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Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people who frequently struggle with anxiety can experience have intense, excessive, and persistent worry. They can even have fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve panic attacks. Do you know if you have ever experienced one? Panic attacks are episodes of intense anxiety accompanied by a feeling of impending doom and frightening physical symptoms, such as a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, or nausea. These can be scary when you don’t know how to cope with them.
These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are unreasonable to the actual danger we face, and can last a long time. You may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. The good news is, your therapist can help you take back control of your anxiety and learn to cope so you can live your Best Life.
There are many types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias, and separation anxiety disorder. Your therapist can help you explore these and develop a treatment plan.
Best Life Counseling can utilize multiple evidenced-based treatments including Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Whatever form of anxiety you have, therapy can help.
Anxiety
Depression
HOW ARE YOU feeling today? If you’ve found yourself reading this, probably less than awesome. Maybe you’ve been feeling lifeless and down for a lot longer than you expected, and it’s making you worry that you might have depression. Maybe you’ve just received a diagnosis of clinical depression and you’re looking for answers. We get it. So many have felt just like you do now. But we won’t let depression swallow you up. Sadness, frustration, fear, loneliness, and depression often take years to notice and find the strength to reach out for help to conquer. However, therapy can help. Whatever stressors you are experiencing right now, your therapist can help to process those and work with you to be able to cope with them.
It’s normal to experience sadness. But, unlike typical sadness or grief, time can’t and won’t heal Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This is a common mental health condition that shows up like an unwanted houseguest who refuses to leave. This extended period of sadness or emptiness comes with a constellation of other symptoms, like exhaustion, sleep trouble, a shrinking appetite, overeating, sudden crying spells, and/or thoughts of suicide. You don’t have to be alone; we are here for you.
There are many types of therapy for depression. Best Life offers Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), all while being strengths-based and trauma informed.
Tackling your depression alongside a therapist, can help you improve your relationships, communication, career, family, marriage, happiness, self-worth, emotional well-being, physical health, and more. We would LOVE to come alongside you in this journey and help you to live your Best Life.
Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? Trauma is the response to upsetting events that overwhelm our ability to cope. Trauma can result in feelings of helplessness, diminished sense of self, inability to feel a full range of emotions, symptoms of anxiety, and feelings of loss of control. Immediately after the traumatic event, shock and denial are common. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives. Experiencing traumatic events can sometimes lead to a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
Sometimes it may feel like there is no way you could get over the event that happened to you, but there is hope. Humans are resilient and you are not alone. Best Life can help you process your trauma and take the power away from the event. Best Life offers EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy to help you to alleviate the distress associated with trauma. This process can effectively treat different intensity levels of trauma, negative cognitions, and anxiety. Your therapist can also help you find constructive ways of managing your emotions to help you cope and live your Best Life
Trauma
Close relationships play a large role in our health and happiness. Unfortunately, relationships can be hard. Whether they are with a romantic partner, family member, or friend, conflicts can arise. Other times, we drift apart or simply just don’t get along. Maybe a particular break up is just extra hard. No matter the relationship or what the conflict is, talking about it can help. Understanding your wants and needs for a relationship or situation will bring clarity to your interactions with the people you care about. Best Life Counseling can help you learn skills for active listening, assertive communication, achieving open dialogue, breaking down barriers, and maintaining boundaries.
Relationships
Self Esteem
Self-esteem can vary day to day. Somedays, you can feel confident and capable, while other days, you're flat-out miserable and self-doubt clouds your every action. Pervasively poor self-esteem can lead to depression, anxiety, and other negative emotional outcomes. Best Life Counseling can help you reach a steady balance in your life.
If low self-esteem is having a negative impact on the following everyday situations, you might want to consider seeking help:
Your interpersonal relationships: You don't feel like you're "worth" better treatment. This might lead to unhealthy relationships that are codependent, abusive, or boundary-crossing.
Your school or work responsibilities: You set yourself up to, or assume that you will, fail. This could then become overwhelming work stress.
Socializing and interacting with others: You have extreme social anxiety at the thought of having to open up to others because you think you aren't "good" enough.
Setting boundaries with others: You don't feel like your needs are important, so you let others cross healthy boundaries and take advantage of you.
Best Life Counseling can utilize psychodynamic therapy and CBT to help you identify and recognize the underlying causes or reasons for having low self-esteem. This can also help people connect past experiences to present ones that may be influencing their self-esteem.
Life Transitions
Going through changes on your own can be very difficult. It is common for individuals experiencing major life changes to seek assistance from a counselor. Over the course of a lifetime, a person can expect to experience a significant amount of change. Changes such as marriage, births, and new jobs, are generally positive, however, they may be accompanied by their own unique stressors. Other major life transitions, such as moving, retirement, or entering the “empty nest” phase of life may cause a significant amount of stress. Those who find themselves experiencing difficulty coping with life transitions may find it helpful to seek therapy in order to become better able to adjust to changes they cannot control. Best Life Counseling can help you cope with dramatic changes in life that often lead to stress, anxiety, or depression.
Going through changes on your own can be very difficult. It is common for individuals experiencing major life changes to seek assistance from a counselor. Over the course of a lifetime, a person can expect to experience a significant amount of change. Changes such as marriage, births, and new jobs, are generally positive, however, they may be accompanied by their own unique stressors. Other major life transitions, such as moving, retirement, or entering the “empty nest” phase of life may cause a significant amount of stress. Those who find themselves experiencing difficulty coping with life transitions may find it helpful to seek therapy in order to become better able to adjust to changes they cannot control. Best Life Counseling can help you cope with dramatic changes in life that often lead to stress, anxiety, or depression.
Emotional Support
Animal Letters (ESA)
BLC offers evaluations for Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), providing a valuable resource for those seeking additional support for their emotional well-being. Emotional Support Animals can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, stress, and other mental health conditions by offering comfort, companionship, and stability. Many individuals find that their ESA helps reduce feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and overwhelming emotions, promoting a sense of calm and emotional balance.
The process for obtaining an ESA involves a thorough assessment to ensure that an emotional support animal is an appropriate and beneficial addition to your treatment plan. This assessment typically includes discussing your symptoms, history, and emotional needs, followed by a recommendation tailored to your specific situation.
The cost of the ESA evaluation is $150. Once approved, you will receive a letter that can be provided to landlords, airlines, and other necessary parties to verify the need for an Emotional Support Animal. If you're interested in exploring how an Emotional Support Animal can help you on your healing journey, please contact us to schedule your assessment today!