a widespread psychological health issue, affects millions of individuals worldwide. Light Therapy For Anxiety And Depression … As an Accredited Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), I have witnessed the impact of stress and anxiety on numerous lives. In this article, I will share an in-depth exploration of anxiety through the lens of a current therapy session with a patient, highlighting signs, treatment strategies, and my personal journey as a therapist with my own experiences of anxiety Furthermore, we will discuss a research paper by Harvard University that clarifies the complex nature of stress and anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a widespread mental health issue, impacts millions of people worldwide. As a Licensed Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have actually experienced the effect of stress and anxiety on many lives.}
discussion on strengths-based biopsychosocial approaches to dealing with anxiety and while those are wonderful you understand I believed possibly we should look at you know what’s some of the present research so I went into PubMed which is I do not understand it’s play area for me it’s where you find a lot of the journal short articles and you can sort and I sorted by posts that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past five years so that provides us an idea about current research I imply there’s a great deal of things that is still the exact same like a few of the medications that were understood to work ten years earlier are still known to be you know excellent first-line treatments but there are also some newbies that we’ll discuss and there are also some modifications that we’re going to speak about so we’re going to check out some typical causes for stress and anxiety signs in order to treat it we actually need to and obviously this does play into the biopsychosocial element we truly require to understand type of what triggers it due to the fact that anxiety that’s triggered by for example somebody having a racing heart may be different than anxiety that’s caused for somebody who has abandonment problems so we’re gon na treat the two things in a different way so we wish to take a look at a few of the common causes we’re gon na look at some common triggers for anxiety you understand what are a few of these typical themes that we see in practice and I will ask you to share a few of the themes that you see that underlie a lot or highlight of your customers anxiety and identify existing best practices for anxiety management consisting of counseling interventions medications physical interventions and encouraging treatments so we care since anxiety.
can be crippling and a lot of our clients have stress and anxiety a great deal of our clients have anxiety comorbid with depression and they’re taking a look at us going how can I feel nervous and stressed and like I can’t sit still and depressed at the same time you know when you’re depressed you’re expected to want to sleep well a great deal of times individuals who are have both problems truly wish to sleep but they can’t so I want to help customers understand that likewise sometimes anxiety when people are anxious for enough time the body begins kind of holding on to the cortisol the body really recognizes at a certain point this is a losing battle I’m not going to put energy into this any longer so it begins with drawing some of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and individuals will begin to feel depressed basically the brain has currently stated this is hopeless this is you’re you’re helpless to alter the situation so then people start feeling hopeless and defenseless which is sort of the meaning if you will of anxiety low-grade chronic stress and stress and anxiety emerged energy and people’s ability to focus so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we need to help them figure out how to address stress and anxiety not just generalized overwhelming debilitating stress and anxiety but likewise panic social stress and anxiety and those minor stress and anxiety activates that occurred that may not satisfy the threshold for a diagnosis anxiety is a major trigger for addiction relapse if you have a customer who is self
medicated prior to or had an addiction for some reason stress and anxiety is a major trigger increased physical discomfort when stress and anxiety goes up people tend to tense their muscles when they tense their muscles they tend to feel more discomfort I suggest consider when you’re stressed you tend to have more pain like in your neck in your back and things that currently harmed may hurt more why because serotonin which is one of our major anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also among our significant discomfort modulators so when serotonin levels are too low because stress and anxiety is high then our discomfort understanding is going to be more acute and people can have sleep issues if you’re stressed out your body believes there’s a hazard you’re not going to be able to get into that deep relaxing sleep you may have you may sleep you may sleep a lot but it’s most likely not quality sleep which suggests your neurotransmitters might get out of whack your hormonal agents make it out of whack and your body is going to start perceiving your itself in a persistent state of tension when we’re tired the body knows that we might be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to produce cortisol to keep keep you on alert a little bit so you may once again you may be resting sort of like when you have a new infant in your home those first couple of months that my kids were home from the medical facility I slept but I didn’t sleep well I imply the tiniest little sound and I was awake and I was taking a look around and you understand I felt it I felt tired and a lot of brand-new parents do so sets off for anxiety abandonment and rejection and we’re going to speak about ways we may wish to deal with these things however a few of the underlying themes that I’ve seen in a lot of customers and when I do the research study what a great deal of what styles that come out include low self-esteem
