anxiety...without confronting it.
how long does it take to improve anxiety problems if therapy includes analysis?
Therapeutic process of connecting to yourself more deeply immediately starts reducing anxiety. However, you can't solve an anxiety in a way that prevents it from coming back until you start doing work to address the cause of the anxiety. It's ideal that this takes place in therapy and out of therapy. It's an ongoing process.
Are you working through Anxiety?
These resources may help.