Anxiety can be an adaptive and normal response to stressful life events. However, it can become problematic when it persists despite the presence of an imminent threat. This can manifest as preoccupying thoughts about real or imagined situations involving pain, and loss, or uncomfortable physical sensations that signify danger. Either way, we are left feeling out of control and vulnerable.

 

As such, we begin to avoid  situations that may or may not produce feared outcomes. Avoidance can temporarily relieve anxiety but often creates a negative feedback loop that prolongs the problem indefinitely. An antidote to avoidance is exposure, which involves carefully and voluntarily gravitating towards the situations, people, and things that us cause fear and discomfort. Voluntarily and carefully are operative words here. We work at a pace that feels most comfortable for you. 

 

In doing so, we acquire new experiences that gradually override our automatic appraisals of threat in novel or familiar situations. We begin to have faith in our ability to cope with anxiety and the challenging situations that life naturally presents. Psychotherapy helps you learn how to tolerate risk and uncertainty in order to pursue rewarding and meaningful life experiences.