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Counseling for Anxiety/Depression
Everyone experiences the emotions of anxiety and sadness from time to time due to everyday life. However, not everyone has an Anxiety or Depressive Disorder, which causes mild to significant impairment in major areas of life, such as work/school, home responsibilities, or social situations/relationships.
Anxiety and Depressive Disorders are the most common types of mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States. These rates have significantly increased since the COVID-19 Pandemic.
When it comes to treating Anxiety & Depressive Disorders, research shows that a combination of therapy and medications is usually the most effective option. That’s because therapy – as opposed to medication alone – treats more than just symptoms to the problem.
Often, these are the symptoms of anxiety:
- Nervousness, restlessness or being tense
- Feelings of danger, panic or dread
- Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
- Increased or heavy sweating
- Trembling or muscle twitching
- Weakness or lethargy
- Difficulty focusing or thinking clearly about anything other than the thing you’re worried about
- Insomnia
- Obsessions about certain ideas/thoughts, causing high amounts of anxiety which lead to repetitive behaviors to reduce the anxiety – a sign of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Anxiety surrounding a particular traumatic life event or experience, a sign of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (see also Trauma Recovery page)
Often, these are symptoms of depression:
- Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, meaninglessness
- Crying spells
- Lack of motivation for self-care or daily activities
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
- Loss of interest or pleasure in doing activities you used to enjoy doing
- Isolation, social withdrawal
- Guilt/shame for having these feelings or not being productive
- Trouble sleeping or too much sleeping
- Alternating cycles of Depression and Manic symptoms (an elevation in mood and energy, accompanied with impulsive/risky behaviors, lack of need for sleep, and increased self esteem/confidence) – all signs of Bipolar Disorder
Therapy can help to uncover the underlying root causes of your worries and fears, help you learn how to relax and look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.
I provide many different options for Anxiety/Depression treatment, which also includes Bipolar Disorders. These include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – changing negative thought patterns & core beliefs
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy – Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness (clinical terms for learning how to enjoy the present moment, manage thoughts/emotions/stress, how to have healthy communication with others)
- Exposure & Response Prevention Therapy – reducing anxious responses to emotional triggers through exposure in "baby steps"
- Body Work - such as Emotion Freedom Technique (also known as “Tapping” to process emotions and reduce stress), Tai Chi/Qi Gong (slow paced, relaxing way to relieve stress and tension), Yoga (fixed poses to release stress and tension), Breath Work (respiration training to reduce Fight or Flight response), NeuroSomatic techniques (brain + body), Dance/Movement Therapy (to release trapped symptoms of trauma stored in the body), Energy Psychology (moving and creating energy in the body)
- Polyvagal Theory - exercises incorporating the Vagus Nerve (the largest cranial nerve in the body that regulates “Fight or Flight Response)
- Spiritually Integrated Therapy (if desired) – Exploring how Anxiety/Depression has affected belief in Higher Power and incorporating spiritual beliefs into the overall treatment
- Object Relations/Psychodynamic Theory– discovering the root cause of unmet needs and how adult behaviors have been affected by adverse childhood relationships/experiences
If you suffer from Anxiety, Depression, and/or Bipolar symptoms, please contact me today for a free consultation.
Have some questions first?
You can always email me directly at coaching@leahpetrucci.com or call/text (941) 705-0973
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