How Psychotherapy Services Can Help You Overcome Anxiety and Stress

Stress is a normal part of daily life and, in fact, is designed to help us. So is anxiety. Under regular circumstances, anxiety about the risks in the environment helped our ancestors take pause to determine whether what they saw was a lion or a large boulder. 

However, today, there are significantly higher rates of anxiety and stress brought about by the fast-paced world in which we live, and that anxiety isn't helping you stay alive. It is hurting you. Psychotherapy is an effective solution for those who struggle with overwhelming worry and concern. 

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is when you experience stress, worry, and fear. It can manifest as physical symptoms as well, such as a faster heart rate, sweating, shaking, and even dizziness.

If you experience these symptoms right after a car almost hits you on the highway, that's a good source of anxiety, something that helped keep you safe because you noticed the car and slammed on the brakes, avoiding an accident. Your pulse went up, you felt your heart rate and your blood ringing in your ears, and your breathing increased, but eventually, that went down. 

Suppose you experience these symptoms when you are relaxing at home, sitting at your desk, or driving to work without any other cars on the road, and it gets to such a point that any event does not directly trigger it. It interferes with your ability to stay focused and complete daily tasks. In that case, it has transitioned away from a response to specific external pressures and has become a possible disorder for which professional psychotherapy services can be useful.

How Psychotherapy Services Address Anxiety and Stress

So, how can psychotherapy and counseling services be of assistance to those experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress? There are several different options, referred to as modalities or types, and you can find one that works best for your circumstances.

Psychodynamic Approach

Psychodynamic therapy is a powerful approach that helps you identify the underlying causes of your anxiety. This traditional method focuses on exploring unresolved conflicts or past traumas that may be contributing to your anxiety today. 

By working through these deeper issues, you can gain insight into the emotional triggers behind your stress and anxiety, leading to long-lasting emotional relief and personal growth. This type of therapy involves open dialogue with your therapist, where you examine patterns from your past to understand how they affect your current emotional state and behaviors.

Person-Centered Therapy

Person-centered therapy, also known as client-centered therapy, emphasizes creating a supportive, non-judgmental environment where you feel empowered to explore your emotions and discover your own solutions. In this approach, the therapist provides unconditional positive regard, empathy, and authenticity, allowing you to feel heard and understood. 

The person-centered approach does not focus on directing the session or analyzing your thoughts but instead encourages self-reflection and growth, helping you build confidence in navigating your anxiety and stress on your own terms.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most popular of the potential psychotherapy services for anxiety and depression because of its ability to help you change your relationship to what you are feeling.

CBT identifies and changes negative thought patterns that fuel anxiety and stress.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) 

Other professional psychotherapy services can include dialectical behavioral therapy, which is a subset of CBT. This helps you reduce your stress and stay calm with self-soothing exercises and doing things that make you feel good when you are anxious. It also incorporates mindfulness and distress tolerance, where you can learn to sit with negative emotions and discomfort and navigate through them.

This goes hand in hand with mindfulness, as it helps you recognize all of who you are, including the uncomfortable emotions or the physical manifestations of stress that you don't necessarily like and would prefer to avoid. When you learn to sit with all of these, you give yourself time to let them be, identify root causes or things that you can do to remove the cause, and, in turn, learn to tolerate things like anxiety or panic attacks more effectively.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

Mindfulness techniques are often integrated into psychotherapy and counseling services to help keep you present and mindful of your emotions. These techniques are particularly effective for grounding you in the present moment, reducing future-oriented anxieties, and fostering a greater sense of emotional awareness.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy offers various tools and techniques to help you understand and resolve the unconscious patterns contributing to your anxiety. These tools focus on exploring past experiences, emotional triggers, and relationship dynamics that may be influencing your current stress responses. Below are some of the common strategies used in psychodynamic therapy to address anxiety:

Identifying Recurrent Patterns

One of the primary techniques in psychodynamic therapy is the exploration of recurrent emotional patterns in your relationships and daily life. By discussing your thoughts and feelings in an open-ended manner, your therapist helps you identify these repeating patterns, many of which stem from unresolved past experiences. Understanding these patterns gives you insight into why certain situations trigger anxiety, allowing you to start breaking free from them.

Examining Defense Mechanisms

Your therapist will also help you become aware of defense mechanisms—unconscious strategies that you might use to protect yourself from difficult emotions. Common defenses like repression, avoidance, or denial may keep uncomfortable feelings at bay but can also fuel anxiety. By recognizing these defenses, you can start to work through the emotions they are shielding, helping to reduce anxiety and improve emotional resilience.

Gaining Emotional Insight

A key goal of psychodynamic therapy is to foster emotional insight. Rather than focusing on immediate symptom relief, this approach helps you explore the deeper causes of your anxiety. By uncovering unresolved issues from the past, you can gradually reduce their impact on your current emotional state, leading to long-term growth and more balanced responses to stress.

Reflecting on Relationships

Psychodynamic therapy also involves reflecting on your relationships with others. Many of the patterns that contribute to anxiety may be tied to the dynamics of your interpersonal connections. By examining how you relate to others and recognizing unhealthy relational patterns, you can work toward building more positive, supportive relationships that reduce anxiety triggers.

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Techniques

Mindfulness-based professional psychotherapy services can help you remain present, mindful of your emotions, how you respond to them, and what the present moment is.

Anxiety and stress center on the future, concerns and worries about what the future might hold, such as whether you will finish your work on time, whether your boss will be angry with you, whether you will have enough money to pay your bills this month, whether your family will think poorly of you because of your decisions, whether you and your spouse will find time together this weekend, and so on.

Mindfulness therapy helps keep you grounded in the present moment. Several exercises, like breathing and meditation, can turn your attention inward, helping you identify how you are feeling and learn to sit with that.

Too often, people who struggle with severe stress and anxiety try to avoid it instead of facing it head-on, and when you avoid your emotions, particularly the negative ones, you avoid a part of who you are–a potentially protective biological tool–and you cause unnecessary suffering twice. 

Some stress reduction techniques can be simple methods that put distance between yourself and your thoughts. Instead of saying, "I am worried about tomorrow's meeting," you would say, "I notice I am having the thought that I am worried about tomorrow's meeting."

This simple stress reduction technique works very effectively by placing distance between your thoughts and your emotions. The more distance you have between them, the less likely your thought is to directly control your emotions or impulsive behaviors.

Long-Term Benefits of Professional Psychotherapy Services

Psychotherapy and counseling services can build long-term emotional resilience. Emotional resilience is one of the most important skills a person can have. When you build emotional resilience, it makes you stronger in the face of negative emotions like stress and anxiety. 

As such, when you face stress and anxiety triggers, you will have a sense of control over your thoughts and emotions, so the impact of that stress or anxiety trigger is lessened.

Psychotherapy and Counseling Services: What to Expect

During your initial therapy session, you'll work with your counselor or therapist to assess your anxiety levels and set goals. Your goals will directly influence the modality used and the structure of your sessions.

It is important that you trust your therapist and that you communicate openly. This is a safe space for you to explore and grow.

Summing Up

Overall, different psychotherapy services can help you manage and overcome your stress and anxiety. With a wide array of modalities, there are several tools and techniques that can be of service to those experiencing stress and anxiety. Take that first step towards seeking help and recognize that it's a sign of your true strength.