if somebody has low self-confidence they’re seeming externally verified usually they’re searching for somebody else to tell them you’re adorable you’re all right so that can result in stress and anxiety about not having individuals to tell them you’re alright which makes their relationships rare and can make them dysfunctional illogical thoughts and cognitive distortions may lead individuals to think that if I’m not best for instance I am not lovable so we’re going to take a look at some irrational ideas and cognitive distortions unhealthy social assistances and relationships when you’re in a relationship it takes 2 to tango and even if your client is relatively psychologically and physically healthy if they are in an inefficient relationship they can fear abandonment and rejection if that other person is constantly stating if you don’t do X I’m going to leave you or if that other person is constantly cheating on them or whatever so relationships can trigger abandonment stress and anxiety and inefficient social skills can lead to relationship turmoil and social exile if our customers remain in relationships even if they’re not totally inefficient if our clients are not able to request what they require and set appropriate borders and handle dispute effectively due to the fact that dispute happens in every relationship then they might begin to argue more which may lead to fearing may result in relationships ending in the past and them going well every relationship I get into ends which indicates I must not be adorable so they start fearing abandonment and rejection so these are 4 areas that we can look at another examining clients another problem is the unknown and loss of control a lot of times unfavorable self-talk and cognitive distortions can contribute to that if I do not have control of whatever then it’s all going to be a catastrophe negative others when clients hang out or when individuals hang out with unfavorable people it kind of wears on you after a while you observe that people who are tend to be more unfavorable pessimistic conspiracy minded tend to hang out with people who are also negative cynical and conspiracy minded so if you’re hanging out with someone who tends to be anxious then the stress and anxiety can be palpable and it can kind of permeate physical complaints can lead individuals to be anxious because they do not know what’s causing it like I stated previously in some cases if your heart begins to race if you don’t know what’s causing it you can begin believing I’m having a heart attack or I’m gon na die when individuals have anxiety attack for example they genuinely believe they’re having a heart attack and
it’s I have actually had them they are extremely very unpleasant experiences however when individuals begin having physical complaints and it can be you understand they have an unusual rash that they can’t get to go away or it whatever however when they do not know what it is and they can’t control it they can’t make it disappear they begin thinking about all the worst-case scenarios and going on the internet and getting on WebMD which usually provides you all the worst-case situations um so physical grievances are important we require to normalize the reality that nobody’s pain-free all the time and you know the reality that you may have a discomfort or an ache or a swelling or a bump or you know a cough probably you understand when we look at possibility the probability of it being something considerable is pretty little now do you want to get it took a look at probably but you understand the probability that is anything to be stressed over is is reasonably little and a sense of powerlessness can set off worry of the unknown and loss of control for somebody who doesn’t feel like they have any firm in their life if they have an external locus of control or if they felt preyed on all of their life then they may fear not remaining in control they might be hanging on and saying alright this is the one location of my life I can control when I grew up you know I grew up in a very chaotic environment I had no control I was bounced around in the foster system yadda yadda yadda now that I’m an adult you understand I can manage these things and I am going to hold on with white knuckles and if I can’t control everything then that terrifies me death and loss are other triggers for stress and anxiety and it can be individuals or animals and animals are essential I don’t wish to lessen family pets since you understand they are little parts of a great deal of our households so ensuring we examine that my child’s dog for instance is it’s getting old she’s aging she’s 14 now I think and you know she’s in good health we took her to the veterinarian and the vet stated yeah she’s got a little heart whispering however that’s expected for a 14 year old canine and however when she heads out if she does not return when I call her I have this rush of stress and anxiety for a second oh my gosh I hope this wasn’t the day so anxiety around losing individuals and you understand if she when she crosses the bridge she will and and you understand
I’m fine with that I’m I have a more difficult time handling my child’s psychological chaos when that occurs and because she’s grown up with this dog so you know those are the types of things that we want to talk about with our clients what things are weighing on you that you might not even be considering because I understand in the back of my mind there’s constantly that worry about one of our donkeys and her pet dog jobs and promos can set off anxiety if people are afraid they’re gon na lose their job if they’re constantly scared that you understand they’re gon na walk in and get or get a pink slip fired you understand we want to help them take a look at how practical is that are you doing what you require to do in order to attain and keep your task and in some cases it’s hard to answer I suggest the very first thought that a great deal of us have is well you understand if you’re doing the best thing so just do it but there are those employers out there and I have actually had some really incredible employers a lot of them and I’ve had 2 actually horrendous managers and those two employers I could never I never felt like I had the ability to do anything ideal therefore going to those tasks there was always this anxiety about what I’m what am I going to get in trouble for today so you want to talk with individuals about does your task cause stress and anxiety what can you do to moderate that stress and anxiety the same thing with promos people might get distressed about whether they’re going to get promoted safety and security you understand when you lose safety and security you can feel actually anxious so if there’s a burglary at your house next door or a shooting down the road or you start seeing the news you can feel really risky and unsecure actually quickly so we wish to help individuals find out how safe and secure are you actually and a great deal of it goes back to really taking a look at truths when individuals lose their dreams and hopes or fear that they’re going to lose their dreams and hopes they can start to get nervous you understand they have this dream that they’re going to be a doctor or I just completed the