Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’ve found that your anxiety has gotten hard to manage in a particular area of your life. Maybe the anxiety kicks in when you engage in social interactions with others at work when you think about how your parenting skills compare with others, or when you think about the changes you face with an upcoming move.
The anxiety can feel all-consuming.
And so you set out to learn to manage your anxiety and improve that area of your life. You seek out strategies, techniques, mantras…anything to help you find a better way of coping with the anxious thoughts and feelings. Maybe you’ve picked a particular strategy, such as mindful breathing, that you practice daily.
But a month or two down the road, you’re having a hard time seeing the effects of this practice in helping you decrease these unwanted anxious thoughts and feelings.
“Is this even working? Have I even changed?”
You aren’t alone if you find yourself with these questions. When a client comes to me with these kinds of feelings, I ask them to “check their altitude.”
Have you ever gone hiking up a mountain or a really steep hill? Standing at the bottom of the hill, a straight-up shot to the top may look like the quickest course, but is it doable? The terrain is too steep and would make an attempt near impossible. Instead, trails tend to switch back and forth to make the climb easier, but it does take longer to make recognizable progress.
When you’re in the midst of the climb, the view may look the same. You look down and see the same streams, the same trees, and plants. You look up and wonder, “Am I even getting closer to the top? The view hasn’t changed.”
And while the view may look the same, the truth is, you’ve made progress. When you check your altitude, you realize that you’ve actually climbed higher, you’ve gone farther, and you are that much closer to reaching the summit than you were when you set out. The view may look the same, but you are not in the same place - your altitude is higher .
This approach can feel similar when we are working to make a change in our lives. We are being intentional to cope with our anxiety in a healthy way, but we feel like the view hasn’t changed. We are still feeling like the anxiety is ever-present, or that our struggles haven’t changed. But in reality, when you check your altitude, you may find that while the view may look the same, your altitude is higher.
Maybe two months ago, the chaos and clutter of the house would cause a full-blown panic attack, but now you find that while the anxiety still rises, it doesn’t get to the level of a full panic attack. Maybe when you had to do a presentation at work last month you could feel your heart racing and hands sweating, and this time you still felt anxious but could get through the presentation without feeling like your heart was beating out of your chest. Or perhaps a few weeks ago you could barely bring yourself to make eye contact with that other mom at the playground, let alone go up and start a conversation, but today you were able to look at her and smile, even in the midst of racing thoughts. In all of these situations, your altitude is climbing. You are not in the same place you were before.
Learn How to Cope With Your Anxiety
Learning better ways of coping with anxiety isn’t a straight shot up the mountain. There are switch back trails and boulders to climb over or go around, but when you feel like you aren’t making progress, check your altitude. You may be surprised to see just how much further up the trail you really are.
Begin Online Therapy For Anxiety In Louisiana, Hawaii, Or Colorado
Taking care of your mental health and learning to cope with anxiety is important. Online therapy can help! If you are interested in starting online therapy and live in the state of Louisiana, Hawaii, or Colorado, follow these three simple steps:
Schedule your free, 15-minute consultation to learn more
Learn more about the ways I can help you in therapy
Begin the journey to finding relief from your anxiety so you can enjoy your life again!
Other Online Therapy Services Provided By Ashley Comegys, LCSW
In addition to online counseling for anxiety, I provide a variety of online therapy services to women living in Louisiana, Hawaii, and Colorado. My counseling services include online individual counseling for women, online postpartum anxiety and online postpartum depression treatment, online postpartum support, online depression treatment, online grief counseling for women, online therapy for military spouses, and online trauma treatment for women.
Please note, due to the laws that regulate my license as an LCSW, I am only able to provide online mental health services to residents of the states of Louisiana, Hawaii, and Colorado.
Ashley Comegys is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on working with women with anxiety. She holds a license in both Louisiana and Hawaii, and specializes in providing online counseling in both states. Based in New Orleans, LA and Mililani, HI Ashley helps women find healthy ways to cope with the anxiety that often follows life transitions, grief, loss, and trauma. If you need help finding ways to cope with your anxiety, contact Ashley to schedule your free 15-minute consultation.