Anxiety Therapy Illinois and Wisconsin

Your body is tense, your mind stuck in a perpetual cycle of thoughts, and the fear overwhelms you. You may be agitated, or shutdown, or cycle back and forth between these two states. When things are at their worst, you feel like you will do whatever it takes to avoid the source of your distress, whether it’s a person, a place, a thought, or an activity. Or, sometimes you may not know what is causing the dread, but you know that you need to find some way to get relief - whatever it takes.

Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety is the long-term experience of recurrent fear, worry, and/or dread, which may or may not have an identifiable cause. It is a common struggle among women who juggle multiple roles and demands in their lives, are overwhelmed with stress or burnout, have a history of trauma, or who may also experience depression. Typical symptoms of anxiety can include:

• Excessive fear and worry that is difficult to control,

• Restlessness,

• Feeling “on-edge,”

• Fatigue or feelings of exhaustion,

• Heart palpitations,

• Racing or repetitive thoughts,

• Nausea,

• Headaches,

• Difficulty thinking or concentrating,

• Anger or irritability,

• Muscle aches, tension, or soreness,

• Difficulty sleeping.

What Causes Anxiety?

While everyone experiences some anxiety in the course of daily life, an anxiety disorder is identified by a pattern of recurrent worry, fear, or dread. Both biological and environmental factors can contribute to the development of an anxiety disorder. It may have genetic roots in your family tree, or it may arise from a combination of stressful life experiences that together work to increase your alertness to potential dangers. Unfortunately, anxiety can grow worse when an individual uses unhealthy coping behaviors in an effort to control or reduce it.

Treating Anxiety

Anxiety can be successfully treated with a variety of counseling approaches, including mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy, among others. Medication, used in combination with counseling, can also be a helpful part of an individualized treatment plan.

What To Expect From Therapy

Therapy for anxiety can help you learn ways to reduce and manage symptoms and address it at its source. You will discover new tools to regain calm and focus, while also addressing the fear and overwhelm that gets you stuck. With the right combination of coping skills, lifestyle changes, and self-awareness, you can learn how to tolerate the unknowns, confront what scares you, and live life on your own terms.