discussion on assisting high school trainees shift to college and a lot of high school trainees for instance start college with these wide eyes and intends to conserve the world and they want to be doctors and engineers and this and that and they enter into it and they understand that it’s a lot harder than they thought or they recognize that you understand what I truly don’t like this however I’ve already committed to it so what do I do or I wish to assist people but I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you understand for me I determined in my second year that I wasn’t going to medical school due to the fact that I wasn’t going to pass calculus which triggered a lot of anxiety it was like fine what am I gon na do now you know what profession must I select so assisting individuals determine do you have dreams that have maybe sort of crashed and burned and you need to discover new ones you understand okay that a person we have actually got to accept it find out that it’s not going to be and what can you do now people
might likewise have dreams about relationships they get into relationships and they see themselves with this individual forever and after that this relationship ends and or starts to get rocky and they resemble but that’s my dream what takes place if my that’s got to happen due to the fact that it’s my dream I don’t know how to function if that disappears we wish to help people have the ability to reword their narrative and after that illness spiders and other phobias sort of shares death a great deal of times when people get sick they begin getting anxious that oh my gosh what if this is terminal oh my gosh what if this is you know incurable if I get bit by a spider it’s gon na kill me and which is uncommon you know there are very few spiders that are actually that harmful same thing with snakes reviewing bridges I’ve shown you all that is not one of my unreasonable fears you know I am just terrified that you understand something’s going to take place and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is completely irrational but we require to help individuals take a look at those and recognize the thoughts that they’re informing themself about those fears and deal with that stress and anxiety failure is another trigger for stress and anxiety particularly in this culture our culture American culture in in large part puts a high premium on success and perfectionism so when people realize that they’re not best they might begin to get anxious because they seem like if I’m not best then I’m a failure you know those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they start with that unfavorable self-talk you know you can’t do anything right so those are some of the issues that you know we frequently see in counseling sessions so what do we do you know someone comes in and it like I can’t live in this manner doc anxiety depression and substance conditions as well as a range of physical disorders are typically comorbid so this is the first thing we require to understand we require to understand that we’re really hardly ever dealing with a really basic medical diagnosis you know when somebody can be found in we need to find out you know if they are available in and they’re presenting with anxiety all right let’s speak about that and
Understanding Anxiety: A Client’s Experience:
In my current session with Emma (name changed for privacy), a 32-year-old woman, I had the opportunity to dive into the elaborate layers of anxiety. These symptoms were interfering with her day-to-day life, relationships, and general well-being.
Emma’s Treatment Plan:
To address Emma’s stress and anxiety, we developed a comprehensive treatment plan customized to her special needs. Here are some crucial elements of her plan:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about stress and anxiety and its physiological and psychological manifestations helped her gain a deeper understanding of her signs. This knowledge empowered her to acknowledge and verify her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based technique that focuses on determining and challenging illogical thoughts and beliefs. Emma learned to reframe unfavorable ideas and develop a more balanced point of view, slowly decreasing anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Methods: Integrating relaxation strategies such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation assisted Emma regulate her stress reaction and promote a sense of calm.
Exposure Therapy: As Emma expressed avoidance behaviors connected to certain triggers, we gradually exposed her to those circumstances in a controlled manner. This exposure allowed her to challenge her worries and establish strength against anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Lifestyle Modifications: Emma recognized the value of self-care practices in managing her stress and anxiety. She prioritized routine exercise, healthy eating, quality sleep, and engaging in activities she took pleasure in to promote general wellness.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My choice to become a therapist was deeply affected by my own struggles with anxiety. My individual journey has actually supplied me with special insights and compassion when working with clients facing comparable challenges. Having experienced anxiety firsthand, I am able to connect to my clients’ fears, worries, and the impact stress and anxiety can have on numerous aspects of life.
Harvard’s Research on Stress and anxiety:
A critical term paper entitled “Understanding the Intricacy of Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Research Study” by Harvard University supplies important insights into the intricacy of stress and anxiety disorders. The study followed a mate of people over a period of 10 years and analyzed different elements adding to the advancement, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety.
The paper highlighted that stress and anxiety disorders emerge from a combination of hereditary, ecological, and mental aspects. It highlighted the importance of early intervention, evidence-based therapies, and holistic approaches in managing stress and anxiety efficiently. The findings further highlighted the significance of a therapeutic alliance and individualized treatment strategies in resolving anxiety. Light Therapy For Anxiety And Depression
Conclusion:
Anxiety is a deeply individual and complex experience that impacts people in extensive methods. Through healing interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation methods, direct exposure treatment, and self-care practices, people like Emma can get control over their stress and anxiety and lead satisfying lives.