a prevalent mental health issue, impacts countless individuals worldwide. Therapist Aid Anxiety Hierarchy … As a Licensed Medical Social Worker (LCSW), I have experienced the impact of anxiety on numerous lives. In this short article, I will share an extensive exploration of anxiety through the lens of a recent treatment session with a patient, highlighting symptoms, treatment strategies, and my personal journey as a therapist with my own experiences of anxiety Additionally, we will go over a term paper by Harvard University that sheds light on the multifaceted nature of stress and anxiety.|Stress and anxiety, a widespread psychological health issue, impacts millions of people worldwide. As an Accredited Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), I have actually witnessed the impact of anxiety on numerous lives.}
presentation on strengths-based biopsychosocial techniques to dealing with anxiety and while those are terrific you understand I believed maybe we should look at you know what’s a few of the existing research study so I entered into PubMed which is I don’t know it’s play ground for me it’s where you discover a great deal of the journal short articles and you can sort and I sorted by short articles that were done and meta-analyses that were done within the past five years so that provides us an idea about existing research I indicate there’s a lot of things that is still the very same like some of the medications that were known to work 10 years ago are still understood to be you understand good first-line treatments however there are also some beginners that we’ll discuss and there are also some changes that we’re going to talk about so we’re going to explore some common causes for stress and anxiety signs in order to treat it we truly need to and of course this does play into the biopsychosocial aspect we really need to understand type of what triggers it due to the fact that stress and anxiety that’s triggered by for example someone having a racing heart may be various than stress and anxiety that’s caused for someone who has abandonment problems so we’re gon na treat the two things differently so we want to look at some of the typical causes we’re gon na look at some common triggers for stress and anxiety you know what are some of these typical styles that we see in practice and I will ask you to share a few of the styles that you see that highlight or underlie a lot of your clients anxiety and recognize existing best practices for anxiety management including therapy interventions medications physical interventions and helpful treatments so we care since stress and anxiety.
can be incapacitating and a lot of our customers have stress and anxiety a lot of our customers have stress and anxiety comorbid with anxiety and they’re looking 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 lot of times people who are have both problems actually wish to sleep but they can’t so I wish to assist clients comprehend that likewise sometimes stress and anxiety when people are anxious for enough time the body begins sort of hanging on to the cortisol the body actually acknowledges at a particular point this is a losing battle I’m not going to put energy into this any longer so it starts with drawing some of its excitatory neurotransmitter so to speak and people will start to feel depressed basically the brain has actually currently stated this is hopeless this is you’re you’re powerless to alter the situation so then people start feeling defenseless and hopeless which is sort of the definition if you will of anxiety low-grade persistent stress and stress and anxiety occurred energy and people’s ability to concentrate so if we’re going to help them become their uber selves we require to help them find out how to resolve anxiety not simply generalized frustrating debilitating stress and anxiety but also panic social stress and anxiety and those minor stress and anxiety sets off that occurred that might not meet the threshold for a diagnosis anxiety is a significant trigger for dependency relapse if you have a client 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 increases 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 hurt might harm more why because serotonin which is one of our significant anti-anxiety neurotransmitters is also one of our significant discomfort modulators so when serotonin levels are too low since stress and anxiety is high then our pain perception is going to be more intense and people can have sleep issues if you’re stressed out your body thinks there’s a threat you’re not going to be able to get into that deep relaxing sleep you might have you might sleep you might sleep a lot but it’s most likely not quality sleep which implies your neurotransmitters may leave whack your hormones make it out of whack and your body is going to start viewing your itself in a relentless state of tension when we’re exhausted the body understands that we might be the weakest link in the herd so it continues to secrete cortisol to keep keep you on alert a little bit so you may once again you may be resting kind of like when you have a new infant in the house those first couple of months that my kids were home from the hospital I slept however I didn’t sleep well I suggest the smallest little noise and I was awake and I was taking a look around and you understand I felt it I felt tired and a great deal of brand-new moms and dads do so triggers for stress and anxiety abandonment and rejection and we’re going to talk about methods we may wish to handle these things but a few of the underlying themes that I’ve seen in a great deal of customers and when I do the research study what a great deal of what styles that come out consist of low self-confidence
