Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in West University Place, TX.

Anxiety and stress are two things that the majority of us would like to get rid of. Life today is full of stress and it is almost impossible to get away from it, especially in the city of Houston. Anxiety in my opinion, is a normal reaction when we are about to do something uncomfortable. As soon as we realize that, we can look for ways to manage that discomfort and that is exactly what we will work on together. Self-care is a huge part of it and until you exhibit good self- care, chances are that you will feel stressed and anxious. We will work on making better decision around self-care.

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.

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.

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.

I approach counseling for anxiety and stress from a Cognitive Behavioral perspective. I think it is vital to examine the interplay among your environment, your relationships, your daily routine, your emotions, and your thoughts when it comes to treating anxiety and stress. Treatment often involves making internal or external changes to these aspects of your life. The hope is that changes to one part of your life will produce changes in the other areas.

Do people ever say to you, “Just calm down”, “Get a grip on yourself”, “You’re stressing me out!” Well, it probably means you really are stressing out too much! Stress is a normal part of life. But when stress is prolonged it can have negative affects, such as headaches, an upset stomach, heart problems and high blood pressure, or even depression or anxiety. If you are overwhelmed with stress, it’s important to know stress CAN be managed. We can help you develop coping skills and create a healthy routine and balanced lifestyle that lessen the affects of stress. We will also help you to think about life differently and keep things in perspective, so that you worry less and live more.