These days you find yourself on edge a lot.
It’s even worse in social situations.
The smallest trigger can set you off.
Before you know it, you’re totally shut down and crumpling under the weight of your anxiety.
Coping at all Costs
Of course, you have to get through the day.
Maybe you began with healthy self-care. You worked out every evening, meditated when you woke up and before bed, practiced some sort of spiritual practice.
And maybe that helped for a while. But, eventually your workouts became longer and longer, even when you were tired and achy, as you pushed yourself harder and harder. Or you became tired of the meditations, bored with the spiritual practice.
But then you still must get through the day…
And this may mean doing whatever you can.
Spending a good portion of the day in a “fog” or distracted, then later forgetting what you did that day.
Or working late into the night or on weekends to prove you are a hard worker who takes your job very seriously.
Obsessively thinking about or corresponding with a romantic or sexual interest, even if you are in a committed relationship.
Eating to feel a sense of “comfort” or to ease your anxiety or drinking a couple of “extra” beers or glasses of wine in the evenings to “take the edge off.”
Without realizing it, you may be avoiding painful memories from your past.
There is a better way.
Current issues, such as anxiety, perfectionism, obsessive thoughts, depression, and addictive behaviors can be the result of memories of prior traumatic or distressing life events that have not been adequately processed by our brains due to the intensity of these experiences.
These memories can cause us problems, because they are often associated with negative emotions and/or body sensations and irrational negative beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy is a unique brain-based therapeutic approach that helps people fully process these memories, so that they are better integrated within the brain.
I often combine this with Somatic Psychotherapy, which aids in processing of memories that appear to be “lost.” These memories can include disturbing events that occurred in the very beginning of your life, before you were able to talk.
These approaches allow a person to truly heal.
Imagine a new world…
Instead of merely “getting through your day,” you can find pleasure in your work and in your relationships.
Confident of your abilities, you know you are good enough as you are, without needing to prove your worth to others.
In this new world, you stand up for yourself when needed, but are also open and available to be intimate with others.
And, feeling calmer, you no longer have the need to overeat or drink too much and you can sleep through the night.
If this new world appeals to you and you are ready for a drastic change, call me today for a free 15-minute phone consultation: (562) 375-4389.
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