In person in Wichita & online across Kansas
Therapy for Anxiety & Panic
Somatic & CBT Treatment
Anxiety feels like it affects everything: your brain, your body, & your relationships….
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There’s the “what if” thoughts, the worst-case scenario thinking, getting stuck on mental loops, perfectionism, and overthinking everything. Even if you know the thoughts are exaggerated or irrational, they just keep coming like a smoke detector that just won't be silenced.
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You get an upset stomach, chest tightness, panic attacks, headaches, muscle tension, fatigue and insomnia. You might be curled up on the couch with hot chocolate, but that doesn't mean your body plans to chill! Anxiety keeps things tense and jumpy, like you felt as a small child who thought there might be a monster under the bed.
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There’s irritability, overwhelm, needing constant reassurance, people pleasing and over-controlling the details. An on-edge nervous system bleeds into relationships in all kinds of way ranging from convincing you to just stay home so you don't risk a car accident, all the way to triggering an emotional lash out at someone who really didn't deserve it (and then you feel awful, on top of the anxiety).
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can shift how anxiety affects your life and start living freer and more relaxed! Reach out today to schedule your free consultation.
How Does Anxiety Work?
Anxiety can be due to a nervous system stuck on hypervigilant mode, scanning for what will go wrong next.
Your brain didn't get there by accident – it got there because things have gone wrong before!
The human brain is wired to pay close attention to everything that helps us survive and once it decides that obsessively scanning the world for things that could go bad is helping you survive, it plans to keep that anxiety revved up because it wants you to keep surviving!
What began as a little useful anxiety in a difficult situation becomes a lot of anxiety, all the time and in all the situations. Now, even when things are going great, your body is still braced and your brain is scanning for disaster.
Anxiety pops up in a lot of forms. You may be experiencing it in one of these ways:
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Feeling terrified of situations that might put you on the spot socially
Sweaty palms when you think about having to give a presentation at work
Saying no to social events because your mind might go blank if a stranger chats you up
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Intense fear of a particular object, place or animal
Driving a long way to avoid airplanes because flying is terrifying
Not getting medical care you need because it’s too frightening
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Overthinking and anticipating what could go wrong - to the point that other people are rolling their eyes at you
Feeling constantly “on edge” and unable to relax
Lying awake at night replaying conversations or spiraling on worries you can’t turn off
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Panic attacks that you keep going to the emergency room for because they really do feel like you are dying
Starting to organize your life around trying to prevent more panic attacks
Being vigilant about every body sensation, always watching for the next panic attack
Somatic & Cognitive Anxiety Treatment in Wichita, KS
Anxiety treatment isn't about getting rid of fear or sternly charging yourself to “just calm down already!” (If someone has ever said that to you in the middle of a panic attack, you already know how useless it is.) Effective treatment starts with compassionately understanding why your nervous system is doing what it's doing and then working with your system.
Effective anxiety treatment is also tailored to you as an individual. Not everyone has the same kind of anxiety:
some people have a very cognitive experience of anxiety with specific worries they can verbalize
some people have a very somatic experience of anxiety where they don't exactly “worry” but their body feels chronically braced and tense
Through therapy you'll learn to identify your own pattern of anxiety. Anxiety treatment begins with practical tools that support change and your nervous system’s step down from hypervigilance. Therapy offers a space to slow down, make sense of what's happening inside of you and practice new responses with guidance and support.
Anxiety is a natural, protective brain wiring that started working overtime for some reason. In addition to practical tools, we can trace today’s symptoms back to their roots in other experiences. Maybe your anxiety revved up after a traumatic experience. Maybe you learned it in a difficult relationship. Maybe it was taught to you by an anxious family culture or given to you by a chronic stressor in your environment. There are a lot of possible paths toward anxiety becoming important to your brain.
But as your nervous system learns that it is safe to relax now, the tools you’re gaining will become easier to use. Reach out today to schedule your free consultation and talk about what therapy for anxiety could do for you!
When Anxiety No Longer Rules Your Life
Imagine your life with anxiety taking up less space. Your thoughts are clearer and less urgent. Sleep comes easier and stays longer. Breath feels fuller and deeper. Conversations can be had without being replayed over and over afterward. Curiosity and playfulness emerge. Friendships are calmer and more authentic. Boundaries are easier to set and communication feels less overwhelming. Decision-making is less fraught and choices feel less catastrophic. Imperfections don't make you spiral and uncertainty doesn't make you feel on edge.
You're just... okay. Ordinary moments feel good. Your mind can settle and your body can relax. You can drink that cup of coffee and savor it, and you can chat with a friend without spiraling. A new sense of peacefulness allows you to soak up the small beautiful moments that anxiety used to drown out. You feel at home with yourself.
Anxiety doesn’t have to keep being the tone-setter of your life. Reach out today to talk about anxiety treatment for you!
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