Anxiety

Most people experience periods of anxiety at some time in their life. Anxiety can occur in response to a time limited experience or situation or can be an ongoing issue that affects many areas of a person’s life on a regular basis. Whichever the case may be, anxiety is a very common problem that people report when they are seeking help from the staff at Silber Psychological Services.

Anxiety is a normal response to many situations or changes that all people experience. Anxiety is seen in all ages of people from infants to the elderly. Babies often experience separation anxiety at some time in their first year of life. Children who are being left with babysitters, going to day care or beginning kindergarten can experience a brief time of anxiety. School age children may experience anxiety when transitioning to a new school year, finishing a completed year or going to a higher level of education such as the move from elementary school to middle school. Moving from one house to another or family relocation to another city can cause anxiety. Changes in a family such as separation or divorce, the loss of a job, or the death of a family member often brings about anxiety in children as well as adults. Even though most people are able to deal with their anxious thoughts or feeling for many life situations, some still find it useful to seek consultation with a mental health professional on a short term basis.

Although the anxiety that occurs in life situations is normal and usually time limited, there are people who have difficulties that are intense and they continue to be affected by strong feelings that interfere with daily activities. A person may avoid certain situations such as school, work, or time with friends and family to the extent that they are not functioning in a way that allows them to enjoy life or to do what is expected of them. A child may refuse to go to school or be unable to focus on school work well enough to complete assignments. Adults and children may experience a level of anxiety that keeps them from enjoying social situations even with friends that have been a part of their life for a long period of time.

Some of the symptoms that are seen in individuals that are unable to handle their anxiety in a healthy way are worries and fearful thoughts that occupy their thinking most of the time, disturbance in normal sleep patterns, generally expecting that something bad is going to happen, a need to be constantly moving, irrational fears of situations that are normally enjoyable and safe, and physical symptoms such as feeling “jittery”, having heart palpitations or even increased blood pressure.

Severe anxiety often occurs when a person experiences an abnormal or extreme trauma such as a life changing accident, violent death of a loved one, or physical, emotional or sexual abuse. In such cases, the anxiety is often debilitating and cannot be resolved without professional intervention.

When people experience these kinds of symptoms and are unable to successfully continue their daily activities due to excessive anxiety regardless of the cause or situation, seeking the help of a mental health professional is a healthy decision. The clinicians at Silber Psychological Services are all skilled in dealing with the frequent problems of anxiety. A variety of Cognitive Behavioral Techniques can be used to help a person regain their ability to function in a healthy way on a daily basis. Our staff is also trained in more in depth forms of treatment that focus on uncovering sources of ongoing and extreme anxiety. A treatment plan may include Individual, Group and/or Family Therapy or some combination of the three. In severe cases where these techniques do not bring about adequate improvements, a psychiatric consult for consideration of medication may be warranted. At Silber Psychological Services we work with each person to develop an individual treatment plan designed to be most successful in treating that person.