Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Gardendale, AL.

Anxiety and Stress (along with Depression)is what I call the "Terrible Twos/Threes". They all work in a chronic symbiotic relationship. In our time together I will work the client to identify roots/triggers that bring on anxious thoughts and helping the client develop coping skills as well as avenues for better self care as the client navigates this rapidly changing world.

As we encounter forces destructive to our individuality or actual threats to our being, our nervous system records this as anxiety. In the here and now, anxiety is meant to alert us to threats. At that moment of anxiety, you may want to fight, flee. or find yourself in paralysis. Later, other things may remind us of that threat. Our work is to normalize the anxiety of the earlier threats and more fully distinguish between then and now. Stress for me is the amount of subtle and covert threats you have encountered through out your life.

Dealing with anxiety and stress can be difficult, especially when they are related to events and persons who are important to us. One of my mentors emphasized that the body doesn't know the difference between anxiety and excitement. The physical response is similar -- a sense of being stimulated. We need to label the emotional feelings that our body is expressing. Having "named" them, we can learn ways of dealing with them. We need someone to help us figure out what creates the tension. There are a number of ways to deal with anxiety and stress. As a counselor, I offer the opportunity to learn and practice them. Sometimes the intensity of anxiety is such that medication is also needed.