Help for Anxiety

It's a Normal Part of Life to Experience Occasional Anxiety.

Anxiety can feel so common and constant that it’s easy to mistake it for just a normal part of life. Yet, it can also be so intense and unsettling that it’s impossible to ignore. At times, anxiety may feel persistent, overwhelming, and completely out of your control. You might notice a sense of dread or fear that doesn’t match the situation or find yourself worrying excessively about everyday things. When anxiety begins to interfere with your daily life, your work, relationships, or ability to rest, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder that deserves compassionate support and treatment.

Symptoms of Anxiety

Everyone experiences anxiety in their own way. Still, there are some common symptoms that many people share. You might notice racing thoughts, shortness of breath, a pounding heart, dizziness, muscle tension, trembling, or chronic pain. Anxiety can also show up as digestive issues, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, hypervigilance, irrational fears, or excessive worry. Some people avoid social situations, while others experience shaky hands, dry mouth, sweaty palms, fatigue, insomnia, or even panic attacks.

Anxiety symptoms can range from mild discomfort to feeling completely overwhelmed. You may find yourself constantly on edge, fearful of when the next panic attack will strike, or avoiding people, places, and situations that have triggered anxiety before.

What to Expect in Anxiety Counseling

You’re tired of living in a constant state of anxiety. It’s exhausting; physically, mentally, and emotionally. Day after day, you find yourself avoiding situations that trigger those anxious feelings, and it’s wearing you down. Deep down, you know it’s time to get help, but you’re unsure what therapy will really be like. Part of you worries it’ll just be about “taking deep breaths” without anything actually changing.

Therapy for anxiety is so much more than learning a few coping skills. At New Chapter Therapy, our counselors take an integrative approach to help you find real, lasting relief. During sessions, your therapist will use evidence-based methods tailored to your unique needs—such as mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), exposure therapy, EMDR, or grief work. Together, you’ll do more than just manage symptoms—you’ll begin to understand and heal the deeper roots of your anxiety, creating space for calm, clarity, and confidence in your everyday life.

While there are similarities in the symptoms of anxiety,
the roots of anxiety are vast and diverse.

Roots of anxiety include:

• past trauma,

• chaotic environments,

• current major life transitions,

• loss that hasn’t been fully grieved,

• ignored emotions,

• genetics,

• sensitive or type A personalities, and

• compassion fatigue, to name a few.

Therapy for anxiety begins with skill-building to prepare us
for digging deeper into the root causes.

Skill-building for anxiety includes:

• identifying and shifting distorted and unhelpful thoughts,

• increasing emotional awareness and your ability to feel and healthily manage all of your emotions,

• identifying your values and what gives you a sense of purpose, and

• Practicing several healthy behaviors that will create a “toolbox” of activities to help you relax and feel calm, release anxious tension in your body, and make you feel fully alive.

As you begin building skills to manage anxiety, the deeper roots of what’s driving it often start to surface naturally. This makes the transition into more focused, healing work feel seamless. The deeper phase of therapy looks different for everyone, but it may include approaches like exposure therapy, grief work, or EMDR to address and heal the underlying pain points beneath your anxiety.

As therapy progresses, we’ll shift from simply managing symptoms to rediscovering your values and reconnecting with what truly matters. By the end of your work in anxiety counseling, the focus turns toward building a life guided by freedom, purpose, and peace rather than fear and worry.

Tips to Manage Anxiety At Home

Not ready to begin counseling for anxiety?
Then try these eleven tips to manage anxiety on your own.

Drink less than 200mg of caffeine in a day.

Eat nutritious meals.

Get enough sleep. As much as possible, try to maintain a consistent bedtime and wake-up time.

Move your body regularly. Even just 30 minutes a day of walking can boost your mood.

Practice diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe deeply through your stomach and then exhale slowly. Repeat.

Take a time out to do an activity you enjoy. Find your flow and go all in.

Have face-to-face conversations (safely).

Fast from social media and the news.

Remove the words “should,” “always,” and “never” from your vocabulary.

Laugh—a real, unrestrained, full-body laugh.

Help someone else. See the needs around you and find a way to give back to others.

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6 Tips to Help Manage Anxiety & Stress

✨ Try these simple strategies:
1️⃣ Ground yourself in the present (5-4-3-2-1 method)
2️⃣ Breathe deeply and slowly
3️⃣ Move your body — walk, stretch, or flow
4️⃣ Set healthy boundaries
5️⃣ Challenge negative thoughts
6️⃣ Create calming daily habits