a prevalent mental health issue, impacts countless individuals worldwide. Existential Issues When Dealing With Anxiety For Existential Therapists … As a Licensed Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have seen the effect of anxiety on countless lives. In this short article, I will share an in-depth exploration of stress and anxiety through the lens of a current treatment session with a patient, highlighting symptoms, treatment methods, and my personal journey as a therapist with my own experiences of stress and anxiety Furthermore, we will discuss a research paper by Harvard University that sheds light on the complex nature of stress and anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a prevalent psychological health concern, affects millions of people worldwide. As a Licensed Medical Social Employee (LCSW), I have experienced the effect of stress and anxiety on numerous lives.}
presentation on strengths-based biopsychosocial approaches to dealing with anxiety and while those are terrific you know I thought possibly we ought to take a look at you understand what’s a few of the present research study so I went into PubMed which is I do not understand it’s play ground for me it’s where you find a lot of the journal posts and you can arrange and I arranged by articles that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past five years so that offers us a concept about existing research study I imply there’s a great deal of stuff that is still the very same like some of the medications that were understood to work ten years earlier are still known to be you understand good first-line treatments however there are likewise some newcomers that we’ll discuss and there are also some modifications that we’re going to discuss so we’re going to check out some typical causes for anxiety signs in order to treat it we actually require to and obviously this does play into the biopsychosocial aspect we really need to understand type of what triggers it because stress and anxiety that’s triggered by for example someone having a racing heart might be different than anxiety that’s triggered for somebody who has desertion issues so we’re gon na deal with the two things in a different way so we wish to look at a few of the typical causes we’re gon na look at some common triggers for stress and anxiety you understand what are some of these common styles that we see in practice and I will ask you to share some of the themes that you see that highlight or underlie a lot of your clients stress and anxiety and identify existing finest practices for stress and anxiety management consisting of therapy interventions medications physical interventions and supportive treatments so we care since stress and anxiety.
can be disabling and a lot of our clients have stress and anxiety a great deal of our customers have stress and anxiety comorbid with anxiety and they’re looking at us going how can I feel anxious and stressed and like I can’t sit still and depressed at the same time you understand when you’re depressed you’re supposed to want to sleep well a great deal of times people who are have both issues really wish to sleep but they can’t so I wish to help clients understand that also often anxiety when people are anxious for enough time the body starts type of hanging on to the cortisol the body really recognizes at a particular point this is a losing battle I’m not going to put energy into this anymore so it begins with drawing a few of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and individuals will start to feel depressed basically the brain has already stated this is hopeless this is you’re you’re defenseless to alter the scenario so then people begin feeling helpless and hopeless which is sort of the meaning if you will of depression low-grade chronic tension and stress and anxiety developed energy and people’s capability to concentrate so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we need to help them determine how to resolve anxiety not simply generalized overwhelming devastating stress and anxiety however likewise panic social stress and anxiety and those minor anxiety sets off that come along that may not satisfy the limit for a diagnosis anxiety is a significant trigger for dependency regression if you have a customer who is self
medicated before or had an addiction for some reason stress and anxiety is a major trigger increased physical discomfort when anxiety increases people tend to tense their muscles when they tense their muscles they tend to feel more discomfort I imply think about when you’re stressed out you tend to have more discomfort like in your neck in your back and things that currently hurt may harm more why because serotonin which is one of our significant anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also one of our significant pain modulators so when serotonin levels are too low due to the fact that anxiety is high then our pain understanding is going to be more severe and individuals can have sleep issues if you’re stressed your body thinks there’s a threat you’re not going to have the ability to enter that deep restful sleep you may have you might sleep you may sleep a lot however it’s most likely not quality sleep which suggests your neurotransmitters may get out of whack your hormonal agents make it out of whack and your body is going to start perceiving your itself in a consistent state of stress when we’re exhausted the body understands that we may be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to secrete cortisol to keep keep you on alert a bit so you may again you may be resting type of like when you have a new child in the house those very first number of months that my kids were house from the medical facility I slept however I didn’t sleep well I indicate the slightest little noise and I was awake and I was looking around and you understand I felt it I felt tired and a great deal of new parents do so activates for stress and anxiety abandonment and rejection and we’re going to talk about ways we might want to handle these things but some of the underlying themes that I’ve seen in a lot of clients and when I do the research what a great deal of what themes that come out consist of low self-confidence
