“My husband can't quit thinking about our finances. We have a solid plan in place and our income is comfortable. No matter what I say, or how much money we put away, he just can't seem to stop worrying.”
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder often include worrying, worse-case scenario thinking, and perseverating (constant thoughts you can't seem to turn off). When Anxiety is at work, it may be grounded in a legitimate concern (we need enough money for retirement) but from there flawed thoughts take over and worry gets a strong-hold.
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“I look at myself and see my mother. She could never seem to make a decision. Even simple ones. It was always "maybe this would be a better choice", or "what if that doesn't work out" And now I see myself doing the same thing. Sometimes I think its smart, but other times I know.....I'm paralyzed by continuous analysis.”
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and OCD can include a perception that there is only "one right answer", when in fact there is not for most situations. And what might be a "good" decision today may be less of a good decision tomorrow. A healthy approach to decisions recognizes not all decisions will produce perfection and we can navigate through resulting challenges if needed.
Anxiety
Anxiety may be mild, moderate, or severe, but at no level is it fun to have. Clients typically report its a hardship, and are frustrated with themselves that they can't have more success over it.
Millions of Americans are plagued by Anxiety of all kinds. Generalized Anxiety is one of the more common types. OCD is also quite prevalent and has become more "popularly known" largely due to prominent artists and actors sharing their stories.
At Creekside, we know Anxiety. And we don't take lightly the fact that Anxiety can play a major role in a person's life, and the lives of those around them.
Treatment Strategy
We treat Anxiety with both compassion and with science.
First you need to know that Anxiety isn't your fault. Anxiety is not a "weakness" or failure in character.
Anxiety is most often genetic yet sometimes triggered ("turned on") by events (often in childhood, and not always understood as triggers).
That being said, managing and lessening Anxiety does take work on the part of the person who has it, if they want control over it and reduce the negative impacts it has.
At Creekside, in addition to helping you with the emotional frustration, sometimes exhaustion of Anxiety, our primary treatment strategy includes:
- Diagnosis. We want to know what type of anxiety you have (if you have it), and the severity of your Anxiety.
- Education. Knowledge is power and it couldn't be more true with Anxiety. Knowledge sharing is a key part of our process. Think of it like this .... Bob is a MoPed motorcycle racer. He races his special motorcycle off road on all kinds of dirt, rocks and torturous terrain. He enters each race knowing he may not win. But he wants to win. So what does Bob do? He practices on all types of surfaces and all types of terrain, all types of hills and turns. He tries to be ready for anything. Additionally, Bob does as much research as possible about his impending race course so that he can know as much as he can about the trail and what he'll be facing. Knowledge is power for Bob and the more knowledge Bob has the more advantage Bob has in racing successfully without injury and running the race the fastest. Going into a new MoPed course blindly and without knowledge of the twists, turns, hills, rocks, trees, and obstacles seems just ridiculous. And so it is with Anxiety. Anxiety isn't all that complicated when you find out what it is. Knowledge is the enemy of Anxiety and at Creekside we've got the knowledge to share.
- Awareness. Awareness is similar to knowledge but slightly different. Awareness in this context refers to becoming KEENLY aware of how Anxiety works for You at All times. The goal here is to not be blind-sided by Anxiety. Going back to Bob and his MoPed race again for a minute .... Awareness for Bob would be ... how his bike handles in dirt versus mud versus gravel, or how his sore shoulder causes him more problems on left turns versus right turns. With keen awareness about his bike and his body, Bob can navigate his course smarter and better.
- Tools and Strategies. These words probably speak for themselves. At Creekside we have several tools and strategies and work with you for their best application. You are unique, so our game plan needs to reflect exactly who you are, and how your Anxiety affects you. The science behind our tools and strategies is grounded in neuro science, actually. We know that all thinking patterns over time create "ruts" or "grooves" in our neuro-pathway "roads". Our tools and strategies recognize this, and support creating "new grooves and ruts" in healthier "roads".
Help is here.
If you want to know more, obtain a diagnosis, or receive treatment, contact us for an appointment.