Adult
Adult Generalized Anxiety Disorder Therapy
Feeling stressed or worried from time to time is expected. When the fear and anxiety begin interfering with your everyday life without stopping, you could have an anxiety disorder, like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Generalized anxiety disorder is severe, chronic anxiety that inhibits an individual’s daily activities by being triggered with little to no provocation. Those with this condition often have difficulty controlling their symptoms.
Fortunately, there are treatment options to help those with GAD manage and overcome their symptoms. When you need an anxiety specialist near New York or Greenwich, Connecticut, Greenwich Psychology Group is here to help.
Therapy for Anxiety Overview
While everyone feels anxious from time to time, a GAD diagnosis is very different from an individual experiencing the occasional worry. Those who experience extreme fear and apprehension that does not subside may be suffering from an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. The frequency and intensity of anxiety can severely impair a person’s functioning within their family life, work, and social environments. Fortunately, the majority of people with an anxiety disorder will improve considerably by receiving effective treatment.
Greenwich Psychology Group offers specialized and highly effective Generalized Anxiety Disorder treatment modalities for adults and children with different kinds of anxiety, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), social anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
Generalized anxiety symptoms vary based on the individual and the severity of the anxiety, and they can be both mental and physical. Common GAD symptoms include:
- Difficulty handling uncertainty
- Persistent worrying and anxiousness about uncontrollable events or situations
- Perceiving situations and events as threatening, even when they aren’t
- Feelings of restlessness, constantly on edge, or unable to relax
- Procrastinating tasks because you feel overwhelmed
- Difficulty concentrating or zoning out
Physical symptoms and signs you have GAD include:
- Fatigue
- Stomach issues
- Nausea and diarrhea
- Increased irritability
- Trouble sleeping
- Muscle aches and tension
Often, symptoms are persistent and can manifest in stressful situations. When anxiety becomes paralyzing and affects areas in your life, like work and relationships, it may be time to consider receiving anxiety treatment.
Types of Generalized Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety can manifest in many different disorders. The most common anxiety disorders include:
Social Anxiety
People with social anxiety often feel overwhelmed and self-conscious while in everyday social settings or unfamiliar situations. Social anxiety can cause people to be so afraid of being in social situations that they avoid them altogether. Many of the underlying reasons for social anxiety stem from the fear of being judged, scrutinized, or embarrassed in public.
Panic Disorder
Sometimes, individuals develop a panic disorder that goes along with anxiety. People with panic disorders often experience frequent, unexpected panic attacks that occur suddenly and last a few minutes. Panic attacks may make your heart pound or make you feel like you can’t breathe. They can also involve intense and overwhelming fear. Panic attacks leave a lasting imprint and emotional toll when they occur.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs when people have uncontrollable, ritualized behaviors and obsessive thoughts. Individuals with OCD typically recognize their thoughts and behaviors are irrational, but they cannot resist the urges and continue executing the rituals. When people with OCD can complete their rituals, they may feel temporary relief until the urge to act on their compulsions occurs again. This cycle can often increase the symptoms of anxiety.
Online Test for Anxiety
At Greenwich Psychology Group, we offer an online symptom checker to help individuals determine their next steps for anxiety treatment. While the evaluation is not an official diagnosis of anxiety, it can help you discover the severity of your condition and if you meet the generalized anxiety disorder criteria. The assessment results will encourage you to seek the necessary treatment to alleviate your symptoms.
Types of Treatment for Anxiety
Greenwich Psychology Group clinicians offer various anxiety treatments to help individuals reduce their negative symptoms by harnessing their nervous energy toward increased positivity and resilience. At Greenwich Psychology Group, we use several therapeutic methods, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based therapy (MBT), and interpersonal therapy, to help address each patient’s specific needs.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help individuals learn highly effective and practical skills to reduce their anxiety symptoms. CBT addresses how we may look at the world and ourselves in negative patterns and distortions. The treatment focuses on changing an individual’s thinking patterns and behaviors in response to fear and anxiety-provoking situations.
Those with GAD can benefit from CBT. Many CBT skills can help people confront their fears by identifying the interaction of problematic thinking styles and replacing them with healthier thoughts and behaviors. In addition to CBT, using exposure techniques can help desensitize people to triggering situations. Other coping mechanisms like mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises, and muscle relaxation can also help minimize anxiety.
At Greenwich Psychology Group, our therapists tailor CBT for anxiety to each patient’s specific concerns and needs.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT)
Mindfulness-based therapy focuses on helping individuals change the relationship between themselves and their thoughts. People with anxiety may try to withdraw or avoid their feelings. With MBT, individuals receive encouragement to fully embrace and be present during anxious episodes or while experiencing symptoms.
Using this process, those with anxiety can release their over-identification with negative thoughts healthily and safely. MBT often uses relaxation techniques to help decrease tension and increase emotional well-being. When individuals practice the techniques regularly, they learn to respond to disruptive thoughts and let them go.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is a treatment that focuses on the psychological roots of an anxiety disorder. It approaches anxiety by encouraging individuals to go through a deep self-reflection and self-examination to identify where their concerns and fears originated. The relationship built between a therapist and patient serves as a window into the problematic patterns a patient may experience in their life.
With a tailored personal treatment focus, patients will work to alleviate their anxiety symptoms to lead happier lives. Psychodynamic therapy can also help patients explore negative patterns and self-defeating behaviors so they can overcome them.
How Long Does Anxiety Treatment Take to Work?
Managing anxiety symptoms can involve short-term or long-term treatment. The time it takes to work depends on your goals and continued practice outside of therapy sessions.
How to Make the Most of Therapy
You can benefit from therapy if you have GAD. To make the most of your sessions, ensure you go into treatment with goals so your therapist can create a treatment plan and focus on challenges related to your unique needs. While in treatment, it’s vital to be open and realistic about your experiences. Therapists need to know as much as possible to help address any concerns you may have about mental health and therapy.
Make the most of your therapy sessions by:
- Practicing self-care: Therapy can be challenging and bring up difficult emotions. Give yourself time to recover and relax between sessions by taking time for your favorite hobby and practicing good self-care habits.
- Completing your homework: Many therapists assign homework for patients to complete between sessions, like journaling or practicing specific skills. Doing your homework will help you reflect and actively work on what you learned in therapy.
- Taking your learnings with you: The lessons you learn in therapy are essential to creating a new mindset. Whether you continue treatment for a while or only after a year or two, taking what you know from each session will help you feel and be better.
Request a Consultation With Greenwich Psychology Group
If you want to take control of your life and reduce anxiety symptoms, consider therapy with Greenwich Psychology Group. Our expert clinicians have education and experience from Ivy League universities and leading U.S. hospitals. You'll get one-on-one care for anxiety in a compassionate environment, whether you attend sessions in person or virtually. Greenwich Psychology Group provides anxiety treatment for busy professionals in New York and Connecticut. Get started on your therapy journey when you request a consultation today.
Take the GPG Symptom Checker
At Greenwich Psychology Group, our symptom checker helps clients track their symptoms of depression or anxiety. Taking the assessment doesn't provide a formal diagnosis, but it can help you determine what next steps you may need to take. The evaluation uses a series of questions to review the feelings and symptoms you've experienced over the past two weeks. The results will help you distinguish if professional help is the best next step.
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