Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Carlstadt, NJ.

Anxiety and stress are are essential to a productive life. However, like fuel in a car. Too little or too much can cause you to stall or damage your engine. Often the things we worry about are fantasies (or nightmares) about the future. Therapy for anxiety and stress often begin with developing mindfulness based practices. These practices will help you to non-judgmentally accept the present moment, find compassion for yourself and others, and learn techniques to cope with and tolerate distress and emotional overwhelm.

Every human being faces some degree of anxiety and stress but there are times when their magnitude can become overwhelming and can rob you of your ability to function and enjoy life. Together we will explore the roots of your stress and anxiety, be they relational, job related, or from some other source. I will give you concrete strategies for dealing with them in the moment as well as helping you understand what changes you can make long term whicht will decrease your levels of stress and anxiety.

Anxiety is a signal your mind is sending to alert you of a real or perceived threat. For example, you are stressed about work: perhaps anxiety is a sign that your fear you are not good enough. There are situations in life when you need a signal so that you make the right decision at the right moment; but when anxiety is too intense, you feel paralyzed and cannot make decisions because all options seem to lead to the worst case scenario. I will help you learn from your anxiety so that you can look beyond the discomfort and understand what is the concern or fear underneath it; then we will work directly with that fear or concern.

Constant worry, recurrent thoughts that bring about fear, doubt and dread or even moments of overwhelming panic can have a powerful negative impact in your life. These experiences can compel you to engage in safety behaviors, ask others for constant reassurance, and progressively limit your life. Despite your best effort to try to cope, symptoms recur and your mind is never at ease. However, while enlisting the support of and knowledgeable therapist, you will be able to learn strategies that will allow you to regain control and experience joy. My approach uses cognitive behavioral strategies, insight oriented psychotherapy and mindfulness to help you regain the life you deserve.

Anxiety is excessive worry about negative events that you expect to happen, but are not necessarily in the cards. The worry is enough to bring on dread, panic, obsessions, compulsions, and phobias. Usually, early life experiences – perhaps forgotten or suppressed -- taught you to anticipate the worst. Together, we will bring these memories into consciousness so you can consider if they still apply to you in your current life as an adult. This will help you stay more grounded in the reality of the here and now, which can significantly reduce anxious symptoms. I will also teach you calming techniques, including mindfulness practices and self-compassion to counter anxiety when it arises.

Stress and anxiety are grounded in fear of an anticipated future. The mind makes up a scenario, suggests that it may be true and an anxiety and stress are born. Nothing has actually happened other than the mental event, yet this phenomenon accounts for the bulk of human suffering. As a therapist it is my job to help clients who tend to be anxious recognize the endless stream of stress producing conjecture as a mental phenomenon unrelated to reality. Working together we can often trace their tendency to anxiety to earlier life experiences and have them begin to see the automatic nature of their anxiety's generation - this helps them interrupt the process.

Everyone experiences anxiety at some point, but for some the anxiety is so frequent or intense that it interferes with their lives or even triggers panic attacks. I use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help my clients get a sense of control over their own anxiety. We collaborate to learn skills to reduce the frequency or intensity of the anxious feelings, to tolerate the anxiety when it does occur so they can still function through it, and to practice habits that reduce stress and improve general mental health.

Anxiety and Stress Treatment and Counseling will incorporate using CBT and DBT as well as other therapies in order lower anxiety and stress. Learning to make SMART goals and bring new changes to the day to day routine will take place. Building on strengths and taking an active part in an individualized treatment plan to achieve healthy goals. Mindfulness practices will be added to the therapy sessions.

Anxiety can take many forms, including excessive stress, low self-esteem, panic attacks, phobias and compulsions. When fear or anxiety is experienced on a daily basis it can become so familiar that it goes un-noticed until problems arise that grab our attention. These can include health problems, insomnia or feeling stuck in bad relationships. Addressing anxiety can free up your energy and enjoyment, and give you back your life.

Anxiety therapy is the first line of treatment for unhealthy anxiety. Your therapist can support you to put your mind at ease, recognize and address the patterns that may contribute to your symptoms. Anxiety therapy sessions can also help you identify coping mechanisms to manage anxiety and reclaim your life. You may feel uncomfortable or even anxious about going to therapy. You may think, “this will probably pass… maybe I should just push through it, and things will get better.” Rest assured that you are not alone. Many people have been there. But you don’t have to wait for your anxiety symptoms to get worse or to affect other areas of your life to seek help. We are here to help.

I have experience with reducing and eliminating panic attacks, curing phobias, and reducing more generalized anxiety. Anxiety can feel unbearable, and give you the sense that you are in danger. Here also looking at relationships can be very helpful to determine where your anxiety comes from, as babies aren't born believing that the world is a dangerous place. We might progress to uncovering important thoughts and feelings your anxiety may be distracting you from. "Going to university about yourself" can be instrumental in providing relief from anxiety and reassure you that you are not alone.

Helping clients get out of their head and into their body is a specialty of mine. Often times Clients are working very hard to avoid negative outcomes and I help them shift their approach to a preparedness for undesirable outcomes so that they don't have to expand so much energy trying to keep bad things from happening. The goal is increase one's capacity so that can develop the confidence that keeps them from leaning into anxious thoughts.

Stress is not only an internal problem but is evoked by environmental impingement such as family, business, and political currents. All individuals have varying levels of stress in their lives. One of the focuses of psychotherapy is to help with increasing a capacity to move through it. An enhanced capacity for imagination and creativity can be a result.