What it is:
Anxiety is a cognitive, emotional, and physiological experience that involves predicting or focusing on a possible negative outcome. It can also include fears or worries about how a person behaved in a past situation (e.g., social anxiety) and what this might mean for them in the future. The experience of anxiety includes thoughts (e.g., “I’m going to screw this up”, “I can’t do this”), behaviors (e.g., avoidance, excessive reassurance seeking), and physiological arousal (e.g., racing heart rate, a panic attack).
Individuals with anxiety often struggle with unfamiliar, unknown, uncertain or unplanned experiences and may adopt coping mechanisms that get in the way of their everyday lives (e.g., social isolation, avoidance of anxiety triggers, or over-controlling/over-planning their lives to reduce uncertainty). While most people experience anxiety or related emotions (e.g., fear) in response to threatening or stressful situations, individuals that develop anxiety disorders tend to have a few things in common:
- Experiencing anxiety, worry, or fear more often or intensely than others
- A belief that they can’t tolerate the physical sensations associated with anxiety (e.g., heart racing, difficulty breathing, feeling dizzy)
- Attempts to avoid or reduce anxiety that actually make anxiety worse over time (e.g., avoiding stressful situations)
Does This Sound Familiar?
- I overthink day-to-day decisions, social interactions, and what may happen in the future.
- I spend a ton of time trying to prevent something bad, scary, or uncomfortable from happening
- I feel constantly “wound up,” tense, and can’t ever seem to relax
- My brain will search for threats or catastrophes even when there don’t seem to be any happening
- I cannot stop myself from worrying or obsessing over things I don’t want to happen
- I get jaw pain, headaches, nausea, diarrhea or other physical problems when I feel stressed or upset
- My friends and family often tell me to “relax” or “not worry so much.”
- I try to avoid anything that could be stressful, unpredictable, or make me uncomfortable
- When I can’t avoid stressful situations, I have to use something to make me feel safer or more relaxed (e.g., alcohol or medications or a trusted person with me)
Associated Concerns:
Anxiety concerns often co-occur with experiences of depression, OCD, insomnia, and physical health concerns that can be exacerbated by anxiety (e.g., gastro-intestinal concerns, chronic pain conditions, or high blood pressure). Adults with higher anxiety may begin to engage in either emotion dysregulation (e.g., behave impulsively) or emotional avoidance (e.g., become perfectionists) in an attempt to manage their anxiety.
Substance abuse can occur if individuals attempt to use substances to reduce anxiety in difficult situations.
Specialty Services at TAP:
Below are a list of empirically supported assessments or therapies that one or more of our specialists could provide. Click on an intervention to learn more!