Anxiety Counseling
ANXIETY COUNSELING
Lacamas Counseling Serves Vancouver, Camas, Washougal Washington and the surrounding areas
Anxiety refers to a state of excessive fear and feeling nervous or worried about the anticipation of potential future threats. Anxiety can vary widely in how long it lasts, how often it occurs, and how much it impacts day-to-day functioning. Anxiety can be a helpful physical and emotional response, leading us to further preparation or to use caution. Too much anxiety can be crippling and paralyzing as we seek to avoid any interactions that would provoke a feeling of anxiety.
Anxiety may be diagnosed as a mental health disorder when it impacts your ability to function at home, school, or work, or in your relationships.
Symptom Self-Check
Have you noticed patterns of anxiety that are harder to control?
Do you experience panic symptoms (e.g. sweating, difficulty breathing, dizziness, racing heart, shaking, nausea) without a clear physical cause?
Do you spend more time than normal avoiding or easing your anxiety?
Are there people, places, or things that will consistently cause you to feel anxious?
Do you ever have to immediately leave a situation?
Are you unable to calm yourself down when feeling anxious?
Does your anxiety prevent you from doing things you enjoy?
Do you notice times that you are more restless or irritable?
Anxiety can be treated and it’s important to work with a professional to help identify an effective treatment plan for anxiety.
Treatment for anxiety can include:
- Counseling
- Medications (i.e. antidepressants, antianxiety, mood stabilizers)
- Group counseling
- Social support
- Education and empowerment
- Exposure therapy
- Stress management and reduction
- Relaxation (deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness)
- Self-talk (coaching, cognitive patterns, accepting the unknown)
- Self-care (sleep hygiene, exercise, nutrition)
If you are experiencing any symptoms of anxiety that are impacting your well-being and functioning, please connect with Lacamas Counseling for professional therapeutic support to address and alleviate your symptoms of anxiety.
Additional Resources for Anxiety:
Factsheet for Anxiety by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Anxiety Disorders by NIMH (National Institute of Mental Illness)
Mental health diagnoses of anxiety include:
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
Multiple patterns of excessive anxiety and worry that are physically experienced (i.e. feeling restless or irritable, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating) and hard to control.
PANIC DISORDER
A pattern of reoccurring panic attacks that are physical reactions in the body (i.e. sweating, dizziness, shaking, nausea, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath) to fear or anxiety.
SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER (SOCIAL PHOBIA)
Significant fear, anxiety, and avoidance of social situations in which there is the possibility of being negatively judged.
AGORAPHOBIA
Significant fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations that limit the ability to escape or be helped (e.g. public transportation, stores, bridges, enclosed spaces).
SPECIFIC PHOBIA
Significant fear and anxiety about a specific object or situation that is out of proportion to the potential danger or context.
SEPARATION ANXIETY DISORDER
A persistent and excessive worry about separation from a significant person in your life.