You’re tired of struggling with anxiety…
…but, you tell yourself, “Getting help is scary.” I understand. Anxiety is linked to self-doubt and often leads to feelings of loneliness, fear, and isolation. If worry interferes with your day-to-day living then it’s time to get help. Whether you’re dealing with feeling overwhelmed, or confused, or feeling different than your friends, your family, and your coworkers, an anxiety therapist can support you!
Anxiety treatment can help you heal from your struggle with social anxiety, GAD, separation anxiety, and more!
The purpose of psychotherapy is to reduce symptoms of anxiety so that you can live a more fulfilling life. Anxiety treatment focuses on gradually uncovering the root causes of your struggle.
As a psychotherapist in Torrance, CA who focuses on emotional resolution, I work hand-in-hand with patients, guiding them through a healing process. This involves exploring how thoughts about the self are linked to feelings, especially those that relate to anxiety. Ultimately, the goal of therapy is to shrink anxiety by dispelling false beliefs and growing the parts of oneself that are authentic and true. Treatment typically evolves through phases.
Phase 1 involves exploring the meaning you make out of your anxiety by uncovering what you tell yourself when you worry. We can accomplish this by:
- Exploring the origin of anxiety, when it began, and how it is evolving
- Recognizing the triggers for anxiety and uncovering patterns and beliefs that relate to anxious thoughts
- Gaining an understanding of how anxiety serves to keep you safe and away from danger
- Identifying and exploring various parts of the self that exists alongside anxiety
- Uncovering your strengths by recognizing how anxiety might overshadow your capabilities
- Building on your strengths
- Creating opportunities for self-compassion
Phase 2 involves a deeper working through of anxiety by continuing to build on the internal resources and stability you gain during the first phase of therapy. It involves:
- Continuing the process of building on your strengths
- Confronting manifestations of anxiety with compassion and empathy towards the self
- Working through life experiences that may link to anxiety
- Growing compassion for the entirety of self
Ultimately, we will work together to dispel false beliefs, reduce anxiety, and create the clarity and understanding of what you need to have a calmer life.
Common Types of Anxiety
I have helped people with the following types of anxiety:
General Anxiety (GAD):
General anxiety is a stressful experience that is carried in the mind. At times, the anxiety or worry seems to come out of nowhere. Other times, it is clearly linking to fear about something you’ve said or done. It usually involves self-judgment or self-criticism.
Performance Anxiety:
Performance anxiety involves worrying about how you will perform and how people will judge you based on your performance. Therefore, it is often overbearing and actually interferes with performance.
Social Anxiety:
Social anxiety involves harshly evaluating your social ability or demeaning yourself. For example, you might think that you are not as smart, attractive, or interesting as other people you come into contact with. A few signs of social anxiety ,include worrying and then ruminating on what someone is saying (e.g., at a party or a board meeting) for fear that you will be ridiculed.
Separation Anxiety:
On the other hand, Separation anxiety is about distance—emotional and/or physical distance. The further away you are from your loved ones, the more you are likely to worry that they will be overcome with the harm that (maybe) leads to peril or death. It is possible for adults to suffer from separation anxiety. Typically, it manifests as an overwhelming experience of fear or dread when you say “good-bye” to a loved one, e.g., a child, or a spouse.
Individuals Who Reach Out for Anxiety Treatment
I work with people who reach out to me for anxiety treatment in Torrance, CA, and surrounding areas because their work or life stressors are impacting them on a daily basis. For example, they are not sleeping well, everything is overwhelming, and they are at risk of taking their stress out on a family member. Their anxiety interferes with their relationship. As a result, they might experience isolation or feel they don’t have anyone to talk to.
I work with many different individuals, including:
- Medical professionals who struggle with workplace conflict, stress, or feel life is overwhelming
- College and graduate students who worry about their performance, their future career, their job prospects, and their social life
- Corporate executives struggling with burnout and change
- Parents who worry about their relationship and their children
- People in transition: e.g., individuals who go from being married to single or from being single to marrying; professionals transitioning from their current career to a different career; and, students graduating from high school and going to college, etc.
Symptoms of Anxiety
Although the experience of anxiety varies from person to person, symptoms of anxiety typically show up in different ways, including one or more of these areas: physical, emotional, and/or behavioral. Here are some commonly identified symptoms:
Physical:
- Heart palpitations
- Sweaty hands
- Fight, flight, or freeze response
- Muscle tension
- Restlessness
- Sleepless nights lead to daytime exhaustion
- Vomiting, headaches, illness
Emotional
- Fearing that harm will come to a loved one based on how you act
- Pressuring yourself to do what others expect
- Repeated nightmares
- Self-criticism or worrying that others will criticize you
- Judging yourself harshly or fear that others will judge you harshly
- Anticipating or imagining a poor outcome
- Shame
- Irritability
Behavioral
- Making excuses not to attend social gatherings or work events
- Not setting boundaries
- Struggling to acknowledge your strengths
- Not expressing your ideas because you’re afraid
- Hiding parts of yourself
- Smoking/drinking/drug usage
What is Holding You Back from Beginning Anxiety Treatment in Torrance, CA?
Here are some common reasons that individuals choose not to enter therapy:
- Worry about what other people think of you
- Previous therapy experiences were negative
- Feeling ashamed or embarrassed and telling yourself, “I shouldn’t feel this way. It’s stupid for me to have anxiety about ______ (fill in the blank)”
- Or feeling afraid to share and trust someone you don’t know
- Experiencing, “I am too broken to heal.”
- Fear that your parents will, somehow, will be considered the cause of your struggle
Psychotherapy for anxiety can help you heal
People reach out to anxiety therapists for a lot of reasons. Don’t let the fear of reaching out get in the way of healing. I offer a judgment-free, safe space for you to share your experiences without fear of shame, embarrassment, or blame. If you are suffering, psychotherapy treatment for anxiety in Torrance, CA, (or statewide) can help to calm your inner worries. Ultimately, the goal is to lead you on a path towards insight and authentic change.
Begin Online Anxiety Treatment in Torrance, California and Surrounding Areas
You do not have to live with the fear and overwhelming thoughts brought on by anxiety. Therapy can help you find balance and a better idea of what you can control. Therefore, if you’re ready to find that relief you have been seeking, then contact Dr. Carol Piccirillo, your online anxiety therapist in Torrance, CA. To get started working together, follow these steps:
- Contact Dr. Carol Piccirillo
- Learn more about your online anxiety therapist!
- Begin getting to the root of your anxiety and living in more freedom soon!
Other Psychotherapy Specialties I Offer
Anxiety can take over your life and leave you struggling to get by. If you’re looking for support, I am here to help. If you’re in need of a different service, I offer many options and would be happy to discuss them with you. Other services provided at my practice in Torrance, CA include Therapy for Couples, Individual Therapy, and Therapy for Families. Get started today and begin your therapy journey in Torrance, CA. My office is close by Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach, CA. Additionally, I offer online therapy in California. Call now!