Anxiety has many different faces, but it has a similar result: keeping us from leading the type of life we want. We all experience fears and worries, but for some people they can be overwhelming and debilitating. One common coping strategy is avoidance. It makes a lot of sense to avoid the things that cause unpleasant feelings. However, people get so good at avoiding that soon their whole lives are focused entirely on accommodating their anxiety. Although avoidance feels good in the short term, it often leads to feelings of isolation, loneliness, disappointment, depression, and even more anxiety. The cycle of avoiding situations and then feeling worse leads to feelings of being stuck.
The good news is that there are effective treatments that work! Whether you experience anxiety in limited situations or you have more general feelings of anxiety in lots of situations, there is hope. Sometimes this will mean learning tools to try things in a new way. In a supportive and safe environment, I can help you to break out of this destructive cycle and reclaim your life.