THERAPIST CORNER

It’s Normal to Feel Anxious Before Your First Session Making the decision to see a therapist is a huge step towards improving your mental health. It shows that you are willing to make choices to improve your situation. While going to therapy is beneficial to your mental health, that doesn’t mean you have to be completely comfortable going. Seeing a therapist for the first time can create a lot of anxiety towards therapy in general, especially if you have no experience interacting with a therapist. But you should know that these feelings are normal. Even though you may have agreed to go, it does not mean your anxiety towards therapy goes away. These initial interactions can make you feel uncomfortable. After all, you have to share not only information about what you are struggling with but also basic information about your entire life. Your therapist will ask about your family, career, close friends, romantic relationships, background, and much more. Revealing all of this information to a stranger is daunting. A fear many people have before their first session is if they are going to like their therapist or not. If not, they will have to go through this process all…

Consuming Caffeine Leads to Mimicked Anxiety Symptoms Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the entire world. In fact, about 85% of the American population consumes caffeine in one way or another every day. Caffeine is an extremely powerful stimulant. It keeps you alert and energized, but it can also have adverse reactions. Too much caffeine consumption can lead to increased anxiety or worsen existing anxiety disorders. According to the Nation Institute of Mental Health, roughly 31% of U.S. adults experience some form of anxiety disorder throughout their life. Because of this, caffeine can lead to worsened anxiety symptoms. Correlation Between Caffeine and Anxiety When consumed, caffeine encourages the body to release the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol leads your body to experience a stress response. These responses are synonymous with feelings of anxiety and panic, making you feel on edge. To further prove this connection between anxiety and caffeine, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association’s guide to help healthcare professionals diagnose mental disorders, currently includes four caffeine-related disorders: Caffeine intoxication Caffeine withdrawal Unspecified caffeine-related disorder Other caffeine-induced disorders (anxiety disorder, sleep disorder) Symptoms Anxiety is our body’s response to situations that are…

Almost everyone experiences anxiety every once in a while throughout their lives, whether it is before a big job interview, when you are having financial troubles, or when you are speaking in front a large group of people. In fact, anxiety here and there when stressful events arise is quite normal. However, it is quite different if your anxiety is something that affects your daily as well as affects your quality of life. If you find that many events accompany your anxiety, that your anxiety becomes bigger than what you are facing, or that your anxiety is interfering with activities such as your job performance, relationships, or school work, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are often accompanied by frequent, persistent, and excessive worry and fear over everyday circumstances. When the worry and fear set in, occasionally, it can escalate quickly and even turn into a full-on panic attack. A few examples of common anxiety disorders include: Generalized anxiety disorder Separation anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (or social phobia) Specific phobias While anxiety disorders can present struggles in day-to-day life, they can be managed with the help of a medical professional. If you think you may…

When your child is experiencing anxiety, stress, or depression, it can be extremely difficult for you as a parent. Many parents are surprised in finding out just how young children can begin experiencing bouts of anxiety. Knowing how to address your child’s mental stress and pain can seem foreign, and of course, as a parent, all you want to do is help. Although it can be tolling, trying to understand your child’s mental health is of utmost importance, as well as knowing how you should address it. While you cannot shield your child from experiencing anxiety, you can take steps to help them learn how to manage it. #1 Keep Calm It is important to not display anxiousness and worry yourself when your child is feeling bouts of anxiety or stress. This will only encourage and increase the negative and scary thoughts your child is feeling. Children learn how to behave and how to react from observing how their parents behave and react. Make sure to always do your best to set a good example in front of your child in terms of reacting to certain situations as they will learn to cope partly from watching how you cope. #2…

Anxiety is one of the most commonly suffered feelings and/or disorders among people in the United States. While some feelings of anxiety here and there are completely normal and experienced by most of us, urgent and often feelings of anxiety every day are not considered healthy and could be an indicator of an anxiety disorder. Chronic anxiety and worrying has a hugely negative toll on the quality of one’s life. It can interfere with your appetite, your relationships, your work performance, your sleep, your overall health, and the overall quality of your life. Often excessive worrying and anxiety leads to other negative behaviors in an attempt to relive one’s stress, such as over-consumption of alcohol, overeating, smoking of cigarettes, drugs, or taking it out on one’s loved family and friends. It is important to recognize whether or not you are suffering from an anxiety disorder that is affecting your life, and if so, it is best for your current and future health that you consider seeing an anxiety therapist in DFW. What is anxiety? Anxiety is a reaction to stress, and is normal amongst all humans. However, ongoing or continuous underlying anxiety could be due to a disorder such as…

If you are an adult in the working world, it is highly likely that you have had to try and learn to cope with the stress that comes alongside many careers, at least at some point in time. Although work stress may be all too normal, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn how to properly cope with it or overcome it. If you continue to just let the stress eat away at you, it is likely that this stress can develop into chronic stress, which can develop into long-term anxiety. It is important to note, that whether or not you previously have suffered from anxiety or have begun to develop it, living with anxiety without the necessary tools or motivation to overcome it can be dangerous for your health. When it comes to facing your anxiety, it is important that you do just that, face it. In order to conquer it, you will need to learn to embody a new mindset. So, let’s go over some tips that you can use to practice dealing with anxiety at work… #1 Don’t work against your anxiety Trying to suppress your anxiety can sometimes make it worse and more overwhelming because the…

The holidays are a stressful time of year for many, especially those who are susceptible to bouts of anxiety and depression. While the holidays are filled with family get-togethers, delicious food, and cheer, they can also be quite stressful. People often resort to bad habits when the holidays hit, something which many pay for once the merry season is over. There are numerous reasons for this, but for one, people tend to experience heightened emotions during the holidays. These emotions can be both good and bad – ranging from loneliness and angst to happiness and elation. This juxtaposition of emotions can wreak havoc on the mind and body, which is why it is important to learn how to manage your anxiety during this busy time of year. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), almost half of all women in the United States experience high levels of stress during the holidays. This doesn’t just impact how they are feeling day-to-day, but it can put their health at risk. Unfortunately, many people turn to food and alcohol when stress levels are high. While this may seem like a good way to “take the edge off”, it can actually do more harm…