Do I have anxiety?
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. For example, when speaking in public, facing a major life change, or going through financial difficulty. This is normal, and while uncomfortable, usually passes without causing excessive distress. For some people, however, anxiety becomes so frequent, or so forceful, that it begins to take over their lives, causing debilitation, hopelessness, and a lot of pain.
Symptoms of anxiety include
- Feeling nervous, restless or tense.
- Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom.
- Having an increased heart rate.
- Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Dizziness
- Feeling weak or tired
- Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry.
- Racing or intrusive (unwanted) thoughts, fears, and worries
Further complicating matters is anxiety is an “invisible” syndrome, meaning no one else can see it and may even trivialize or minimize your experience of it. Think of it like this, if you had a broken leg everyone would recognize it; you would have an x-ray, wear a cast, use crutches, and receive help from others while you healed. With anxiety however, chances are you’re feeling like you’re going crazy or suffering alone. You might even experience panic attacks — a sudden sense of impending doom, accompanied by a rapid heart rate, sweating, chest pain, dizziness, and a whole suite of other symptoms that may be causing you to feel afraid to leave your home.
But there’s good news! You don’t have to live with anxiety or panic. While they have different causes, they’re both trying to tell you something. Together we will get to the bottom of these phenomena to understand why they’re showing up in your life, and what they’re trying to say, so you can move on.
Beginning to Heal
First, you’ll need a calm, safe space. In our work together, you’ll learn valuable skills in anxiety management, including the single most effective tactic to reduce and eliminate anxiety — the lost art of healing breath. I teach meditation and other self-soothing techniques to strengthen the mind-body connection and bring power to feel the balance. Most importantly, you’ll learn to recognize and calm the waves of anxiety before they sink your lifeboat. This is how you heal.
A Brighter Future
It’s likely that you’re traveling through life with some heavy things — things you didn’t even know you were carrying! Through our work together, we’ll discover and deal with the influences of anxiety and/or panic so you can begin to let go of unhelpful things and live a more peaceful life.