Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in West Columbia, TX.

When a person is feeling anxious or stressed, a natural, internal, drive to seek out safety, emotionally and/or physically, is triggered. This is often referred to as the "fight or flight" response. In this state of distress, people tend to react emotionally versus respond thoughtfully; sometimes with good outcomes, but many times with bad. In the horse world, we call this "run first, ask questions later". My goal in working with anxiety and stress is to help people become "first responders", not "first reactors". In slowing down the instinctive drive of "fight or flight" using a variety of self-regulation tools, along with trigger recognition, mindful outcomes can be achieved.

Anxiety can manifest in many different forms, and can deeply interfere with quality of life. Anxiety is a natural human emotion that we all experience (for some of us it is situational, and for others, it can be more generalized). When anxiety is experienced in extremes, or feels unmanageable, therapy can be a valuable resource for discovering how to better manage and cope with anxiety.

If worries plague you I would be happy to help you learn new ways to face and deal with them. Stress can be relieved in many ways, and I would be pleased to help you figure out which ways will work best for you. I will help you explore how you may have become anxious and stressed and learn useful coping mechanisms for now and ways of living that will reduce your anxiety and stress in the future.

Anxiety comes from fear. God tells us He "has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." We can access that power by making a conscious decision every day to surrender our anxiety to him. Trust God to take care of you, but also to guide you to others, including friends, clergy, and treatment professionals, who can help you walk this difficult path.

Anxiety is a normal part of life. Sometimes, however, anxiety or stress can become overwhelming and take control of your life. Anxiety can affect your thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and even physical sensations. We utilize a cognitive-behavioral approach to help you manage anxiety symptoms, change unproductive thought patterns, identify triggers, express your deeper feelings and needs, and feel more calm and relaxed.

Anxiety and stress make it impossible for you to think through immediate issues let alone work through complex interpersonal conflict and trauma. I work with my clients on mindful approaches to anxiety. It's important to utilize skills that help us relax our bodies so that our minds can come back online and work through the actual problems we face.

Anxiety is an important survival skill- but it can get out of hand! If you are thinking worst case scenario all the time or feeling nervous about little or everyday things, let me help. We can get your brain back to thinking in a more positive and realistic way. We should be anxious when something is wrong, but if nothing's wrong, you might need to re-learn how to be calm and relaxed. And if something is wrong, I believe you have the tools to handle it! I understand anxiety and where it comes from and I specialize in helping clients re-train their brain to be more balanced and reasonable. Just one session of talking over your anxieties can help immediately!

You can learn to be less anxious in one session and can learn tools you can use for the rest of your life to reduce your level of anxiety. You can learn to change your self-talk and also learn deep muscle relaxation. Stress is normal and natural, but you can learn techniques of how to minimize stress and how to handle it better. You can control your stress instead of allowing your stress to control you.

I specialize in treating adolescents and young adults with depression and anxiety. My goal is to help every client feel welcomed into therapy and leave with practical tools and insights to carry forward in life. I use a relational and present-focused approach tailored to the client's specific needs, with the goal of both symptom reduction and a greater understanding of the self and relationships.

Lake Austin Psychotherapy offers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorder as well as EMDR (Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing) to accelerate symptom relief from anxiety, stress and panic disorder. Somatic Experiencing is also incorporated to promote mind-body connections and autonomic regulation for heightened nervous system response.

While most treatment approaches for anxiety and stress are effective on the surface, they don’t treat the real problem. Mantras, deep breathing, and rational dialogues about your fear being irrational rarely work---for most people don’t believe it or you! Imagine if you can trick the brain into changing without you telling your conscious mind that you are changing it? Problem with anxiety and stress is that the brain in this state knows you want to change it and it resists. Contact Kevin@kevinfleminphd.com for the ultimate stress and anxiety solution that will literally change your brain's autonomic nervous system patterns while you sit on your butt. 877-606-6161.