
Arrive
Anxiety Counseling & Stress Management
The Benefits of Anxiety Counseling in Austin, TX
Psychological ailments come in a variety of shapes and sizes and affect people all over the country. One of the most common mental health issues that my clients report struggling with is anxiety. Anxiety, if left untreated can manifest itself in a number of different ways – from official DSM diagnoses to having a few too many drinks at every happy hour or Sunday brunch. There are numerous types of counseling for anxiety available and even more benefits of seeking treatment.
Counseling modalities that are appropriate for the treatment of anxiety include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Psychotherapy (traditional talk therapy), and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). Although therapy can be strenuous at first and cost you time and money, the potential benefits far outweigh these “downsides”. Untreated anxiety can easily lead to a number of unhealthy avoidance and control strategies – think losing work, friends and relationships, excessive spending or alcohol and drug abuse. The potential benefits of therapy include developing deep and lasting coping skills, creating a compassionate and allied relationship with yourself, improving social support and relationships, finding your values and creating a life that feels rich, full and meaningful.
Here at Arrive Counseling, located in Austin, TX I can create a unique treatment plan using a combination of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), yoga supported therapy and ecotherapy, to help you create a more workable relationship to your anxiety.
If you feel like you could use some help getting a leg up on your anxiety and live around Austin, give me a call, here at Arrive Counseling. The sooner you can dive into therapy wholeheartedly, the sooner you can be on your way to cultivating the benefits listed above.
Stress Management Tools
Stress is something that we all experience. We all need a certain amount of stress to push us to get things done – this is called eustress. But when we are unable to keep our eustress at healthy levels it can spill over into damaging stress. Harmful levels of stress can show up in many different ways, negatively affecting the mind, body and spirit. Stress can feel like fatigue, overwhelm, illness, exhaustion, sadness, franticness, pain… the list goes on and on! Our ability to manage our stress levels can make or break a situation for us. If we can develop a variety of stress management tools to choose from, we increase our ability to move through difficult experiences with mindfulness, resilience and ease.
Here are some simple stress management tools that you can start practicing today:
First consider deep breathing. Deep breathing is a strategy that is often poo-pooed or overlooked, but don’t let its simplicity fool you! Our ability to cultivate slow, deep and controlled breathing patterns is directly related to the functioning of our Autonomic Nervous System, specifically the Parasympathetic Nervous System. By purposefully breathing slowly and deeply we are activating this system and basically telling our brains and bodies, “We are safe, everything is OK.”
Another strategy to try out is mindfulness – paying attention to the present moment. Often times our stress is caused by thoughts about the past or future. If we can practice pulling our minds into the present we often find that nothing is going wrong right now.
From there we can remember to incorporate other stress management tools like self-care activities (making sure we are hydrated, fed and well-rested), practicing gratitude and taking breaks (going for a jog, spending time in nature, stretching or yoga).
If you would like to learn more stress management tools and live in the Austin, TX area, come to Arrive Counseling, where you can learn the tools to help cultivate a life full of peace, love, focus, mindfulness and so much more!