Treatment for Anxiety and Depression
When you start to feel the pull of the past {or future}, and you are helpless trying to calm unyielding storms on your own
Remember to do the best you can do while knowing and trusting: its not all up to you.
For it is okay, more than okay, to cast down your burdens and choose to believe
In healing.
- Morgan Harper Nichols
Whether or not you think you have clinical anxiety or depression, perhaps a part of you recognizes how hard it is to feel truly at ease with who you are or to even identify what your wants and needs really are. If you feel like layers have built up over the truest version of yourself and you're struggling to reconnect with that deeper sense of self, I’m here to help. Together, we can work through those layers and find a way back to the authentic, grounded, fully expressed version of you.
Treatment for Anxiety
Anxiety is like a metal detector - scanning the surface, alerting us to something buried underneath. - Michelle May, LPC
Many times, it is a new concept for people that Anxiety is NOT a feeling. Of course, anxiety comes with sensations that we feel in our body, but it is not a core emotion. Anxiety is what gets triggered when warded off feelings get activated. We ward off feelings for many reasons. Perhaps it wasn’t okay to show your anger, sadness, or even pride or joy - and so now, when these feelings arise within us, sometimes totally out of our awareness, we experience anxiety instead.
Anxiety can manifest in various ways, from racing or intrusive thoughts to physical sensations like a rapid heart rate, chest tightness, tingling, dizziness, headaches, or stomach issues. These symptoms are often rooted in deeper emotions and conditioned patterns that keep your body on high alert. I approach anxiety by helping you uncover and process these core feelings so that your mind and body can function as one relaxed, harmonious unit. Together, we’ll create space for you to experience your emotions fully, without feeling like they’re forbidden or overwhelming.
For example ~ Imagine this client and therapist interaction - See if it resonates with you (this is a made up example)
Client: I noticed a lot of anxiety after dinner with my parents the other night
Therapist: Would you like to take a look underneath the anxiety to see what got activated and get some relief ?
Client: Yes. My mom commented on what I ordered and how I should be getting “wedding ready” and its been bothering me, these little comments keep coming up
Therapist: What feelings come up towards your mom ?
Client: Oh annoyed probably, but I think she means well - she’s heard me say that my dress was snug at the last fitting, she just doesn’t want me to be disappointed, I shouldn’t be so hard on her - sometimes I think I’m just too sensitive. (client sigh’s and seems really tense in her body)
Therapist: When I asked you how you felt towards your mom for her comment, you kinda went up into your head, said you were maybe annoyed, but then turned that irritation in on yourself. Do you think turning that irritation in on you, helps you avoid the (anxiety inducing) annoyance towards your mom?
Client: Yea I could see that - she just always sticks her foot in her mouth - she doesn’t mean to be mean
Therapist: What feelings come up towards her ?
Client: If I’m honest it made me angry, but didn’t want to make a scene, ugh, here’s the anxiety again
Therapist: Now that we can see the connection between anger and anxiety would you like my help facing this feeling so that you can tolerate it being there without the anxiety ? Feelings just are, they come, they go, its always your choice in how you express yourself.
Client: YES. I want that. Even if I never say anything I want to know its okay to feel that without wasting my weekend being so anxious about it !
Therapist: Great - when we look at this example how to do feel the anger sensations physically in your body ?
Client: Oh um - I dunno - this is hard - I just feel anxious (client is balling her hands into fists and doesn’t realize it)
Therapist: If we look at those fists do you notice the power in your arms and hands ? What do you notice ?
Session would continue from here - helping the client connect with her anger in a safe way. Help her build capacity to have her feelings towards a mom who she loves, without shame, guilt, or anxiety.
Depression Treatment
Depression isn’t just emptiness; it’s the psyche’s plea to sit with what’s been unheard and untended.
When depression takes hold, it’s often a sign that parts of you are waiting to be seen, understood, and healed.
Beneath depression’s stillness or emptiness is a quiet message, asking us to turn inward and nurture the parts of us we’ve neglected
Depression often feels like a heavy fog, with symptoms such as fatigue, hopelessness, emptiness, sleep disturbances, and even a loss of identity. Together, we’ll explore the life events that may have eroded your sense of self and illuminate the thoughts, feelings, and reactions that are keeping you stuck. Through therapy, we’ll move from a state of depression toward a place of expression and empowerment, helping you reconnect with your authentic self and regain a sense of purpose and vitality in your life.