Anxiety

Anxiety is a common mental health condition characterized by excessive worry, fear, or nervousness that interferes with daily life. Symptoms can be:

  • Emotional: feelings of dread, irritability, inability to concentrate, etc.

  • Physical: panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, or muscle tension/pain, etc.

  • Behavioral: Avoiding feared situations, compulsively seeking reassurance, etc.

Several specific anxiety diagnoses include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. Each has unique diagnostic criteria but shares an overarching theme of heightened anxiety disproportionate to actual threats.

Psychotherapeutic treatment for anxiety may involve:

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps individuals identify and challenge distorted thought patterns and gradually face feared situations through exposure techniques.

  • Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which reduces stress responses to anxiety-inducing internal and external cues and also reduces aversion to the stress responses themselves.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS), which helps us identify, understand, and comfort the parts of ourselves that carry our anxiety, often with the benevolent intention of keeping us safe.

  • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) or mindfulness-based interventions, which can also be effective by fostering present-moment awareness and emotional regulation.

Some people treat anxiety using medications, including a number of antidepressants, the anxiolytic Buspar, and others, which help balance brain chemistry. For acute anxiety episodes, benzodiazepines may be prescribed but are used cautiously due to dangerous dependency risks.

Lifestyle modifications can significantly reduce anxiety. Things I have found reduce anxiety in clients:

  • Regular exercise

  • Time spent outside (especially when coupled with tech disengagement)

  • Healthier eating habits

  • Better sleep / better sleep hygiene

  • Increased socialization with others

  • The care and company of a pet

  • Mindful stress-management practices like meditation or yoga

Overall, anxiety is a highly treatable condition with a range of effective interventions. I engage in treatment with many clients from Oakland, the greater Bay Area, and beyond looking to reduce anxiety symptoms with a variety of presentations and a wide variety of causal factors.