An Asheville Therapist Discusses Effective Anxiety Treatment Options

Anxiety is Overwhelming

Woman in stripped shirt and leather jacket covers her face as she stands in the middle of a crowd. The image is depicting a panic attack, and everything surrounding her seems to be blurred and out of focus. Mike is an Asheville therapist who offers …

You want help and support to cope with the stress, worry, and panic you feel on a daily basis. Perhaps you’ve tried therapy before, but it didn’t give you relief from your anxiety. Finding effective anxiety treatment can actually make you feel even more overwhelmed. I understand and I want to help by taking some of the stress out of it. To do this, I will discuss the effective anxiety treatments which are available to support you in your journey to healing and living the life you want. 

Living with an anxiety disorder may feel isolating, but you’re not alone.

When you’re in the throes of anxiety, it can feel like you’re alone in your struggles. But, I want you to know that this is not the case. I have walked in your shoes. I have struggled with anxiety too. I tried everything under the sun to get rid of it. It took a while to figure out what worked for me, but when I did, I finally found relief. For me, the most effective thing I could do to cope with my anxiety was learning deep breathing and relaxation techniques, along with acceptance. It did not bring me immediate relief - that took years. But, playing the long game is important in truly transforming your life and lessening your anxiety. 

Another really important thing I have learned is to befriend your anxiety. So many people I speak with try to push their anxiety away. They simply try to not think about the things that are bothering them. I completely empathize with this and I tried to do it for many years. But, often that just makes your anxiety worse. Getting effective anxiety treatment can help you overcome the uncomfortable anxiety you’re experiencing. I know it’s hard, even painful. But it’s necessary. 

As an Asheville therapist, I have found the most effective anxiety treatments and techniques to cope with anxiety are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT, exposure therapy, acceptance, mindfulness/meditation, and deep breathing. I want to take some time to discuss each of these techniques in a little more detail. That way, you can get an idea of what’s available to help you cope with your anxiety symptoms. 

Effective Methods of Anxiety Treatment

There’s a wide variety of approaches used to treat the symptoms of anxiety. Every client is unique, and their anxiety treatment should be as well. That said, I have found these techniques discussed below to be the most effective in reducing my client’s immediate anxiety symptoms and creating room for lasting growth and wellness.

Mindfulness and Meditation:

Practicing mindfulness and meditation is a popular and very effective way to treat anxiety. Practicing mindfulness and meditation can help you calm your mind and body, put a stop to racing thoughts, and release negativity. All of these things can help stop the uncomfortable symptoms associated with anxiety. 

Deep Breathing: 

This is a common technique used to help people suffering from anxiety cope with the distressing symptoms they are experiencing. Scientifically, it’s been proven that deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which can help you find a sense of calm.

My favorite breathing technique is doubling the exhale. Want to try it? Breathe in for 4 seconds, out for 8. Try your best to not force the breathing and keep it soft and deep. Practice it even when you don't need to. It's like training for a marathon. You don't want to wait until the day of the marathon (panic attack) to use the training tips you've learned. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT:

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CBT is a widely researched and common form of psychotherapy used to treat anxiety. CBT helps you identify and change and defuse (this is a therapy word for letting go of) anxious thoughts. It also helps you identify and change the maladaptive or unhelpful behaviors you’re using to cope with the symptoms and thoughts you’re experiencing. Through CBT you will develop self-compassion and change the negative thoughts into more productive and healthy ones. 

Exposure Therapy:

Exposure therapy is a form of CBT. It aims to slowly expose you to the source of your fear and anxiety in a controlled environment until you become desensitized to it. During exposure, your therapist will lead you through coping techniques to help you relax and feel calm. Over time, you will feel more confident that you can handle the things that cause you to feel anxious. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):

I firmly believe that accepting anxiety and the role it plays in your life is one of the most important steps in anxiety treatment. As I mentioned before, the harder you work to push your anxiety away, the more it comes back to haunt you. Once you accept and befriend your anxiety you will be encouraged to live your life in accordance with your values and hopes for the future. 

My thoughts on using medication to treat anxiety

Let’s chat about medication. I do not believe it is either good or bad. It is simply a tool to address the symptoms you’re having. It’s kind of like the boxing gloves on a champion fighter. Useful, but without the fighter’s skills, they would be rendered pretty useless. Medication alone will not truly rid you of anxiety. Some people have great success on medication, some do not. Sometimes anxiety medications have unpleasant side effects, and for some people that may make matters even more uncomfortable. So, I will leave you with my stance on the matter: If medication works for you, lean into that, and embrace it. Don’t be ashamed or too afraid to take it. But, if it doesn’t work for you, let’s explore other options to help you cope with anxiety. 

Living with anxiety can feel like you’re walking around with a very heavy weight on your chest. It hurts, it’s uncomfortable, it can be extremely distracting. If you’re ready to find an effective solution to deal with your anxiety, I can help. You don’t have to live with the uncomfortable feelings you’re experiencing. Support is available to help you have a better tomorrow. I’m an Asheville therapist and I specialize in treating anxiety. I also offer online anxiety therapy in North Carolina. 

liner graph showing the progress you can make with anxiety treatment in Asheville, NC. it says “it’s not linear” and “keep the faith”. Begin anxiety treatment with Mike, an asheville therapist today!

Begin Anxiety Treatment in Asheville, NC

You don’t have to live with anxiety. If you are ready to begin living life the way you want to, I’d love to discuss what treatment might be the best for you. To start anxiety treatment at my Asheville, NC counseling office, follow these three easy steps:

  1. Call or email me to set up a free consultation

  2. Learn about Mike and Strive On Counseling

  3. Begin anxiety treatment and start finding relief.

Other Mental Health Services at Strive On Counseling

Anxiety treatment isn’t the only service I offer at Strive On Counseling. I would love to see you in our Asheville, NC counseling office. I treat a variety of mental health concerns including substance use or addiction, and PTSD. To learn about the many other mental health concerns I treat during individual therapy click here. I use many different modalities of therapy including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), therapy for chronic pain & illness, support for family members of alcoholics & addicts, EMDR and trauma therapy, and meditation and mindfulness practices. To learn more about all the therapies I provide, please click here. Contact my office for more information on how I can help you!