“It is much more effective to say, "Hello, Fear. How are you today?" Then you can invite the two aspects of yourself, mindfulness and fear, to shake hands as friends and become one.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

 
 
 

Therapy for Anxiety

  • Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed often?

  • Do you find your thoughts keep you stuck in the past or worrying about the future?

  • Do you feel restless and have difficulty relaxing or being in the present moment?

  • Does your stress or worrying keep you from doing or enjoying the things you want to do?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be experiencing anxiety.

You don’t have to experience this alone. No matter how long your anxiety has been going on for, there is always room for hope.

I am Hillary Thomas, LCSW and I am a private practice therapist based in West Los Angeles, CA. I work with young adults and adults who experience anxiety. If you are experiencing anxiety, therapy can help you to regain a sense of control, feel peace in your mind and body, and live life in the present moment.

 

If you are interested in therapy and ready to work together, contact me today.  You can reach out to me at: (424) 209-8856. Below are a few questions and answers about therapy for anxiety.

What can anxiety look like?

Some amount of anxiety can be helpful, like that voice that keeps you on track with work projects and deadlines, gets you out the door in time for an important event, makes you practice for an interview. Anxiety can also alert us to danger in a variety of settings and get us to slow down or proceed carefully. While this type of anxiety isn’t necessarily problematic, anxiety can grow to an overwhelming size and spill out into many areas of our lives.

Worrying can give us a false sense of control.

Unhelpful anxiety really holds us back from living the life we want to live. It gets in the way of experiencing calm, feeling enjoyment, and connecting with others.

 Anxiety can look like:

  • nervousness and excessive worrying

  • irritability

  • feeling restless or on-edge

  • sensations in your body like: racing heart, sweating, shaking, muscle tension, nausea, etc.

  • being stuck in a thought spiral (anxiety can wear a groove in your mind and make you worry about the same things over and over or in different ways)

  • poor concentration

  • negative thoughts

  • feeling on alert and unable to relax

Because of anxiety, the following responses might occur:

  • avoiding people, places, and things

  • procrastination

  • difficulty getting to sleep, changes in sleep, nightmares, and insomnia

  • stress eating, substance use, and other maladaptive coping

  • problems in friendships and relationships

It can really cause problems in all areas of your life.

 

With social anxiety, in particular, you may be missing out on making friends, dating, or building more intimate connections with friends and loved ones. It’s common too to experience performance anxiety in work or career settings and that will keep you from being able to focus on the present moment and show your best side.

Anxiety can really make us feel terrible and it’s easy to let the fear take over. 

 

Therapy is excellent treatment for taking control of anxiety. I provide therapy for adults and young adults and I would love to work with you. If you find yourself resonating with anything shared on this page about anxiety and want to feel in control again, please give me a call at: (424) 209-8856.

 

How will therapy help my anxiety?

When you feel anxiety, the next thing you do is either worrying or engaging in a behavior that allows you to escape the feeling. Sometimes we think that by worrying, we are in control – but this is a false sense of control. Worrying can actually be a way of avoiding what is truly causing you discomfort.

Our anxiety can create a cycle of thoughts in our brains that becomes like a well-worn groove. It reinforces itself. It grows bigger. It’s hard to get out of.

For example, with social anxiety you might be at a party and notice yourself feeling nervous about saying the right thing:

  • Trigger: Social setting, group conversation

  • Sensation: Feeling worried / nervous - “I bet they all think I’m uninteresting. I don’t have anything to contribute here. Maybe I’ll just go home early.”

  • Action: Removing self from the present moment.

  • Thought: “Whew, I got out of there. I don’t feel anxious now!”

  • Thought: “Why is it so hard for me to be with people? This is hopeless.”

  • Sensation: Feeling worried / anxious again.

 Therapy for anxiety is all about breaking the avoidance cycle. 

As you make progress in therapy with your anxiety, you can:

  • learn about mindfulness and other coping skills to better manage your anxious feelings

  • slowly let go of your avoidance strategies

  • discover new ways to think about fear and discomfort

  • feel encouragement and empowerment from confronting your anxiety

 

You can overcome your fears and find freedom from anxiety. You don’t have to navigate this alone. Let’s unwind your anxiety, together.

Contact me today to get started.