Overcome Anxiety
“I can’t focus, I can’t slow down.” Your mind is racing, and it’s difficult to stay focused or calm. You have trouble falling asleep, and wake up with dread. You wish you could rest, could take a deep breath and feel calm. That’s where anxiety gets in the way. While low amounts of anxiety helps us stay productive, many of us instead feel overburdened with anxiety. We’re restless and worried about what’s happening inside us.
Anxiety can come with shame, like there’s something “wrong” with us, like we’re overreacting. Let’s take a moment to understand what happens for many of us when we struggle with anxiety.
Connor McClenahan, Psy.D
Send me an email
so we can set up an initial free consultation
Traumatic wounds
What we may not know is the anxiety we experience in our day-to-day lives is often the result the way we learned to connect and relate to others.
Our minds and emotions are formed by our earliest relationships. A newborn baby first opens her eyes and reaches out, searching for connection. It’s this close presence with caregivers that will help her feel secure, grounded, and loved.
Many of us, however, were met with a parent who was too preoccupied to recognize our need to connect, and too anxious to recognize our experience. We learned that care is not freely given, but has to be earned. That vital sense of grounded-ness was stunted, leaving us anxious and alone.
These traumatic patterns in our earliest relationships become templates for how we experience ourselves and relationships today. Because of this, anxiety is more than an “emotion”. It’s what happens when we begin to fear that we are, again, alone and without help.
Healing is possible.
Amazingly, our minds are made to heal in a safe relationship. This is why psychotherapy is helpful. More than insight or advice, psychotherapy is a new kind of relationship that both resolves old traumatic patterns and resumes life-giving patterns of connection. This process helps us feel grounded, secure, and capable of handling life’s difficulties.
I can help.
A more present, connected, and full life is possible for you. But reaching out for help is difficult. It can feel scary to take the first step toward growth. It’s easier to put it off, because we don’t know what change will mean for us.
I want to encourage you – help is not far away. Send me an email and let’s set up an initial consultation to move you forward. In the consultation, we’ll talk about:
where you are in your life right now
what you’re needing
how I can help
