Your thoughts just won’t stop. Your mind never settles down. Thinking of the worst possible outcome. Worrying about the future. Analyzing things to death. Replaying interactions you had during the day or a conflict you had with your partner.
Often your mind is doing this late at night and you can’t sleep. You get fixated on one problem or event and spin out on the same thoughts over and over again.
You know so many of these thoughts are irrational, but it’s hard to reel it back in. It’s exhausting.
Your chest feels tight. You can’t breathe. It feels like your body is buzzing with the restless energy of anxiety. You feel nauseous.
There are weird pains you notice. Your stomach and neck hurt. Your whole body feels tense. You have a sinking feeling inside. Sometimes panic starts. It feels like you’re being suffocated by life.
You get anxious about being anxious and then it really spirals. Eventually, you end up feeling depressed that once again your anxiety is taking over and wrecking your life.
This is more than garden variety worry. You’ve been anxious before but this feels next level. You worry for longer periods of time and about more things. Everything feels out of control when something doesn’t go exactly how you planned.
It’s time to stop letting anxiety run the show. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out for help.
You don’t have to feel so on edge all the time. It’s possible to live a life where your worries don’t consume you. There are so many things you can learn to better manage your anxiety. You can get to know your thought patterns so they don’t lead you into downward spirals of anxiety. You can learn techniques to calm your body when the inevitable storms of life occur.
You can’t make anxiety disappear by sheer force of will but you can learn to navigate it with more skill.
Learning to navigate anxiety more skillfully opens up a whole new world of possibility. Reach out now to get started
I use a blend of mindfulness-based therapies that combine mindfulness skills with proven strategies from behavioral science. The two approaches I use most often are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and EMDR. I have a realistic and evidence-based approach to treating anxiety that makes room for the fact that while we can’t magically make anxiety go away, we can learn to work with it skillfully when it is present.
After over 20 years of working with people experiencing anxiety, I am confident that mindfulness-based therapy, and ACT in particular, is very effective.
The people I work with are my best teachers. Over time, I’ve noticed just how much can happen for someone if they are given the space to access their own wisdom and insight. There are times when less talking and more space to feel your body and notice your mind without me getting in the way too much is what people need.
That’s where my training in EMDR as well as yoga/mindfulness has been really helpful. This is how I strike a balance in my work between being the active and engaged therapist I love to be while deeply respecting a person’s own wisdom and healing process.
Get unstuck and gain clarity. I’d love to help. Schedule here.
It’s hard to enjoy life when you’re feeling tense and worried all the time. You end up missing life when you’re always focused on trying to tamp down anxiety. It’s not like you want to feel this way, but it keeps happening. You’re occupying your head or trying to manage physical sensations rather than being present to your life.
Be here now.
There’s a way out of the struggle with anxiety. You can’t control when it shows up, but you can practice focusing less on your anxiety and more on what really matters to you.
It’s not just that your anxiety affects you. It also radiates out to those around you. They can feel it (and they might have told you so). They’ve said they feel controlled by you or that they can’t ever please you. It’s not because you’re trying to be perfectionist or controlling- it’s just that this is how you act when your anxiety is controlling you.
It’s actually a sign of the pain you’re in. This dynamic often leads you to feel guilt and shame for how your anxiety is affecting those you love. People often tell me they’re afraid of passing on a legacy of anxiety to their children. It doesn’t have to be this way and it’s not your fault. It’s just that anxiety is a strong force and without the skills to shape that energy, sometimes it spews out all around you.
For your relationships, working on your anxiety is truly an act of love.
Heal & Grow with Anxiety therapy in Des Moines, Iowa
Imagine being able to connect more deeply with your partner by growing your ability to manage anxious moments and interactions so they don’t have such a big impact on both of you.
With anxious behaviors out of the way, you can build more trust, understanding and awareness in all of your interactions. But especially in those close relationships that matter most.
Free yourself and your relationships from the grip of anxiety. Schedule here.
Hi, I’m Gina. A little about me:
I help people get anxiety out of the way so they can craft more intentional and meaningful lives. Like you, I’m a “feeler” and I know how intense emotions can be. I also know how transformative learning to navigate strong emotions like anxiety can be. I’ve seen the results in my own life and in the lives of the many people I’ve had the privilege to work with.
The landscape of anxiety is confusing without a map to guide you. That’s what I do. Using a mindfulness-based approach, I help you discover how your anxiety works, what it looks like and ways to navigate it so you can live the life you want to live.
If you’re ready to make an appointment you can go ahead and schedule here.
I’ll review your appointment request and if it looks like I can help, I’ll accept the appointment and look forward to meeting you.
Not sure yet or have questions? Feel free to email me or book a free 15 minute call and we’ll have a conversation about your needs and see if we might be a good fit.
We’ll meet for your first session either online or in-person in West Des Moines and begin getting to know each other.
We’ll talk about what’s been going on and what you’re hoping for.
The first appointment will give us the time and space to really discuss what your needs are and get a sense of whether we’d work well together.
Therapy with me is collaborative and flexible.
Go at your own pace, get unstuck and build a life you love.
