Anxiety Therapy for Women in Grayslake, IL
Calm your body, quiet your mind, trust yourself again.
You look like you have it all together. You make it look easy. But the price you pay in self-doubt, overwhelm, and exhaustion at all levels from the mental load is too steep.
Anxiety therapy in Grayslake, IL, can help you understand how things got to this point.
You’ll learn strategies for stepping into a calmer space where you feel in control without the constant vigilance, and can be truly present
Anxiety has you mentally, physically, and emotionally depleted from
Wondering on repeat if you said the wrong thing in that meeting
Volunteering again, even when your plate is full
Struggling to sleep because your brain won’t stop the “what if’s?”
Feeling tension in your jaw or shoulders, like you are always bracing for something
Agonizing over decisions, only to second-guess the one you finally make
Worrying that others will see what a mess you are, behind that easy, confident smile
Others describe you as professional, competent, caring, organized. And you are. But your professionalism may be people-pleasing, dressed up for work. And how many hours of trying to get to sleep with lists running in your head did it take for that organization? The toll of staying one step (or three) ahead so you don’t forget a commitment or let something catch you off guard is a kind of exhaustion that is hard to explain. So you say “just busy!” when someone asks how you are.
Anxiety that hides behind competence is still anxiety.
And the toll it takes on your nervous system is cumulative. It wears you down, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Therapy for anxiety brings you from
A sense of dread that something is about to go wrong
→ To Feeling calm and present in this moment
Needing to do it perfectly
→ To Knowing that you are enough without perfect performance
Struggling with decisions
→ To Trusting yourself again
Saying yes when you don’t want to
→ To Setting boundaries that protect you
Feeling lost in the static
→ To Remembering who you are and honoring what you need
How Anxiety Therapy for Women in Grayslake, IL Can Help
Anxiety exists to keep us safe. Our brain alerts us with anxiety when it perceives a threat. The problem comes when it is still reacting to past threats as if they are happening now.
Past trauma and chronic stress have exhausted your nervous system. Now your brain sees threats everywhere–in how you are being perceived or judged, in what worst case scenario might be just around the corner, in what might happen if you don’t do something perfectly, or if you let someone else do it instead.
You might worry about what will happen if you say no. If you take time for yourself. If you actually fall asleep before you’ve dissected and second-guessed that conversation with your co-worker, or gone over the mental lists thoroughly enough.
In therapy, we will understand together when and how your brain got stuck on high alert, and the patterns that have developed because of this. We will go beyond understanding, though, and use somatic techniques like mindfulness, breathwork, and EFT Tapping to process the experiences that created these patterns.
We will retrain your nervous system, actually re-wire it, so that you can slow down and learn to respond rather than react.
How will I feel in anxiety therapy with Susan in Grayslake, IL?
When struggling with anxiety, it is impossible for you to be truly present. In your work, with your family, with your friends, and even with yourself. You may even have forgotten (or never truly known) what “being present” feels like. What this really means is that you have not been experiencing your life–you have been managing it.
When we are together, you will feel what it is like to “set it down.” Women who “do it all” have rarely experienced this, because they are afraid of what might happen if they do take time for themselves and loosen their hold on all aspects of their life.
In a therapeutic relationship, you are the one being taken care of. It means that you don’t have to carry it all alone any more. You will feel lighter. You will feel the exhale.
As we progress, you will start to really feel what “being present” means. You will understand that anxiety is a reaction to triggers, past or present, and as we begin to release their hold on you, you won’t need to be on alert all the time, scanning and planning.
You will feel your body relax. You will notice your thoughts, rather than believing them. You will have better focus. You will start to notice the small joys of life that are all around you, and lean gratefully into them.
Frequently Asked Questions for Anxiety Therapy in Grayslake, IL
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Anxiety can show up in different ways. Some people experience physical symptoms like muscle tension, increased heart rate, shallow breathing, or digestive issues. Many people have trouble sleeping. Anxiety can also be experienced as a kind of bracing for the worst, a prevalent sense of impending doom, or as overthinking, perfectionism, or people-pleasing.
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Often, anxiety that comes on without a specific trigger is telling you that your body is responding to internal stress, rather than a specific external situation. This can be the result of unprocessed trauma or emotions, and it can also be that your nervous system has gotten so used to being on high alert that it can stay that way. Anxiety is a natural process in our bodies that is there to protect us. When it becomes a problem is when we start to perceive threats when there are none, and our nervous system can sometimes get “stuck in the on position.”
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This is your brain in a misguided attempt to protect you! Often, people believe if they think about the worst that can happen, they will be prepared for it. They might fear being taken by surprise. The problem is, they are experiencing heightened anxiety and using up precious energy on things that might not–and in most cases, will not–happen.
Therapy can help identify these patterns and give you tools to respond differently.
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We will work together to identify and change patterns that have been keeping your nervous system on high alert. I use an integrative approach that includes some CBT, and also incorporates somatic techniques like mindfulness, breathwork, and EFT tapping. EFT tapping is also extremely effective for trauma, phobias, and panic disorder.
Our goal is to actually begin to re-wire your nervous system so that you can feel safer in your body, more confident, grounded, and calm.
