THERAPY FOR ANXIETY, PANIC, & PHOBIAS

ANXIETY COUNSELING

Everybody experiences anxiety from time to time, and a certain amount of anxiety can be helpful. For example, anxiety can help you deal with a tense situation, study harder for an exam, or keep focused on a presentation.

Sometimes, however, people experience an excessive or prolonged amount of anxiety. In these cases, anxiety interferes with daily life and normal functioning and requires treatment. Although anxiety, in whatever form, can be quite intrusive, anxiety is usually very treatable.

SIGNS OF ANXIETY

Anxiety can take many forms. You may be experiencing anxiety if you feel anxious around others, meeting people, or at gatherings; often feel anxious but you're not sure why; suffer from panic attacks; have insomnia or trouble sleeping; procrastination or have difficulty studying; have phobias (e.g, fear of flying, driving, public speaking, enclosed spaces, health anxiety or hypochondria); or experience obsessive thoughts.

Sometimes anxiety is linked to life events (e.g. meeting new people, speaking in public, after a trauma), and other times anxiety seems to come out of nowhere.

Your heart may start to pound and you may feel like you're dying. You could break into a cold sweat and start shaking. Your vision could become blurry and you may start hearing static or echoes. Anxiety and panic attacks are overpowering and overwhelming, and they feel like they control your life.

ANXIETY THERAPY - DURHAM & CHAPEL HILL

When anxiety feels disruptive, anxiety counseling can be a very helpful way to both understand the underlying meaning of your anxiety as well as develop skills and tools to better deal with your anxiety, stress, fears, and phobias.

If you live in the Durham - Chapel Hill - Raleigh area (including Hillsborough and Cary), and you'd like some help managing your anxiety, please contact me.

Together, we will employ a number of therapeutic techniques that are especially helpful for reducing anxiety and gaining a sense of well-being, including psychotherapy, biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, insomnia treatment and therapy, meditation, and mind-body, stress relief, and relaxation skills.

"I came to Carolyn because I was going through an enormous life/career change. At that time I was anxiety ridden and could not stop replaying and brooding over recent events. From my very first appointment I was impressed at how carefully Carolyn listened to my underlying concerns and how empathetic she was regarding what I had just been through. Carolyn is wicked smart, down to earth, and has a great sense of humor. These qualities made it easy for me to open up to Carolyn and provided me with a great resource for both ideas and self-examination... Read more"

- former client

"Carolyn has worked with me through a difficult divorce, becoming a single-parent, having a child with ADHD, and also my own depression and anxiety. Having her in my life dramatically changed things when I was at my lowest point. She has helped help me to become a better person, parent, partner, etc. It is always difficult to open up to someone, especially someone that you don't know. I have always felt immensely comfortable with Carolyn... Read more"

- former client

"My sessions with Carolyn were very helpful! They enabled me to think more productively about the issues I'm dealing with. I'm handling my anxiety in a healthier way, and I was able to reduce it significantly. I'm now able to look at situations in a more positive way, which helped me work through difficult things more easily. Overall, my anxiety and depression are much lower than when I began."

- former client

"I have counseled with Carolyn in 2008-2009 and again in 2020-2021. I was thrilled she was still available for this most recent time frame. Her style is warm and understanding. She has helped me through alot of emotional issues and promotes needed self reflection. I had more than a few 'Aha' moments about patterns and people in my life. She has helped validate my struggles and has helped me with boundary issues. After reaching out to her for the second time in 2020, it felt like no time had passed. I feel like she is rooting for me!!"

- former client

(See other testimonials)