Four Ways Your Psychologist Can Help You With Anxiety
Anxiety is a complex and treatable mental health disorder that can be managed by working with a psychologist. Here are four ways your psychologist can help you manage your anxiety.
1. Your Psychologist Can Identify And Address The Cause of Your Anxiety
If there is a specific cause behind your anxiety, such as a negative event or difficult situation in your life, a psychologist may be able to help you identify it and address it directly. If there isn't a specific cause for your anxiety (this is often the case), then the psychologist may help you learn how to cope with persistent feelings of anxiety anyway.
2. Your Psychologist Can Listen Without Judgment
Listening is a very important part of the therapeutic relationship. It allows you to feel heard, understood and validated. Your psychologist can also help you think about your anxiety in new ways that may help you find solutions or coping mechanisms for dealing with it. Your psychologist can also be a sounding board for your feelings and thoughts about anxiety. A psychologist can offer help that can let people see things from a different perspective.
3. Your Psychologist Can Keep You From Getting Stuck In A Cycle Of Negative Thoughts And Feelings
Anxiety disorders often involve negative thought patterns and feelings about oneself or about one's circumstances that get stuck in an endless loop — this is known as rumination, which is when someone thinks about something over and over again without being able to get past it or move on with their lives. Rumination can make it feel like you'll never get past your anxiety, even though this is not the case. A psychologist can help you learn how to break out of these negative thought patterns and feelings so that you can move past them more quickly and easily than if you try to do it on your own.
4. Your Psychologist Can Help You Develop Strategies To Minimise Anxiety
A psychologist can help you develop strategies that will help minimise anxious feelings when they do come up — whether that's through learning relaxation techniques or developing a plan for what to do when an anxiety attack strikes. For example, if someone has a panic disorder, their psychologist will work with them on breathing exercises and other techniques (like distracting themselves from their thoughts) that can help bring this feeling under control.
While psychotherapy won't eliminate anxiety, it can help you cope with it. The above are four ways that your psychologist can help you with anxiety. Chat with a medical professional for more advice today.