if someone has low self-confidence they’re seeming externally validated usually they’re trying to find somebody else to tell them you’re adorable you’re fine so that can result in anxiety about not having people to tell them you’re alright that makes their relationships rare and can make them dysfunctional cognitive distortions and unreasonable thoughts might lead people to think that if I’m not perfect for instance I am not lovable so we’re going to look at some irrational ideas and cognitive distortions unhealthy social assistances and relationships when you’re in a relationship it takes two 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 individual is constantly saying if you do not do X I’m going to leave you or if that other person is always cheating on them or whatever so relationships can trigger abandonment stress and anxiety and inefficient social abilities can lead to relationship turmoil and social exile if our customers are in relationships even if they’re not completely dysfunctional if our clients are unable to request what they require and set appropriate boundaries and handle dispute efficiently since dispute takes place in every relationship then they might begin to argue more which might result in fearing might cause relationships ending in the past and them working out every relationship I enter ends which implies I need to not be adorable so they begin fearing desertion and rejection so these are four 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 contribute to that if I don’t have control of everything then it’s all going to be a catastrophe unfavorable others when clients hang out or when individuals hang out with negative people it sort of endures you after a while you observe that individuals who are tend to be more negative pessimistic conspiracy minded tend to hang out with individuals who are also negative pessimistic and conspiracy minded so if you’re socializing with someone who tends to be nervous then the stress and anxiety can be palpable and it can kind of penetrate physical problems can lead people to be anxious due to the fact that they do not know what’s causing it like I stated previously sometimes if your heart begins to race if you do not understand what’s triggering it you can start thinking I’m having a cardiovascular disease or I’m gon na pass away when individuals have panic attacks for instance they truly think they’re having a cardiovascular disease and
it’s I’ve had them they are really very unpleasant experiences however when individuals start having physical complaints and it can be you know they have an odd rash that they can’t get to disappear or it whatever but when they don’t understand what it is and they can’t control it they can’t make it disappear they start thinking about all the worst-case scenarios and browsing the web and getting on WebMD which generally gives you all the worst-case scenarios um so physical grievances are very important we require to stabilize the truth that nobody’s pain-free all the time and you know the reality that you might have a discomfort or a pains or a swelling or a bump or you know a cough more than likely you understand when we look at possibility the likelihood of it being something significant is pretty little now do you want to get it took a look at most likely however you understand the likelihood that is anything to be worried about is is reasonably little and a sense of powerlessness can trigger worry of the unknown and loss of control for somebody who does not seem like they have any company 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 holding on and saying alright this is the one location of my life I can manage when I matured you know I grew up in a really disorderly environment I had no control I was bounced around in the foster system yadda yadda yadda now that I’m an adult you know I can manage these things and I am going to hang on with white knuckles and if I can’t manage whatever then that terrifies me death and loss are other triggers for stress and anxiety and it can be pets or individuals and pets are important I don’t want to lessen animals since you know they are little parts of a lot of our families so making certain we examine that my child’s canine for instance is it’s getting old she’s growing older she’s 14 now I believe and you know she remains in decent health we took her to the veterinarian and the veterinarian stated yeah she’s got a little heart murmur but that’s expected for a 14 years of age pet dog and but when she goes 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 okay with that I’m I have a more difficult time handling my daughter’s emotional chaos when that happens and due to the fact that she’s matured with this dog so you understand those are the types of things that we wish to discuss with our customers what things are weighing on you that you might not even be considering since I understand in the back of my mind there’s always that stress over one of our donkeys and her pet tasks and promos can trigger stress and anxiety if people hesitate they’re gon na lose their job if they’re always afraid that you know they’re gon na stroll in and get a pink slip or get fired you understand we want to help them take a look at how reasonable is that are you doing what you require to do in order to accomplish and keep your task and in some cases it’s challenging to answer I imply the first idea that a lot of us have is well you understand if you’re doing the ideal thing so just do it however there are those managers out there and I’ve had some really fantastic managers a great deal of them and I’ve had 2 truly horrendous managers and those two employers I could never I never ever seemed like I had the ability to do anything ideal therefore going to those jobs there was constantly 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 anxiety what can you do to moderate that stress and anxiety the very same thing with promos individuals might get nervous about whether they’re going to get promoted safety and security you understand when you lose safety and security you can feel actually 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 very unsafe and unsecure actually quickly so we wish to help people find out how safe and secure are you truly and a lot of it goes back to actually looking at truths when people lose their dreams and hopes or fear that they’re going to lose their dreams and hopes they can begin to get anxious you know they have this dream that they’re going to be a physician or I just finished the discussion on helping high school trainees transition to college and a lot of high school trainees for example start college with these wide eyes and wants to conserve the world and they wish to be doctors and engineers and this and that and they get into it and they realize that it’s a lot more difficult than they thought or they understand that you understand what I truly don’t like this but I’ve already committed to it so what do I do or I want to help individuals however I can’t I can’t cut it doing this you know for me I determined in my 2nd year that I wasn’t going to medical school due to the fact that I wasn’t going to pass calculus which triggered a great deal of anxiety it resembled fine what am I gon na do now you understand what profession ought to I select so assisting individuals figure out do you have dreams that have possibly sort of crashed and burned and you have to find brand-new ones you understand alright that a person we have actually got to accept it figure out that it’s not going to be and what can you do now individuals
