Anxiety Therapy

Online Therapy in Silver Spring and Throughout Maryland & Virginia

Don’t let your worries about the future keep you from being right here, right now.

Anxiety has a way of making you feel caught in a negative spiral of "what ifs?”

It can feel like your mind is never calm, jumping from one topic to the next. You’re always worried about the next thing, fearful of what could go wrong, so you try to anticipate and be ready for what will come at you next. Yet, you somehow never feel fully prepared.

You’re left feeling run down, overwhelmed, easily fatigued, on edge, and irritable.

Getting caught up in the future and missing out on the here and now causes a disconnect between your mind, body, and soul leading to other issues too.

Your loved ones may complain that you never seem to “be here” and it can cause problems within your relationships. You also find yourself neglecting your basic needs saying, “I’ll just finish this last thing for work before I go to the bathroom.” or “I have to make this call before I eat lunch.” causing you to feel uncomfortable in your body. You often become paralyzed as a result of overthinking and fear. And most of the time you just want more time to rest, because you feel a type of exhaustion that a full night’s rest doesn’t cure.

You can never catch a break because life doesn’t stop.

Say goodbye to fear that stops you from doing the things that you want to do and overthinking the things you need to do.

Therapy, will help you slow down and take the world’s burdens off your shoulders. Together, we will improve your confidence and self-esteem to help you put yourself first.

In learning to be more in touch with yourself and your needs, you will be more present. This will help you reconnect with those around you without taking on too much of other people’s “stuff.” You’ll have healthy boundaries with yourself and others to protect your peace and you will feel confident in your decisions because you will know it’s what’s best for you and those around you.

Anxiety often stems from negative self-talk and a harmful narrative about ourselves, others, or the world around us.

Together, we will explore what has led to these thoughts and how they impact your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Once we gain an understanding of the “why” we can determine coping strategies that are unique to you and your struggles. We will also work to unlearn and change the negative thoughts that hold you back, cause you to overthink, expect worse case scenarios, avoid things out of fear, and ultimately stay stuck in this cycle of worry and feeling on edge.

You may be wondering, “Why is what I’m doing not working?”

When we feel anxious, we can enter into fight or flight mode.

As sophisticated as our brains are, it has a hard time differentiating between real and perceived danger. Our anxious thoughts are perceived danger, but our brains interpret it as a physical threat and prepare our bodies to fight or flee. When we are in fight or flight mode, we lose access to the prefrontal cortex of our brain, the part of our brain that sits right behind our forehead.

Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for higher executive functioning such as planning ahead, thinking critically, and problem solving. Therefore, when we experience more intense anxiety, we are unable to think through situations in a logical manner.

Our brains react this way to protect us.

That’s right, anxiety was a way for us to perceive potential danger, have reactions to help us be on alert and protect ourselves. But, of course, anything to the extreme is unhelpful. It can be beneficial when you’re home alone and hear a strange noise and need to be on alert to protect yourself or hear yelling in public and need to be aware of your surroundings. However, when our anxieties are exams, public speaking, confrontation, or what others think of us, it’s not helpful for our bodies to react in a way preparing us to fight or run.

Through therapy, you will learn to address your anxiety in a way that works with your brain and body rather than fighting against it.

Anxiety therapy can help you:

  • Become aware of and understand where your anxiety stems from.

  • Manage situations that spike your anxiety.

  • Learn strategies for quieting your thoughts.

  • Regulate your emotions.

  • Value yourself and put your needs first.

  • Establish healthy boundaries.

  • Balance caring for others and yourself.

  • Experience life as it’s happening.

  • Reconnect with yourself and your loved ones.

  • Prevent burnout to the point of no return.

  • Ease irritability, frustration, tension.

  • Improve your sleep.

You don’t have to be paralyzed by your fears and worries anymore.

FAQs About Anxiety Therapy

  • Yes! Everyone does worry and it’s normal to do so. However, if your worries don’t seem to stop and you spend more time concerned about things in the future or that haven’t happened, but possibly could, then you may benefit from therapy. It’s not okay to be worried all the time, but it is okay to need help managing your worries. You can schedule a consultation call to determine if you need therapy.

  • We can have anxieties about a wide range of things. However, the way anxiety works is ultimately the same. I can help with concerns ranging from worries about life transitions and decisions, academic performance, and general anxiety overall. I can also help with general worries about the future, worries if you’re doing things right or are the best version of yourself, expecting the worst case scenarios, overthinking, and jumping to conclusions.

  • It’s hard to say if anxiety will ever go away. For some it does go away and others learn to manage it through therapy. I’ve had clients who will still experience some anxiety, but through our work together learn to challenge it, reframe it, and come to a more logical solution just as quickly as they had the anxious thought.