Online Anxiety Therapy for Adults
What is anxiety?
For most individuals, anxiety presents in a combination of anxious thoughts and physical sensations in your body. These symptoms may present as the following:
Persistent feelings of tension, stress or being “on edge”
Racing or intrusive thoughts
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Tightness in the chest
Rapid Heartbeat
Stomach pain
Changes in sleep (either too much or little)
Feeling tired, weak, or easily exhausted
Sometimes, our mind can get stuck on certain fears for the future. It can be challenging to get your mind “unstuck”. You may notice that your mind is telling you a story that “hooks you.” You think about it over and over again, hoping you can find a solution to your problem. You may even tell yourself not to think about the thought, but this just makes the thought present more and more. You’ve tried distracting yourself, avoiding the thought, and everything under the sun. But your anxiety is still there. You just want your anxiety to go away.
Is Anxiety Normal?
Did you know that a certain amount of anxiety is actually a good thing. Over thousands of years, our nervous system has developed two systems: one for relaxing and one to respond to stress. Our stress system, or also referred to as our “fight-or-flight system” is designed to keep us safe.
If we were walking out in the woods and we came upon a bear, we would either need to “freeze,” “flee,” or “fight” the bear. Our “fight-or-flight system” would become active and try to keep us safe. We wouldn’t want our “relaxation system” activated at this time, because we wouldn’t have the energy to respond to the stressor. This is important. Ultimately, that is what anxiety ultimately tells us. Anxiety tells us there is something in our environment that we need to attend to. In modern day, we don’t come upon bears in the woods (as often), but our stress response system is still there. For people with anxiety disorders, their stress system is becoming more frequently activated, impacting their overall quality of life.
People who work with me often have too much anxiety. Common diagnoses seen in my practice are as followed:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Phobias
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
When is my anxiety a problem?
Research shows that having moderate levels of anxiety actually improves our performance, with too much anxiety being a problem and too little leaving us under prepared. We want a moderate amount of anxiety to improve our performance. All this to say, we want the “sweet spot” of anxiety. Too much anxiety and we can’t focus and too little anxiety we don’t care.
Your anxiety is a problem when it is functionally impacting your day-to-day life. This may present behaviorally in several ways (but not limited to):
Avoiding situations that feel uncomfortable or uncertain
Procrastination
Over-preparing or under-preparing
People pleasing or saying no to hard things
Checking behaviors (e.g., locks or emails)
Impacting workplace/school performance
And, it may present cognitively and physically in these ways:
Constant what if thinking
Racing thoughts
Chest tightness
Overthinking a conversation or fact
Difficulty making decisions
Needing reassurance or center before moving forward
Feeling exhausted
At the core, your anxiety is keeping you from making meaningful connections with others, your workplace performance, or school-based performance.
What is the best way to treat my anxiety?
This is an excellent question. Based on your anxiety, there are several evidence based interventions to treat your anxiety. This includes the following:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anxiety
Exposure Therapy for Anxiety
Exposure and Response Prevention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Mindfulness for Anxiety
All of the above interventions use some form of examining thoughts (e.g., identify if these thoughts are true), challenging these thoughts, and building distress tolerance. Together, we will find a treatment plan that works for you and find symptom relief.
I’m a psychologist with over a decade of experience and am licensed to practice therapy in North Carolina, I help clients reduce anxiety using evidence-based approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Therapy with me is practical, supportive, and focused on helping you feel more grounded, confident, and in control of your life again. My clients may request help with the following concerns:
Therapy for Health Anxiety
Therapy for Generalized Anxiety
Therapy for Social Anxiety
Anxiety therapy for high-achieving adults
Anxiety therapy for women
Anxiety Therapy for students
Anxiety Therapy for professionals
Anxiety Therapy for parents
When should I seek treatment for anxiety?
If anxiety is running the show, with symptoms of constant worry, racing thoughts, tension that never seems to shut off, then it may be time to seek treatment. I specialize in online anxiety therapy for adults who are high-functioning on the outside but feel overwhelmed, stuck, or exhausted on the inside.
Online Therapy That Fits Your Life
I offer secure virtual therapy sessions, making it easier to access high-quality anxiety treatment without added stress. Online therapy allows flexibility, privacy, and consistency — all essential when anxiety is already demanding so much of your energy.
If you’re looking for an experienced anxiety therapist who understands both the emotional and practical sides of anxiety, I’d be glad to help.
Reach out today to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward feeling calmer and more like yourself again.