10 Signs you might have anxiety: by an Anxiety Therapist in Birmingham AL
It is normal to get nervous from time to time. But how do you know if your level of nervousness is something to be concerned about? How do you know if what you are experiencing is something an anxiety therapist could help you with? Almost one in five adults in the United States suffers from an anxiety disorder. Many with anxiety go untreated. If you are experiencing any of the following 5 signs or symptoms, you might benefits from anxiety help in Birmingham.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a condition involving excess worry about every day situations or issues. It generally lasts longer than 6 months. Often times along with the worry, one will experience additional symptoms like irritability, brain fog or trouble concentrating.
May times individuals think they have “situational anxiety” and they just need their situations to improve and everything will seem better. There is no such thing as situational anxiety. Yes, there are things that cause us to experience anxiety at a higher level than other things. Typically these are things that are very important to us. If you are experiencing anxiety in multiple situations on a regular basis, you may have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and anxiety therapy in Birmingham could help you.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder is more than getting butterflies in your stomach when you are about to give a presentation at work or in school. Social Anxiety is also called social phobia and it occurs when one becomes very anxious in everyday interactions. During these interactions one feels extremely self-conscious and embarrassed. This is because one is fearful of being judged in a negative way by others.
Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder is easier to detect as it is characterized by episodes of intense fear that bring along physical symptoms like tightness or heaviness in chest, short of breath, pounding heart, etc. If you have had a panic attack you would know it.
10 Signs you might have Anxiety:
Let’s start with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Sleep Issues
One sign that you might be suffering from anxiety is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. You mind might keep you up going over conversations you had during that day, criticizing yourself for not saying something you wish you had said or for saying something you think you should not have said. Or you might fall asleep ok and wake suddenly in the night and not be able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. Both of these behaviors are signs that you have anxiety that is going untreated. Therapy for anxiety in Birmingham can teach you techniques to mindfully let go of the self-criticism and perfectionist thinking that might keep you up or wake you up in the night. Maybe you aren’t a perfectionist. Maybe you just have a hard time turning your brain off. Mindfulness through Acceptance Commitment Therapy is a powerful method of anxiety counseling that could benefit you.
Over Thinking: Anxiety Therapist Birmingham Can Help
There are some decisions that are very important in life that we should spend a good deal of our time, energy, and effort deciding. But most things in life do not need too much thought. If you find yourself having difficulty making everyday decisions and choices, that is a sign you have anxiety and are fearful of making a mistake. You Empower Counseling anxiety therapist can help you narrow down what is most important to you, as well as, show you mindful ways of making decisions so you can quit over thinking and wasting your time.
Unable to Relax
Do you feel like you should always be productive? Do you have trouble letting go and just allowing yourself to do something simply because you want to or because it is fun or relaxing? If you can not allow yourself complete relaxation, you are probably suffering from anxiety-and probably perfectionism. Your anxiety therapists can help you earn mindfulness techniques and different ways of thinking that will help you move away from unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that are fueling your anxiety.
Brain Fog or Difficulty Concentrating
If you think you have adult onset ADHD, you might. But you also might have anxiety. With anxiety one often has a constant reel playing in the background which makes it difficult to focus on the things you want to be focusing on. If you have experienced brain fog and difficulty concentrating it might mean that an anxiety therapist could really help you.
Trouble Being in the Present Moment
Do you ever miss parts of the conversation because you are in your head thinking about something else? Do you ever find yourself thinking when you meant to be playing with your children? Are you constantly preoccupied with thoughts, instead of actually experiencing life? If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, counseling for anxiety might be just what you need.
Have Headaches or Stomach Aches: Your Anxiety Therapist in Birmingham can Help
Anxiety creates tension in our bodies. This tension causes physical discomfort and even pain. If you often experience headaches or stomach aches and you can not find any other cause for them, you might have anxiety. At Empower Counseling we specialize in anxiety therapy. We have seen clients with all sorts of physical issues caused by anxiety. We can not separate our physical from our mental, our bodies from our minds. What happens in our brains is destined to affect our bodies.
Worry about the Judgment of Others: Anxiety Therapist in Birmingham AL can Help
If anytime you need to make a decision, you first think about what others would want you to do rather than what you want for yourself, you might have anxiety. And, honestly, if you don’t have anxiety about it you probably should. What I mean is if you are always thinking about what others want you to do then you are not living a life that is authentic to you and therefore not the most satisfying life you could be living.
Avoidance
If there are things that you want to do or need to do that you are purposefully avoiding, you probably have anxiety. Anxiety can shrink our lives because it shrinks our comfort zones. With anxiety it feels easier not to do the think that makes you nervous. And it is easier, temporarily. But every time you don’t do something that you want or need to do, your self-esteem and self-confidence takes a hit and decreases. If you are avoiding things, anxiety therapy is necessary. Start now.
If You Have Low Self-Esteem: Anxiety Therapist in Birmingham AL can Help
If you have low self-esteem, you probably have anxiety. If I asked you to pin point the reason you have low self-esteem, what would you say? You probably suffer from self-criticism. We humans tend to think we are somehow motivating ourselves if we are hard on ourselves and talk down to ourselves. This is 100% not true and not helpful. We offer ACT for anxiety counseling which has an important element of self-compassion that is crucial to raise your self-esteem.
Mind Read
If most of the time when someone does not react the way you want them to or does not do what you want them to do, you think it is because of something negative about you, then you probably have anxiety. Mind reading is an unhelpful but very common form of dysfunctional thinking. When we are young (10 year old and younger) we make sense out of everything in the world by associating it with us. Often teens and adults continue to think in this way even though it is incorrect and unhelpful.
Through mindfulness practice, your anxiety therapist at Empower Counseling can help you recognize unhelpful ways of thinking and show you the way to more helpful ways of thinking.
Anxiety Therapy in Birmingham AL Could help you Enjoy Life Again
There you go, ten signs you might have anxiety and need anxiety therapy in Birmingham. You do not have to live this way. Acceptance Commitment Therapy for anxiety counseling at Empower Counseling could be your way out. We use only proven methods to help you move away from anxiety toward enjoying your life again.
Our team of therapists at Empower Counseling & Coaching in Mountain Brook, serves all areas of Birmingham, including Homewood, Vestavia, Hoover, and downtown Birmingham, with in person therapy for anxiety. We serve the entire state thought online therapy for anxiety. We help through counseling for teens, counseling for college students (Samford University students, University of Alabama, Auburn University, and more, online counseling), therapy for young adults, counseling for adults, and counseling for professionals. We offer depression counseling, counseling for eating disorders, trauma and PTSD therapy, therapy for perfectionism, and therapy for difficult life transitions. Lucia, Marti, Savannah, and Kathryn are ready to help you move forward toward a better life.
Empower Counseling is your Anxiety Therapist in Birmingham.
Start today by:
- Clicking here and sending us a quick message.
- Meet your anxiety therapist in Birmingham.
- Start on the path to a peace and contentment.