if somebody has low self-confidence they’re seeming externally verified usually they’re looking for someone else to tell them you’re adorable you’re alright so that can lead to stress and anxiety about not having people to tell them you’re all right which makes their relationships rare and can make them inefficient cognitive distortions and unreasonable thoughts might lead people to think that if I’m not best for instance I am not lovable so we’re going to look at some illogical ideas and cognitive distortions unhealthy social supports and relationships when you remain in a relationship it takes 2 to tango and even if your client is relatively mentally and physically healthy if they are in a dysfunctional relationship they can fear abandonment and rejection if that other individual is constantly stating if you do not do X I’m going to leave you or if that other individual is always cheating on them or whatever so relationships can activate desertion stress and anxiety and inefficient social abilities can result in relationship turmoil and social exile if our customers are in relationships even if they’re not entirely inefficient if our clients are unable to ask for what they require and set proper boundaries and handle dispute efficiently since dispute happens in every relationship then they may start to argue more which may cause fearing may result in relationships ending in the past and them going well every relationship I enter into ends which suggests I must not be adorable so they begin fearing desertion and rejection so these are 4 areas that we can look at one more evaluating clients another problem is the unknown and loss of control a great deal of times negative self-talk and cognitive distortions can add to that if I do not have control of everything then it’s all going to be a disaster negative others when customers hang out or when people socialize with unfavorable individuals it kind of wears on you after a while you notice that individuals who are tend to be more unfavorable cynical conspiracy minded tend to hang out with people who are also negative cynical and conspiracy minded so if you’re socializing with someone who tends to be anxious then the anxiety can be palpable and it can sort of permeate physical complaints can lead people to be nervous because they don’t know what’s triggering it like I stated earlier often if your heart starts to race if you do not know what’s causing it you can begin believing I’m having a cardiovascular disease or I’m gon na die when people have anxiety attack for example they genuinely think they’re having a cardiovascular disease and
it’s I’ve had them they are very extremely unpleasant experiences but when people start having physical grievances and it can be you understand they have a weird rash that they can’t get to disappear or it whatever however when they do not understand what it is and they can’t control it they can’t make it go away they start thinking about all the worst-case situations and going online and getting on WebMD which usually gives you all the worst-case situations um so physical complaints are essential we require to normalize the truth that no one’s pain-free all the time and you know the fact that you might have an ache or a discomfort or a lump or a bump or you know a cough more than likely you understand when we take a look at possibility the probability of it being something substantial is quite little now do you want to get it had a look at most likely but you understand the probability that is anything to be stressed over is is fairly small and a sense of powerlessness can set off worry of the unknown and loss of control for someone who does not 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 being in control they may be holding on and saying fine this is the one area of my life I can manage when I grew up you know I grew up in a really 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 hang on with white knuckles and if I can’t control whatever then that frightens me death and loss are other triggers for anxiety and it can be individuals or animals and family pets are important I do not wish to decrease pets because you understand they are little parts of a lot of our families so ensuring we inspect that my child’s pet dog for instance is it’s getting old she’s growing older she’s 14 now I think and you know she’s in decent health we took her to the vet and the veterinarian stated yeah she’s got a little heart whispering but that’s anticipated for a 14 years of age pet dog and but when she heads out if she does not come back 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 know
I’m alright with that I’m I have a harder time handling my child’s emotional turmoil when that takes place and due to the fact that she’s grown up with this pet so you understand those are the kinds of things that we wish to talk about with our clients what things are weighing on you that you might not even be thinking about due to the fact that I understand in the back of my mind there’s constantly that fret about one of our donkeys and her dog jobs and promotions can trigger stress and anxiety if individuals hesitate they’re gon na lose their task if they’re always afraid that you know they’re gon na stroll in and get or get a pink slip fired you know we wish to help them take a look at how reasonable is that are you doing what you need to do in order to attain and keep your task and often it’s not easy to answer I mean the first idea that a lot of us have is well you know if you’re doing the right thing so simply do it however there are those employers out there and I have actually had some actually fantastic managers a lot of them and I’ve had 2 really horrendous managers and those 2 bosses I could never ever I never ever felt like I had the ability to do anything right and so going to those jobs there was always this anxiety about what I’m what am I going to get in trouble for today so you wish to talk with people about does your task cause stress and anxiety what can you do to moderate that anxiety the same thing with promos individuals might get distressed about whether they’re going to get promoted security and security you understand when you lose security and security you can feel really nervous so if there’s a burglary at your home next door or a shooting down the road or you start enjoying the news you can feel really unsafe and unsecure really rapidly so we want to assist individuals figure out how safe and protected are you really and a great deal of it returns to really taking a look at facts when individuals lose their dreams and hopes or fear that they’re going to lose their dreams and hopes they can begin to get nervous you know they have this dream that they’re going to be a doctor or I simply finished the presentation on assisting high school students transition to college and a lot of high school students for instance start college with these large eyes and hopes to conserve the world and they wish to be medical professionals and engineers and this and that and they get into it and they recognize that it’s a lot harder than they thought or they realize that you understand what I truly do not like this however I have actually currently committed to it so what do I do or I want to assist individuals however I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you know for me I determined in my second year that I wasn’t going to medical school since I wasn’t going to pass calculus and that caused a lot of stress and anxiety it resembled all right what am I gon na do now you know what career should I pick so helping people find out do you have dreams that have maybe sort of crashed and burned and you need to find brand-new ones you know fine that one we have actually got to accept it figure out that it’s not going to be and what can you do now people
