Anxiety

I treat different kinds of anxiety

Maybe you struggle with feeling overwhelmed, like you’re letting other people down, or that you’re not doing enough with your life. Perhaps you can’t sleep because there are so many things on your mind or you’re afraid you’ll forget something. Or maybe you feel you’ll never measure up and criticize yourself for not doing more, better, or you endlessly compare yourself to others. Anxiety takes many forms and I treat several kinds.

  • Perfectionism

    Perfectionism can cause anxiety because it sets unrealistically high standards that are often unattainable. When individuals consistently strive for perfection, the fear of making mistakes or falling short can lead to chronic stress and self-doubt, creating a cycle of worry and dissatisfaction.

  • People Pleasing

    People pleasing is the tendency to prioritize others' needs and desires over one's own, often at the expense of personal well-being. This behavior can stem from a desire for acceptance or fear of rejection, leading individuals to compromise their values and boundaries. At the end of they day we aren't true to ourselves for fear or rejection or other negative consequences.

  • Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

    Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control over one's environment. Individuals with OCPD often have a strong need for routines and may struggle with flexibility in their thoughts and behaviors.

  • OCD

    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is often confused with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). This diagnosis is misunderstood even by many mental health professionals. It is a form of anxiety that usually begins with worry or fear and turns into a need to problem-solve. Read on to find out more about OCD and how I treat it.

Perfectionism.

Perfectionists are concerned with how they look, sound, behave, eat, and live. The positive appraisal of others is more important than their sense of themself. It’s hard to tap into what they truly need so they end up overextending themselves, saying yes when they mean no, lacking boundaries.

Accomplishment is very important for them and their sense of worth is tied to productivity, everything being effortless, and not rocking the boat. This is rigid, black and white thinking that creates a lot of suffering.

Perfectionists’ self-care is targeted toward how they appear on the outside. If a person who’s got it together would do it, they’ll do it. But they’d never take two days off to rest in bed and watch a movie if they weren’t sick.

They think everyone is great at everything they try, so when they make mistakes or come up short, they criticize themselves harshly. Validation heals the wound, but only temporarily. They reach out for praise, always doing more.

They are also often people pleasers.

People-pleasing:

Otherwise known as not telling your truth.

Your truth is whatever will keep others happy. Being honest and having someone react negatively? That’s the worst thing that could happen!

People pleasers are often seen as kind, helpful, and agreeable, and are willing to go above and beyond to make others feel good. They may be highly attuned to others, and may alter their personality around them. People pleasers may also seek approval and validation from others, and may feel that their wants and needs don't matter.

It can also be a harmful pattern of self-sacrifice or self-neglect, as people pleasers may neglect their own needs to avoid disappointing others. They may also feel burned out and resentful, and become too drained to meet their own needs.

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

OCPD is actually what a lot of people think OCD is. If you find yourself needing to straighten things so they’re just so, being compelled to label or organize things in a way that other people don’t, meticulously cleaning even when things are just a bit astray - these are behaviors of someone with OCPD. It stems from a need to have everything be just right

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

It’s probably not what you thought.

There are a lot of clichés of OCD that illustrate a person who turns a doorknob a lot. And while you may feel compelled to check a doorknob several times before leaving, you may not share the other mannerisms of these characters.

Stereotypes have now become used colloquially. You may have heard someone say “I’m so OCD! I had to clean everything on the kitchen counter!” Meanwhile, you struggle with crippling anxiety, worry, and stress. You might not know that your behaviors really fall into a category of anxiety that’s all on its own : OCD.

Treatment Methods

There are a few kinds of anxiety treatment available today.

Those I practice are:

  • ERP: Exposure with Response Prevention therapy

  • ACT: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

  • Psychodynamic therapy (Adlerian psychotherapy is psychodynamic or psychoanalytic in nature)