Cary Terra, LMFT

Terra Therapy can help with the many forms anxiety takes, including panic attacks, social anxiety, PTSD, OCD, anxiety attacks, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. You are not alone! If you need help in deciding if you’re a candidate for anxiety treatment, call Cary Terra, MFT for a free, 10-minute phone consultation.

Do you have an anxiety disorder?

If you identify with several of the following statements, and the feelings just won’t go away, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.

• I’m constantly on edge, mind racing
• My anxiety interferes with work, school or family responsibilities
• I have fears that I know are irrational – but I can’t shake them
• I feel bad things will happen if I don’t do things a certain way
• I avoid everyday situations or activities – they just make me too nervous
• I sometimes experience sudden attacks of heart-pounding panic
• I have this nagging sense that danger is around every corner
• My nerves are shot
• Fear has become a constant companion, even when I’ve got nothing to fear

You are not alone! San Diego anxiety treatment at Terra Therapy is rooted in a multidisciplinary approach. Cary Terra, MFT assists clients in gaining immediate relief as a first step to better functioning. Using a variety of assessment tools and interview techniques, your specific and unique experience of anxiety is determined, a treatment plan is collaborated upon, and symptom management begins.

"But how do I know if I have a treatable disorder, or are just neurotic and high-strung?"

Chances are, if you’re reading up on anxiety, your distress merits intervention. A trained therapist can help you identify whether your anxiety is a treatable condition. An unbiased and objective perspective can be crucial to accurate diagnosis; however, learning all you can about your anxiety symptoms and treatment options is a great way to increase your sense of control over this unpleasant set of symptoms. Read on for more information on signs, symptoms and treatment options for panic attacks, social anxiety, anxiety treatment symptoms and anxiety attacks.

Signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders

Did you know that anxiety disorders are a group of related conditions, not just a single disorder? They can even look very different from person to person. For instance, one individual may suffer from intense anxiety attacks that strike without warning, while another gets panicky at the thought of mingling at a party.

Someone else may struggle with a disabling fear of driving or uncontrollable, intrusive thoughts. Still another may live in a constant state of tension, worrying about anything and everything.

But despite their different forms, all anxiety disorders share one major symptom: persistent or severe fear or worry in situations where most people wouldn’t feel threatened.

Emotional symptoms of anxiety

In addition to the primary symptoms of irrational and excessive fear and worry, other typical emotional symptoms of anxiety include:

Feelings of apprehension or dread	Feelings of irritability
Difficulty concentrating	Restlessness
Feeling nervous and easily startled	Hypervigilance -watching for signs of danger
Expecting the worst	Blanking out – thoughts seem to vanish

Physical symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety is more than just a nervous feeling. As a by-product of the body’s fight-or-flight response, anxiety elicits a number of physical symptoms – so many that anxiety sufferers often mistake their disorder for a medical illness.

Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:

Pounding or racing heart	Trembling
Excessive sweating	Muscle tightness and spasms
Stomach upset	Headaches
Frequent urination or diarrhea	Fatigue
Shortness of breath	Difficulty sleeping

There's a link between anxiety and depression

Many people with anxiety disorders also suffer from depression at some point. Anxiety and depression are believed to stem from the same biological vulnerability, which may explain why they so often go hand in hand. Since depression makes anxiety worse (and vice versa), it’s important to seek treatment for both conditions.

Anxiety attacks and their symptoms

Anxiety attacks, referred to in the mental health field as panic attacks, are episodes of intense panic or fear. Anxiety attacks usually seem to occur “out of the blue”. Though sometimes there’s an obvious trigger—even watching a thriller on T.V. can sometimes be the culprit—in other cases, the attacks come without any warning.

Anxiety attacks usually peak within ten minutes, and they rarely last more than a half hour. This can be important to remember, as the fear associated with these attacks can feel like it will never end. Often the physical symptoms alone can be so scary that many people believe they’re having a heart attack. Then the attack ends, many people fail to truly feel relieved – because they worry about the next attack, which may happen in public.

Symptoms of an anxiety attack include:

Surge of overwhelming panic	Hyperventilation
Feeling of going crazy, “losing it”	Hot flashes, sweats or chills
Racing heart or chest pain	Tremor
Feeling dizzy or faint	Upset stomach or stomach pains
Difficulty breathing or feeling choked	Feeling detached or unreal

Anxiety disorders and treatment

There are six major types of anxiety disorders, each with their own distinct symptom profile: generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder.

Treatments for each form of anxiety vary, and are often tailored to meet the individual and unique needs of clients struggling with different life stressors and symptoms.

While self-help coping strategies for anxiety can be very effective, if your anxiety has become so great that it’s causing extreme distress or disrupting your daily routine, it is important to seek professional help. Call Cary Terra, MFT for an immediate call back.

It’s important to note that if you’re experiencing a lot of physical anxiety symptoms, you should start by getting a medical checkup. Why? Because some symptoms of anxiety are shared with some physical conditions, such as thyroid problems, hypoglycemia, and blood pressure modulation conditions.

Anxiety treatment options

Clients sometimes realize, after successful symptom reduction, that they have been living with anxiety for years, or even a lifetime. The good news is that anxiety disorders respond well to treatment—and often in a relatively short amount of time. While the specific treatment approach depends on the type of anxiety disorder and its severity, most anxiety disorders are treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, or some combination of the two. And new research has revealed a number of beneficial complementary treatments for anxiety. Cary Terra, MFT works with a variety of psychiatrists and holistic practitioners who offer caring and conservative care for anxiety disorders.

Cognitive-behavior therapy – As the name suggests, cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on thoughts in addition to behaviors. When used in anxiety disorder treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps you identify and challenge the negative thinking patterns and irrational beliefs that are fueling your anxiety. Sound simplistic? This therapy IS simple – and effective. Among the most effective of all research-based therapies for anxiety disorders.

Exposure therapy – In exposure therapy for anxiety disorder treatment, you confront your fears in a safe, controlled environment. Through repeated exposures, either in your imagination or in reality, to the feared object or situation, you gain a greater sense of control. As you face your fear without being harmed, your anxiety gradually diminishes.

Client-centered Talk Therapy – Change in therapy is accelerated when you trust your therapist to be engaged, responsible and empathic. Often the therapeutic relationship itself helps diminish anxiety symptoms, as trust and safety within the relationship quell fears and anxiety.

For more information on anxiety and treatment, you can visit the National Institute of Mental Health online at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

Cary Terra, MFT

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