Anxiety and Depression

Have you not felt yourself lately? Everyone has “down” days, but persistent sadness, hopelessness and anxiety can negatively interfere with all areas of life. Clinical symptoms of depression may include persistent feelings of guilt, a loss of interest in enjoyable activities, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, irritability, difficulty concentrating, problems with motivation, feeling disengaged with others, and for some people, suicidal thoughts or feelings. It is known that the highest functioning individuals often seek out therapy to talk through emotional issues affecting their well-being.

Therapy can help normalize significant life stressors and help in overcoming distorted thinking patterns that contribute to depressed feelings. It can also help one to start feeling hopeful about the future, become more decisive and assertive, and increase feelings of self-acceptance and self worth. Having someone to talk to, maintaining healthy eating and sleeping routines, increasing physical activity, and for some people, the additional help of medications, can assist in overcoming depression and anxiety.

Stressed by Obligations and Responsibilities?

Do you find yourself often anxious and stressed? Life circumstances that often cause stress include managing finances, balancing family and work life, conflict in relationships, death of a loved one, career difficulties, loss of a home, and problems with health. It is normal to experience stressful situations in life. Anxiety and Stress Management Therapy can help people learn techniques to assist in reducing stress and also identify destructive thinking patterns that contribute to stress. Therapy often aims to help to promote self-care routines which may include prioritizing responsibilities, taking a realistic view of which obligations are manageable, and saying “no” more often. Simply having someone to talk to in which you feel heard and understood can reduce feelings of ongoing stress.

Anxiety symptoms can be disruptive and interfere with daily life when there are significant and persistent fears and worries that one does not feel quite able to control. Often people experience panic attacks, which can range from mild to severely debilitating. Panic attacks are a real, physical experience and the body may experience physical changes such as rapid heart beat, feelings of not being able to breathe, and tingling sensations in the arms or fingers. Often, the fear of having a panic attack can trigger more panic attacks. Anxiety and Stress Management Therapy can help one identify the thought patterns that contribute to panic attacks, and some people find that they benefit from assistance from medications prescribed by an MD.

Couples Counseling

Are you having difficulties in your relationship? Have you felt disconnected from one another? Couples counseling can help to resolve relationship conflicts and improve communication. Couples counseling can also minimize stress and anxiety and help to strengthen a good relationship. It is a place where time is set aside to talk without interruption so that a real understanding of one another can take place. Many couples find that they are able to talk about things they were never able to express. Others find they develop a new comfort level with communication and have less concern that a disagreement will turn into into a hostile argument. Counseling can help decrease resentment and create new patterns of communicating. Couples often get used to new ways of relating that they are able to continue on their own. Couples therapy can provide a forum for honest and direct discussion in which each person is able to feel heard and understood.

“Understanding one another is more important for respect and connection than is solving every problem life throws your way.” Howard J. Markman, Fighting for Your Marriage

Professional Counseling

The crisis of infidelity can be a very personal and painful issue. It is very private matter not easily shared with others. One can feel very alone. The initial shock of discovery is often difficult and devastating. Infidelity Therapy can provide a foundation of emotional support and normalize feelings of anger, guilt, hopelessness, and shame. With counseling support, many clients find that they are more able to work through difficult and complex emotions brought on by the affair and get through this distressing time in their lives.

Dealing with Divorce

Often clients seek out therapy to deal with difficult emotions related to divorce. No matter how difficult the relationship, both parties likely feel a sense of loss, hurt and pain. The process of divorce can be traumatic and bring feelings of  loneliness, depression, and anxiety. If there are children, helping them to understand and cope with divorce can be overwhelming. Therapy can help clients to handle and deal with the change that comes with divorce as well as work through distress, grief, and other difficult feelings.

Become Empowered – Feel More Secure

Clients often seek out self esteem therapy to become empowered and feel more secure within themselves. A healthy self-esteem is often the result of making your own decisions and accepting yourself even if you end up making a mistake. Through self esteem therapy with a trained professional, people can develop self-awareness in understanding and accepting past personal choices and actions that may have caused them shame or blame. Therapy can also help clients overcome old beliefs that are no longer serving them in a positive way, such as “I’m not good enough,” I’m a failure,” or “I’m not lovable.” From there the goal is to develop new beliefs that support personal growth and self-confidence. Through working out difficult emotions, clients are able to gain new insights into areas that contributed to their old belief systems and bring them into conscious awareness. Simply the experience of feeling heard, understood, and validated can increase a sense of self-value and worthiness.

EMDR Therapist in San Diego

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is a method of therapy which has been developed to address emotional distress arising from disturbing and unresolved life experiences. EMDR therapy is often used to treat depression, anxiety, grief, abuse, panic attacks, anxiety, trauma, phobias, post traumatic stress and other emotional difficulties. EMDR therapy is helpful for resolving present relationship issues stemming from past patterns of interactions.

When a traumatic or distressing experience occurs, it can interfere with how the brain copes with and processes the memory. EMDR therapy involves activating both the left and right sides of the brain while recalling the distressing life experience in order to more adequately process the memory contributing to the emotional disturbance. During the processing, old beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about the experience are connected with more positive and realistic information. After the treatment, the client can often recall the experience with a new perspective, new insight, resolution of distorted beliefs, and a reduction in emotional distress.

The therapist uses eye movements, tapping, or sounds, depending on the client’s preference. Eye movements are not a necessary form of the stimulation and clients can choose either a hand-held pulsating instrument or earphones with alternating sounds for the therapy.

Dealing with Work Stress

The workplace can be a stressful environment in which there is significant competition and pressure to perform. Work schedules can be demanding and it is often difficult to balance work and family life. Financial stress contributes to the pressure to keep up. People often seek out work stress management therapy to talk about work-related anxiety, challenges with co-workers and bosses, and situational stressors that may interfere with concentration and job performance. Work Stress Management can help people decrease stress, increase assertiveness, and manage conflicts in better ways,

Clients also often seek out counseling when job dissatisfaction is causing significant unhappiness, hopelessness, stress, and anxiety. A job or career change may seem impossible and unrealistic, and one may feel very alone. Therapy can help to normalize these feelings and assist clients in gaining insight into their career paths and making decisions that support their happiness. Just having someone to talk to other than friends and family can decrease anxiety and shed perspective on various situations, leading to feelings of increased confidence, control, and personal satisfaction.