Let's Talk About Anxiety

7/11/2012

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Anxiety. We all get it in one form or another. The anxious moments before the first day of school/new job, that jittery feeling before a big project or exam or just some butterflies in your stomach for no apparent reason. That is anxiety; a normal dose of healthy anxiety. Sometimes a little anxiety can even be helpful. It can motivate you to study, prepare for a presentation or even train for an athletic event. It's when it becomes too intense that it can be problematic.

Anxiety can be a beast. It can be big, bad and grizzly and can infiltrate your every cell. Anxiety can be debilitating; some people find that their anxiety keeps them from functioning in every day life. I have worked with several teenagers who have so much anxiety that they are unable to attend school. They become nauseas, tearful or panic stricken; sometimes they can not even enter the school building.

The insidious thing about anxiety is that it can also manifest itself via physical symptoms. Many times migraine headaches, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, eczema or rashes are brought on by anxiety. Our body is a very smart organism; if we are feeling intense anxiety and not releasing it, it can build up and cause these physical ailments.

With my clients, I often ask them to first label where they feel their anxiety. They look at me like I am crazy with questioning eyes until I specify my request. "Where in your body do you feel the anxiety?" Answers have varied: stomach, head, jaw, heart, chest, even fists ("I clench my fists and want to punch someone"). We talk about when they notice the pain, pressure or sensation in that part of the body to pause and be aware. Sometimes they have the physical feeling of discomfort without being in touch with the fact that they are "feeling" anxious. Being aware is the first step to healing.

In my office (have I mentioned that I'm a little obsessed with my awesome space?) I do many different exercises with my clients to help ease their anxiety. Many times after someone has rushed out of work, sat in traffic and just barely made it to their appointment on time, I ask them to sit still for a moment and take some deep breaths. Often, they will take quick shallow breaths and announce they are fine (clenched jaw and all). I then encourage them to close their eyes, really breathe in to expand their lungs and then completely empty their lungs repeating the process at least three times. They find that when doing the breathing properly they see that they really can slow down, be calm and focus on their session.

Other breathing techniques that I have found to really help with anxiety are for the clients to resume that deep breathing exercise for 5-7 minutes during a later part of the session. I help them to count for six seconds while they inhale and the same for the exhale while continuously focusing on their breath. Once they are able to sustain that rhythm, we will do some guided meditation work. I ask them while keeping their eyes closed and continuing the deep breathing to picture a calm setting like the ocean, mountains, or often (especially for teenagers) their comfy cozy bed. I ask them to imagine being in that place while also maintaining the breathing, I ask them to imagine the surroundings, the sounds, smells and feel of this calm place. As they connect to this image, I ask them to store it in their memory. My hope is that when they are feeling waves of anxiety they can return to this place; their image, their breathing and the stored memory of all of the calm cues that they practiced in the meditation.

I tell my clients that, like anything, this technique works best with practice. Like building muscles at the gym, it requires work, repetition and patience. If you become anxious one day, close your eyes and command yourself to relax hoping for a "Serenity Now" experience, the technique will not only fail, it will probably make you even more anxious. I ask my clients to practice this on a daily basis when they are NOT feeling anxious; this can often be incorporated into your (or your child's) bedtime ritual, or after a hectic day at work, any time when you are committed to being still for a few moments.

When you find that you are being overwhelmed with anxiety (remember it often starts in those places in your body that had been previously identified) and have been practicing the exercise becoming familiar with your particular process of breath and calming images, the anxiety can be quelled. I have had many clients report back to me following a difficult week that the technique does work and they were able to extinguish the feelings of anxiety during a stressful situation.

If you or anyone you know is suffering in this way, please contact me (or pass this post along). Anxiety can be very uncomfortable or downright unbearable. No one should have to suffer in this way. There is relief, sometimes we just don't know where to find it. I would be happy to help facilitate the process with you

Recharging After the Storm

7/2/2012

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My husband always teases me about needing to be by the tv during our big snow storms. I have the need to see what is going on, listen to every reporter tell us about the lines at the grocery store, the slush along the road and what schools are closed.

Enter June 29, 2012. Who would have thought the need for storm central would be so, well, central? Of course, I had heard rumblings of it on WTOP, my "up to the date news station with traffic and weather on the 8's", but what flew by here was not what any of us had expected.

I was am truly grateful that I was one of the few that didn't lose power. I didn't realize the extent of the storm until I was driving around the next morning, talking to people and seeing the many trees down in my neighborhood.