might also have dreams about relationships they enter relationships and they see themselves with this person permanently and then this relationship ends and or starts to get rocky and they resemble however that’s my dream what happens if my that’s got to occur because it’s my dream I do not understand how to work if that goes away we wish to help individuals be able to reword their narrative and after that sickness spiders and other phobias sort of goes in with death a great deal of times when individuals get ill they begin getting nervous that oh my gosh what if this is terminal oh my gosh what if this is you understand incurable if I get bit by a spider it’s gon na kill me and which is rare you know there are extremely few spiders that are actually that harmful exact same thing with snakes going over bridges I’ve shared with you all that is not one of my unreasonable fears you understand I am just frightened that you know something’s going to take place and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is completely illogical but we require to help individuals look at those and determine the ideas that they’re telling themself about those phobias and handle that anxiety failure is another trigger for anxiety particularly in this culture our culture American culture in in large part puts a high premium on success and perfectionism so when individuals understand that they’re not perfect they might begin to get distressed because they feel like if I’m not ideal then I’m a failure you understand those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they start with that negative self-talk you know you can’t do anything right so those are some of the issues that you know we often see in therapy sessions so what do we do you understand someone is available in and it like I can’t live in this manner doc anxiety depression and compound conditions along with a range of physical conditions are often comorbid so this is the first thing we need to realize we need to understand that we’re extremely hardly ever handling a very basic medical diagnosis you know when someone is available in we require to figure out you know if they can be found in and they’re presenting with anxiety all right let’s speak about that and
Understanding Anxiety: A Client’s Experience:
In my recent session with Emma (name changed for personal privacy), a 32-year-old female, I had the chance to delve into the complex layers of stress and anxiety. Emma explained experiencing consistent concern, a racing heart, and invasive thoughts. She found it challenging to focus at work and typically felt a sense of impending doom. These symptoms were hindering her every day life, relationships, and total well-being.
Emma’s Treatment Strategy:
To address Emma’s anxiety, we developed a thorough treatment strategy tailored to her distinct needs. Here are some key elements of her strategy:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about stress and anxiety and its physiological and mental manifestations helped her gain a deeper understanding of her symptoms. This understanding empowered her to acknowledge and verify her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based method that concentrates on identifying and challenging irrational ideas and beliefs. Emma learned to reframe unfavorable thoughts and establish a more well balanced perspective, gradually reducing anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Techniques: Integrating relaxation methods such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation assisted Emma control her stress response and promote a sense of calm.
Direct exposure Therapy: As Emma revealed avoidance habits connected to particular triggers, we slowly exposed her to those circumstances in a controlled way. This direct exposure permitted her to challenge her worries and establish resilience against anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Lifestyle Adjustments: Emma recognized the significance of self-care practices in managing her anxiety. She focused on regular workout, healthy eating, quality sleep, and participating in activities she delighted in to promote general wellness.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My decision to become a therapist was deeply influenced by my own struggles with anxiety. My personal journey has actually provided me with special insights and empathy when dealing with customers dealing with similar challenges. Having actually experienced anxiety firsthand, I am able to associate with my patients’ worries, concerns, and the effect stress and anxiety can have on various elements of life.
Harvard’s Research on Anxiety:
An influential research paper entitled “Comprehending the Complexity of Stress And Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Study” by Harvard University provides important insights into the complexity of stress and anxiety conditions. The study followed a friend of people over a span of ten years and examined various factors contributing to the advancement, upkeep, and treatment of stress and anxiety.
The paper highlighted that stress and anxiety disorders emerge from a mix of genetic, environmental, and psychological aspects. It highlighted the significance of early intervention, evidence-based therapies, and holistic approaches in managing stress and anxiety efficiently. The findings further underscored the significance of a therapeutic alliance and customized treatment strategies in resolving stress and anxiety. Existential Issues When Dealing With Anxiety For Existential Therapists
Conclusion:
Stress and anxiety is a complex and deeply individual experience that affects people in profound ways. Through therapeutic interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation methods, direct exposure treatment, and self-care practices, individuals like Emma can acquire control over their stress and anxiety and lead satisfying lives.