Anxiety Therapists in Charlotte NC
All of us experience some degree of anxiety or stress from time to time.
In fact, some anxiety can actually improve our performance in the short term, but when the level of anxiety regularly interferes with the enjoyment of everyday life, it can become an Anxiety Disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
There are various kinds of anxiety conditions, of which include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, PTSD, and various phobia-related disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a number of different things. People with GAD may anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues. Individuals with GAD find it difficult to control their worry.
Some symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Order Include
- Restlessness or a feeling of always being on edge
- Becoming fatigued faster than normal
- Difficulty concentrating
- Noted irritability in situations that do not typically irritate
- Unexplained body aches such as muscle pain, headaches, or stomach incontinence
The causes of GAD may be hereditary. Fear and anxiety are controlled by parts of the brain and by biological processes. For these reasons, if you think that you may be experiencing GAD, your primary care physician may want to be certain that there isn’t a physical reason you are exhibiting symptoms by conducting a physical exam. Your primary care physician may also refer you to a mental health care professional for further treatment.
Psychotherapy (also referred to as Talk Therapy), medication, or a combination of both psychotherapy and medication, are the treatments most widely used to treat GAD. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another method used to treat GAD.
If you think you or a loved one may be showing signs of GAD, we encourage you to call Montgomery Counseling Group for a free consultation. Although the first step is usually the hardest, it gets better!
Panic Disorder
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no actual danger or apparent cause. It should be noted that not every person that experiences a panic attack will develop a panic disorder. The frequency of panic attacks may be as many as several times per day, or as little as only a couple of times per year.
A panic attack can cause a person to experience
- An inability to “catch your breath”
- Chest pain
- Heart palpitations (pounding or racing heart)
- Increased or heavy sweating
- Tingling sensations in the skin
- Uncontrollable trembling
- Feeling out of control
- Feeling that something bad is going to happen
When a person experiences a panic attack, he or she will often try to avoid certain activities, places, things, or even behaviors associated with the attack. There may also be an extreme sense of worry about when and if another attack will happen.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Sometimes referred to as social phobia, is a type of anxiety disorder that causes extreme fear in social settings. People with this disorder have trouble talking to people, meeting new people, and attending social gatherings. They fear being judged, scrutinized, or watched by others. These fears can interfere with daily activities such as work, school, or other seemingly normal activities such as grocery shopping or attending events.
Social Anxiety Disorder can cause a person to experience
- Sweating more than normal
- Flushing of the face and/or neck
- Heart palpitations (pounding or racing heart) and trembling of the body
- Having a fear that people will judge them harshly
- Being extremely self-conscious
- Being very stiff in movements and/or exhibiting “closed” body language signals
- Speaking in an unusually soft or quiet tone
- An inability to or difficulty to make eye contact with other people
- Stomach pains and cramping
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop in some people after experiencing an event that was very dangerous, scary, or shocking to them.
While it’s natural to feel fear during and even after a traumatic event, most individuals naturally recover from the event, and do not develop PTSD. Those who continue to experience fear and fear-related issues from the event, however, may be experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Individuals who are diagnosed with PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when there is no apparent danger. PTSD can also be triggered by other events, such as the unexpected death of a loved one.
Symptoms of PTSD include the following:
- Re-experiencing the trauma via flashbacks, bad dreams, and overwhelmingly frightful thoughts.
- Avoiding people, places, and things that are reminders of the trauma.
- Reactive and arousal symptoms such as always feeling on edge, being easily startled, or having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
- Mood, memory, and cognitive functioning issues such as no longer enjoying certain activities, having feelings of guilt or blaming oneself for the event, and difficulty remembering key details of the event.
PTSD can develop at any stage of life and does not always occur after involvement in a dangerous or traumatic event. Sometimes, PTSD is triggered by an event that happens to a family member or friend.
If you or a loved one is experiencing signs of PTSD, we encourage you to contact The Montgomery Counseling Group. Therapy can help to uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears, learn how to relax, look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills. It Gets Better!
Phobia-related disorders
A phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation that does not present an actual danger, or presents very little danger. A person with a phobia either tries to avoid the thing that triggers the fear or endures it with great anxiety and distress.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is typically the go-to treatment for phobias. CBT can help individuals overcome their phobias by helping them learn to gradually alter the way that they think of their phobia.
Another form of treatment is Clinical Hypnosis. Clinical hypnosis can be used as a primary or alternate approach to treat individuals with phobias, depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
When it comes to treating anxiety disorders, research shows that therapy is usually the most effective option. That’s because anxiety counseling – as opposed to anxiety medication – treats more than just symptoms of the problem.
If you feel that anxiety has taken over your life and you can no longer control it no matter how hard you try, please give us a call. You may have even already talked to a therapist before for anxiety but found it ineffective. Montgomery Counseling Group uses proven, research-based approaches that can help to uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears, helping you learn how to relax, look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.
We are confident we can help! Montgomery Counseling Group offers the most effective forms of anxiety counseling, to get the relief that you deserve.