might likewise have dreams about relationships they enter into relationships and they see themselves with this individual permanently and then this relationship ends and or starts to get rocky and they’re like but 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 disappears we want to assist people be able to rewrite their narrative and after that sickness spiders and other phobias sort of shares death a great deal of times when people get sick they start getting nervous 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 unusual you understand there are really few spiders that are in fact that harmful very same thing with snakes discussing bridges I have actually shared with you all that is not one of my unreasonable fears you know I am simply frightened that you understand something’s going to happen and I’m going to get pushed off the side of the bridge which is entirely unreasonable however we need to help people look at those and determine the ideas that they’re informing themself about those fears and handle that anxiety failure is another trigger for anxiety particularly in this culture our culture American culture in in big part puts a high premium on success and perfectionism so when people realize that they’re not best they might start to get distressed due to the fact that they feel like if I’m not ideal then I’m a failure you know those cognitive distortions of all-or-nothing thinking and they start with that negative self-talk you understand you can’t do anything right so those are some of the concerns that you know we typically see in counseling sessions so what do we do you know somebody is available in and it like I can’t live by doing this doc stress and anxiety depression and compound conditions as well as a variety of physical conditions are frequently comorbid so this is the first thing we need to recognize we need to realize that we’re very hardly ever handling a very easy medical diagnosis you understand when someone can be found in we require to find out you understand if they can be found in and they’re presenting with anxiety all right let’s talk about that and
Understanding Stress And Anxiety: A Client’s Experience:
In my current session with Emma (name changed for privacy), a 32-year-old lady, I had the opportunity to explore the complex layers of anxiety. Emma described experiencing consistent concern, a racing heart, and invasive ideas. She found it challenging to focus at work and typically felt a sense of impending doom. These symptoms were interfering with her daily life, relationships, and overall wellness.
Emma’s Treatment Plan:
To attend to Emma’s anxiety, we established a comprehensive treatment strategy tailored to her unique needs. Here are some crucial elements of her plan:
Psychoeducation: Educating Emma about stress and anxiety and its mental and physiological symptoms assisted her gain a much deeper understanding of her signs. This knowledge empowered her to acknowledge and validate her experiences.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is an evidence-based technique that focuses on determining and challenging unreasonable thoughts and beliefs. Emma discovered to reframe negative ideas and develop a more balanced viewpoint, gradually lowering anxiety-triggering cognitions.
Relaxation Strategies: Including relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness meditation helped Emma manage her stress reaction and promote a sense of calm.
Direct exposure Therapy: As Emma revealed avoidance behaviors associated with certain triggers, we slowly exposed her to those situations in a regulated way. This direct exposure permitted her to face her fears and establish strength against anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Self-Care and Way Of Life Adjustments: Emma acknowledged the value of self-care practices in handling her anxiety. She prioritized routine workout, healthy eating, quality sleep, and engaging in activities she delighted in to promote overall well-being.
My Journey as a Therapist:
My choice to become a therapist was deeply influenced by my own struggles with stress and anxiety. My personal journey has supplied me with unique insights and compassion when working with customers dealing with similar obstacles. Having experienced stress and anxiety firsthand, I am able to connect to my patients’ fears, concerns, and the effect stress and anxiety can have on various aspects of life.
Harvard’s Research on Anxiety:
A critical term paper entitled “Understanding the Intricacy of Stress And Anxiety: Insights from a Longitudinal Research Study” by Harvard University supplies valuable insights into the complexity of stress and anxiety conditions. The research study followed a friend of people over a span of 10 years and analyzed numerous elements contributing to the development, maintenance, and treatment of stress and anxiety.
The paper highlighted that anxiety disorders occur from a mix of genetic, environmental, and mental factors. It highlighted the significance of early intervention, evidence-based therapies, and holistic methods in managing stress and anxiety successfully. The findings further underscored the significance of a healing alliance and individualized treatment strategies in attending to anxiety. Therapist Aid Anxiety Hierarchy
Conclusion:
Stress and anxiety is a diverse and deeply individual experience that affects people in profound ways. Through therapeutic interventions like psychoeducation, CBT, relaxation strategies, exposure therapy, and self-care practices, individuals like Emma can get control over their anxiety and lead fulfilling lives.