Anxiety By Glenn Weiss, LCSW, CADC
“I feel keyed up all the time and can’t relax.”
“I think I am going to have a heart attack or go crazy when the panic starts. Then I am afraid to go anywhere because it can happen at any time.”
“I know my fears are unrealistic but I still can’t make them stop.”
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 40 million American adults age 18 and older (about 18%) are affected by Anxiety Disorders in any given year. These disorders can be debilitating, affecting individuals physically, socially and vocationally. Anxiety Disorders may also occur along with other disorders, such as depression, alcohol dependency and other addictions, which may exacerbate or mask anxiety. While these facts may be dispiriting, the good news is that Anxiety Disorders are highly treatable.
Arbor’s counselors are adept at treating the whole range of Anxiety Disorders, using the most effective treatment approaches available today. The following are different types of anxiety that you may be experiencing and which we have experience in treating:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – involves chronic worrying about work, health, finances, family, school or many other issues.
- Panic Disorder – where you have “anxiety attacks” and suddenly feel like you are going crazy or are about to die from a heart attack.
- Agoraphobia – when you are afraid something terrible will happen if you are away from home.
- Specific Phobia – a specific intense fear of something such as spiders, blood, flying, heights, etc.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – Obsessions are repetitive, upsetting thoughts that you can’t get rid of while compulsions are the intense urge to perform certain rituals such as handwashing, counting things or arranging things in a particular way.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – when you repeatedly re-experience upsetting memories of a traumatic event, such as torture, violence, rape or death.
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder – when you feel convinced that there is something abnormal or grotesque about your appearance, even though no one else can see the defect.
Arbor clinicians will use an array of therapeutic approaches to help you understand and overcome your problem with anxiety. Approaches may include, but are not limited to:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Psychodynamic Approaches
- Finding the “hidden” emotions
- Skills Training
- Meditation
- EMDR
- Medication
- Bibliotherapy/Education