Chicago Anxiety and Mood Disorder Counseling
People with an Anxiety disorder experience excessive worry or tension followed by catastrophic thoughts that predict the worst outcomes, even though there are no valid reasons for this concern. Random anxiety is normal, but when it begins interfering with daily life, or worse, when it begins to deteriorate your health and relationships, it is a sign for help with a therapist that can assist you find effective coping skills. A prudent preoccupation with unforeseen disasters, concerns with health, work, money, or other personal issues is actually healthy. Most individuals handle mild symptoms of Anxiety fairly well; however, when symptoms become more severe, the simplest daily activities interfere with most aspects of one’s life. Some of the symptoms of Anxiety are: fatigue, muscle tension, restlessness, irritability and edginess, health or stomach problems, shortness of breath, irritability, heart palpitations, and feeling as if you are going to pass out in the more extreme cases.
Problems with anxiety usually manifest and can morph into four distinct clinical disorders. These being; Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders or OCD, and Social Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia. While they each have their own separate identifiable characteristics, the underlying theme with all of them is an irrational fear.
Anxiety Therapy involves several different treatment modalities, the more common and effective ones being Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT and Psychotherapy which is dealing with the subconscious and unconscious nature of our fears. If the anxiety involves a previous traumatic incident, it can then be classified as a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which can also be treated with either CBT or Psychotherapy. Additionally, there are other treatment modalities such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy or Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprogramming. Whichever Anxiety Therapy you utilize and whichever therapist you decide to work with, it is paramount the pace you take in working through your anxieties is comfortable for you. In working with one of our trusted therapists, you will have the opportunity to safely explore the foundations to your anxieties and then establish a plan to work through them.