Anxiety and Depression

Analysis paralysis…

You always prided yourself on being able to think through any problem.

Now you aren’t satisfied even when you split that hair a hundred ways. There are so many what-ifs that you can’t seem to make even simple decisions. Your wife completed the shopping while you were staring at the cereal boxes.

So many things are going on inside your head that it is getting harder to leave the house. You try, but more and more, you turn around and go back in before you get to the car.

You’re grateful to work remotely, but your boss is discussing a hybrid model that leaves you in a cold sweat.

Your wife is getting sick of your anxiety, and you fear she might leave. You don’t want to live like this anymore. The dark thoughts are showing up alongside the what-ifs.

And when you also struggle with depression…

You feel like you’re waist-deep in the mud, sinking… with no way out.

It’s hard to get out of bed, so… you don’t.

The dishes are piling. The laundry is piling, and dust bunnies… more like dust dragons.

Everything is suffering – work, friends, family, and most of all… you.

People keep telling you what you need to do. They don’t understand that is not the problem.

The problem is finding the energy, hell, the desire to do it. It’s not that you don’t love a clean home or spending time with friends and family. It’s getting there when you can’t even imagine starting.

On your worst days, you wish the world would stop turning.

Everyone gets worried or hopeless from time to time.

I tend not to think of anxiety and depression as “symptoms.”

To me, what’s important is that you know how to manage these experiences as they arise. Otherwise, these moods take over, as you know, or you wouldn’t be here.

Learning to access the unconscious material giving rise to these experiences is even more important.

Most of the time, the formula that creates anxiety is simple.

You overestimate some future threats and underestimate your ability to deal with those threats. I wish understanding this formula could free you, but it won’t. You have to repeatedly apply the formula if you’re going to extinguish the fires of your anxiety.

Mindfulness tools to increase your coping abilities…

We’ll start in the first session. You will learn breathing techniques backed by neuroscience and evolutionary biology. By practicing progressive muscle relaxation, you can master unpleasant body sensations.

Cognitive skills to balance your thoughts about threats…

Cognitive therapy offers a powerful tool to rewire our brains, the daily thought record. It may seem complicated initially, but we’ll do it together. I’ll break it down into bite-sized pieces, and soon you’ll use it to create the healthiest thought patterns.

Inner work to help you discover and pull the roots of your anxiety…

At the same time, we will reveal the inner patterns that created your anxiety. We will be able to name the parts of you that drive the problem and better come into a relationship with the part that always has the best solution to any challenge, sometimes called the Self or Psyche.

The key to treating depression is giving you hope.

One of the hallmarks of depression is hopelessness.

Right now, you can get better, but pulling yourself completely out of the mud is nearly impossible.

That’s why you need a helping hand. Together, we can have you standing on firm ground.

Mindfulness tools relieve you by separating your best self from your depression.

I’ll teach you a simple meditation technique that helps create some space between you and your thoughts. That might not make a lot of sense on the surface. Actually, it is one of those things that you have to experience to understand fully.

Can you imagine trying to tell someone about the experience of watching a beautiful sunset? So, yeah, you’ll have to experience it to understand it.

Cognitive skills will take a glimmer of hope and make it brighter.

You can start one of the simplest skills right now, the gratitude journal. Our brains sift the world for evidence to support our beliefs. When you’re depressed, your brain looks for reasons to be hopeless. The gratitude journal, where you write down three things you’re grateful for daily, inserts a different filter in your brain.

One client had been almost entirely bedridden for over a year and was working on her gratitude journal. Her toddler came into her bedroom and asked what she was doing. He joined her, and she learned how grateful he was for her. This buoyed her spirits enough to join her family for dinner that night. A new habit was formed, with everyone in the family sharing something they were grateful for each night with dinner. That was her start to a full recovery from depression!

There are other skills, but gratitude is a great place to start.

Exploring the unconscious drivers of your depression will uncover your untapped resources.

Beneath those depressive thoughts and feelings lies a largely unknown world inside you. As we learn about that world, you will understand how these parts have come together to keep you locked in your depression.

You will also form a relationship with a part of you, the Self or Psyche, that understands the specific journey you need to go from surviving each day to the joyful anticipation of each day and… your future.

You’re much more than your diagnosis.

My assessment is focused on what you are experiencing in life, what you want to experience, and what would be most helpful for you to get there.

Diagnosis is just shorthand for a cluster of symptoms (unwanted life experiences) keeping you from the deep connection with the life you’re seeking.

If you are using your out-of-network benefits to see me, I will provide the diagnosis needed for the insurance company. Then, I will be 100% laser-focused on your wants and needs and how to meet them.

The peace that comes from deep connection is waiting for you.

Let’s talk about how I can help. Call today for a free 15-minute consultation: (315) 876-4419.