Anxiety/Fears and Worries

Anxiety, like all other emotions, is a needed human emotion. Anxiety helps to keep us safe, it makes us worried about touching a hot stove and makes us check both sides before crossing the road. However, like other emotions it can take over and we can get stuck feeling anxious for longer than needed. Anxiety can trick us into feeling worried about things we know are safe. When we get anxious, we trigger the fight-or-flight response in our brain that releases stress hormones that get us ready for danger, has us acting out or isolating even when we don’t want to. This response is helpful when we really are in danger but not when we are safe, and a chronic stress response can leave damage in our body. Counseling can help to retrain our brain to recognize when it is safe and does not need the anxiety response. Learning how to relax our body and mind when we get anxious can be a useful tool in managing an over-reactive anxiety radar.