You may have many questions about anxiety and anxiety counseling, especially if you have never been to counseling before. Empower Counseling in Birmingham, Alabama suggests these 4 questions to ask yourself before beginning anxiety therapy.
1. How is my lack of anxiety counseling affecting the enjoyment of my life?
Really sit back and think about this one. Are you grinding through a majority of your days uncomfortably? Do you spend much of your time thinking about past mistakes or what you could have done differently? Or do you spend most of your time worrying about future results and outcomes?
How is my lack of anxiety counseling affecting my relationships?
When you spend your time living in the past or the future, you can not possibly be enjoying the now. When you can’t enjoy the now, live in the present, your anxiety has a negative effect on your relationships. Those close to us know when we are tuned out, in our own heads, rather than fully present, listening and enjoying their company.
How is my lack of anxiety counseling affecting my ability to be productive, at home and at work?
Once again, when we are in our heads with worry, we can not fully focus or concentrate on what we are doing. Without being able to fully concentrate, our retention of information and our performance suffers.
Empower Counseling in Birmingham, Alabama specializes in anxiety counseling for teens, college students, young professionals, and adults of all ages. In our first session we will answer this question thoroughly so that we will be able to look back later in therapy and see just how much progress you have made!
2. What could my life look like if anxiety was not driving the bus?
If you have suffered from anxiety for most of your life, this can be a very difficult question to ask, let alone answer. You may not know what life could look like if you have never experienced life without anxiety.
Let me paint the picture of what life can look like after anxiety counseling…
You can finally focus on what you want in life. Chances are you have been focusing on your fear and doing everything you can to avoid what you do not want to happen in your life. Anxiety is sneaky that way. It builds and gains momentum and you become more and more fearful of your own fear, completely clouding your vision, unable to focus upon the grand picture of what you want your life to look like.
When you do the work, to actually shove anxiety out of the driver’s seat and you take over, you are finally able to take action toward the life you want. You are able to focus and achieve goals. You are able to enjoy your relationships to the fullest. You are able to let go of the need to control everything in your life (which you can not do anyway) and focus your attention on what you can control, your own actions and words.
In essence, you finally feel free.
Empower Counseling can help you see what your life could look like if you work the process we offer for your anxiety therapy.
3. Now that you have an idea of what life can look like after anxiety counseling, what do you want your life to look like?
This is another tough question to answer. When anxiety controls us, it keeps us stuck in our comfort zones. The irony is that such a zone is actually filled with discomfort. We aren’t truly comfortable there, as much as we are stuck, paralyzed with fear about what lies outside of that zone…possible mistakes and possible failure.
But think outside of that box or zone for a few minutes. Can you catch a glimpse of what you want in life, who you want to be?
Empower counseling will help you examine all 8 major areas, or domains of your life.
We know the questions to ask for you to gain clarity about what is most important to you in life. And we know how to help you determine the thoughts and actions that will get you there.
4. How do you decide on a counselor to help you with anxiety counseling?
There are so many qualified counselors out there, but each one is different. How do you find the best fit for you?
Look for a counselor that specializes in anxiety and ask that counselor what theory their counseling is based upon. Empower Counseling uses Acceptance Commitment Therapy, which has been proven effective for anxiety treatment in study after study. Act guides us through our sessions together on a tried and true path, which leads you toward gaining control over your life.
Empower Counseling has helped so many clients like you go from a place of fear and anxiety to a place of sense of purpose, confidence, and peace.
Contact Empower Counseling today to start your anxiety therapy and see just how much you can enjoy life.
Although Empower Counseling specializes in anxiety therapy, we offer many other services based on Acceptance Commitment Therapy at our Birmingham Counseling Clinic. If your teen or college student is struggling, reach out to Empower for help. Empower Counseling offers counseling for difficult life transitions. As a former attorney, Kathryn Ely, founder of Empower Counseling, knows the stress involved in being in the high demand position of professionals in today’s world.
Here are other blog posts you might find helpful:
5 Mindfulness Exercises to use today.
Here are some podcast episodes that might help:
Episode 54: Chris Ross’ Win Win Effect
Episode 51: Unlock Your most Powerful Mindset to Triumph in 2021