I was reminded of the beauty of community as we went through the weekend. Of course, this kind of community comes with the age of the internet. Although many of us were without cell service, internet and electricity, there was enough of it bleeping in and out to create connections and let the locals know who did and who didn't have power.

Saturday afternoon, I had my first visitor. One would assume that with the record high heat, the friend would be looking for some cool air and maybe a cold drink. WRONG. I drove up to my house to see this dear friend sitting on my front stoop charging his phone and iPod from my outside outlet. Hello?

Sunday, we had a full house. Three different families, by this point having had two nights of very hot sleeping conditions, came by looking for relief from the heat, and, you guessed it, plugs. They all had to charge their phones, laptops, iPads etc. We joked that we would be charging them by the kilowatt.

What started as a relief from the heat, and the need to "recharge" turned into a lovely and bonding afternoon. We ate a lot of popcorn, watched the Eurocup Finals (a real live Spaniard and soccer fan in the crew) and had a great spontaneous afternoon, one in which we could "recharge" our friendships and relationships while our iPhones had a charging of their own.

How did you fare the storm?

Graduation Day: The Big Dive

Graduation Day: The Big Dive

6/16/2012

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n between seeing clients on Thursday, I hopped over to Facebook to see what was going on in my little world (as opposed to those who click on US News and World Report to see what is going on in the big world). There were many high school graduations in Fairfax County on Thursday and I was treated to numerous photos of young adults that I have known since they were toddlers donning their caps and gowns. I was also aware that several of my clients were missing their therapy appointments graduating that day and I found myself feeling very emotional.



High School graduation is a pivotal time. I have likened it with parents of clients to jumping off a diving board. Will their child dive in gracefully, belly flop or, like most kids, land somewhere in between with a clean dive, but still getting a little water up the nose ?



The graduate is facing one of his or her first major decisions of life. From ages 5-18, every September the child grabs a backpack and goes off to school. There is no question, it is the law and it is what is done. The September following high school graduation poses many options: school or work, what kind of school, job possibilities, what state to live in, dorm or home, roommates or parents (ha), the list is endless. What used to be simply a question of peanut butter and jelly or turkey and mayo is now an important decision with longterm effects. The weight of these decisions and subsequent effects can bring on anxiety for many of these young graduates.

The family also has growing pains upon graduation. The parents are watching their baby become independent, move out of the home and realize that clean laundry doesn't just happen. They are often thrilled to get the ornery teenager out of the house while still yearning to tuck him in at night. The parents and child must figure out how to negotiate new norms : how often do we call, visit, text? What if he gets sick or she runs out of money? I worked with a mother of a freshman who literally drove 3 hours to her daughter's school several times a month, slept in the daughter's dorm room and was completely enmeshed in the new romantic relationship (e.g. texting the new boyfriend and knowing WAY too much about their physical relationship). I tried to help the mother build some boundaries into her relationship with her daughter while also helping her with her grief; the loss of having her little girl need her as the mommy she so desperately wanted to be. It can be quite a painful process to let go both of the graduate and the identity that surrounds the early parenting years.

Siblings often struggle silently. There is so much attention on the graduate and the parents' empty-nest that we forget that the younger sibling is also saying goodbye. As much as they fight, they are still siblings and share the common link of hating sharing their parents and understanding the subtleties of the family; no one knows your family and/or your parents like your siblings do. I have one client tell me repeatedly that when her brother went to college she lost someone with whom to "diss on mom". Another client shared that he became the center of attention when his sister left for school. Every grade, forgotten chore or misbehavior was under scrutiny because he was, as I like to say "the only fish left in the fishbowl" with parents watching from every angle.

As I witness my clients and their families buy the linens, pick their roommates and say good-byes during the summer after graduation, I leave them with my tell-tale speech: College is an amazing journey; you will meet fantastic people, have wonderful opportunities and go to a party or two, but YOU HAVE TO GO TO CLASS, the attendance officer is staying at high school. College is both a privilege and a responsibility . I have had many a client wind up back on my couch after first semester with a pile of F's, a drinking problem and looking for a job.

My intention is not to portray the gloom and doom of graduation. It is a tremendously exciting time with a great deal of joy. My goal is to identify some of the the problem areas so that if you find that you or your family are struggling with a glitch or two, it is completely normal. These feelings and struggles happen to everyone, thus the tears at graduation, it is part of the package.

To the graduates and their families: CONGRATULATIONS! This is a wonderful time. I wish you the gift of being present for the ride: the ups, the downs and the in-betweens.