Anxiety

Anxiety disorders wreak havoc on your physical and mental health. Professional support makes a significant difference in your daily life with anxiety. The team at STAT Counseling & Consulting, LLC of Helotes, Texas, provides care for phobias, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and more. Contact STAT Counseling & Consulting, LLC online or over the phone to schedule an appointment today.

What is an anxiety disorder?

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. In the right circumstances, it supports survival. Anxiety activates parts of your brain that control your “fight or flight” response, creating chemical changes in your body that prepare you to respond to a critical situation.

However, if you have an anxiety disorder, anxiety can become a problem for your physical and mental health and wellness. With anxiety disorders, false alerts cause your body to prepare for the worst when you’re safe, resulting in unneeded stress and disruption.

Your anxiety disorder may be triggered by certain situations, places, persons, or activities. Or, you may experience generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a condition involving a broad sense of dread unconnected to the real level of risk or threat present.

What are the harmful effects of anxiety?

Anxiety harms your physical and mental health in several ways. Anxiety disorders often co-occur with mental health conditions, like depression, and physical conditions, like insomnia.

Your body bears the stress of constant worry or fear associated with anxiety. Your hormonal systems become overstressed and potentially imbalanced, and your frequently-racing heartbeat may result in exhaustion. Often, people with anxiety issues also struggle with eating, healthy digestion, and regular  sleep.

Anxiety also diminishes your quality of life. Social anxiety can result in loss of social bonds and increased loneliness. GAD may interfere in your ability to hold a steady job or accomplish tasks in public places. Anxiety closes you into a falsely narrowed sense of safety.

How is anxiety treated?

Anxiety can be addressed with several approaches.

Psychotherapy helps you unpack the reasons for your anxious responses and develop new strategies for healthier approaches and is the best way to treat anxiety in the long term. 

Medication management can also reduce your anxiety symptoms. You may benefit from temporary symptom medication in combination with talk therapy to support you as you get used to a new and less anxious normal. Exposure therapy may also be needed to assist you in coping with triggering stimuli.

Biofeedback and brain-training therapies also show promise for people with anxiety disorders.

To find lasting relief from your anxiety symptoms and begin the process of expanding your anxiety-free life, contact the team at STAT Counseling & Consulting, LLC of Helotes, Texas, online or over the phone and schedule your first appointment today.