Alexa von Oertzen, LMFT
5 Myths of the Infamous 'Midlife Crisis'
What image comes to mind when you hear “midlife crisis”? There’s a classic picture we’ve seen in the media time and time again...
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Is Stress, Worry & Anxiety Taking Over Your Life?
Do you worry constantly about what may or may not happen? Perhaps you went through a distressing event recently or in your past, such as an accident, illness, termination, break up or something else, and you just haven’t felt like yourself since. You may feel on edge, overwhelmed, exhausted, or maybe even depressed from fighting intrusive negative thoughts that you can’t seem to control.
Maybe you're going through what’s generally considered a positive life transition, but feeling an unexpected sense of unease. You might be adjusting to a new job, pregnancy, baby, or relationship. As you try to adapt to these changes, you may notice yourself falling behind at work or other responsibilities. With everything going on, don’t you just wish you could focus on the task at hand and find some relief?
Do you struggle to engage with the present moment—to enjoy all that you have in the here and now? As stress pulls you further and further from your life, you may experience physical distress, such as feeling a weight on your chest making it hard to take a deep breath, tension in your neck or shoulders, heart palpitations, stomach issues, poor concentration, sleep problems, dizziness or maybe even full blown panic attacks. To avoid these uncomfortable sensations, you may withdraw socially, attempt to avoid situations that trigger your anxiety, or you may even turn to unhealthy behaviors as a way to cope or numb out.
Dealing with anxiety can be a confusing, overwhelming, and exhausting experience that can affect everything from your day-to-day happiness to your work performance to your relationships.
You may wake up each morning tired, already overwhelmed by everything you have to accomplish. You may feel like, no matter how hard you try, you can’t keep your head above water with the never ending demands on your to-do list.
In the evening, after you’ve completed a long day, and prepared dinner for yourself (and possibly a family), you may try to unwind, but nothing seems to help. When you go to sleep at night, you’re overthinking specific situations that happened during the day and consumed by ruminating thoughts about what might happen tomorrow, and the vicious cycle of anxiety continues...
It doesn't have to be this way. Regardless of where you fall on the stress, worry, anxiety, and panic continuum, there is hope! You deserve to live a life filled with peace, health, and happiness. Let us help you get there.
If You Struggle With Stress, Anxiety, Worry, or Panic Attacks, You Are Not Alone!
If you are struggling with stress, worry, anxiety, or full-blown panic attacks, you are not alone. Each year, nearly 40 million adults are diagnosed with anxiety. On the one hand, stress is unavoidable. It hits us as we face deadlines, interviews, first dates, financial hardships and more.
In moderation, stress can actually be a good thing. It can prepare you for and help you through challenging situations. However, when stress accumulates over time, it can build up in your system and cause uncomfortable physical and emotional sensations, maybe even panic attacks.
There are a variety of ways normal, healthy stress turns into anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by an immensely stressful situation, such an accident, illness, trauma, divorce, job loss, unrealistic expectations at work, or something else. It can also be caused by medical issues, like a thyroid disorder or hormonal imbalance after giving birth to a new baby.
Life transitions also tend to evoke some level of stress and anxiety. Change can be both exciting and scary!
We live in a fast-paced culture that too often celebrates overwork and busy schedules, and you’re likely under a lot of pressure. With that being said, anxiety can rob you of the present moment and therefore make it difficult to enjoy life. It also can create problems in your relationships.
No matter what you’re going through now, you deserve to feel calm, at peace, and happy with your life. With the right guidance, it is possible to balance all the moving parts and feel good.
Anxiety Therapy Can Help You Thrive
Anxiety counseling is wonderfully effective in teaching you how to reduce stress. At our Broward County counseling offices (located in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Plantation, Florida), we have several expert therapists and psychologists who offer collaborative approaches that are uniquely designed to fit your unique needs and goals.
In a spa-like atmosphere that’s comfortable and relaxed, you can come to understand what drives your distress, as well as develop skills to alleviate it at the core. Our expert therapists are committed to your success, passionate about helping people within their specialty, and committed to providing the best experience for each one of our clients.
Our highly competent team uses research-based approaches to help clients experience relief from their symptoms and achieve their goals as soon as possible. During our sessions, we will identify clear goals and offer practical solutions that help alleviate anxiety, as early as the first session. And although each course of treatment is individualized, we always want our clients to walk away with the relief of knowing they can gain control over their lives.
We use a combination of approaches to treat anxiety. One of those is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which can help you learn to recognize, accept and change your thought patterns, which in turn, grants you more control over how you feel and behave.
We also use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness-based techniques to help you relax and become more grounded in the present moment. And, we offer space to practice effective relaxation skills, such as deep breathing, so you can experience immediate relief from uncomfortable anxiety symptoms.
Additionally, we offer EMDR Therapy for those who struggle with intense anxiety, panic attacks, and trauma/PTSD. Although EMDR is typically known as an approach for those specifically with PTSD, it is also highly effective in helping to decrease symptoms of anxiety.
With your therapist, you may also create an anxiety timeline that allows you to track symptoms and discover various unique patterns so you can gain more insight and interrupt patterns that aren't working for you.
Although most of our work is focused on where you are now and where you want to be, we also reflect on your past to understand how it may be affecting you in the present. For example, if someone in your family of origin struggled with anxiety or one of your primary caregivers modeled unhelpful behavior to you, we may consider ways to break that cycle. Whatever your particular patterns might be, we can work together to change your perspective—to trade in fear for curiosity and hope.
You Deserve to Have Peace, Happiness & Joy in Your Life
No matter what you’re going through, you are not alone, and help is available. Between all of our therapists, we have decades of experience helping children, teens, and adults find relief from stress, worry, anxiety, phobias and panic attacks.
Anxiety is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses in America. That means there’s a lot of help available for those who are struggling. No one should have to suffer from debilitating anxiety forever.
Regardless of how long you’ve had anxiety, there is hope! If you’re committed to the therapeutic process, it’s possible to experience the happy, peaceful, joyful life you desire. You don’t have to let anxiety hold you back from your personal and professional goals and dreams.
Have questions or concerns about anxiety treatment?
"How long does anxiety therapy last? I don’t want to be in therapy forever."
At Bayview Therapy in Fort Lauderdale, our caring and dedicated therapists use an evidenced-based and strength-based approach. That means we offer brief and effective strategies helping you leverage your strengths and resources to reach your goals.
We will provide skills and techniques to help you alleviate distress as soon as possible, while working toward your goals. Of course, the length of time in therapy depends on many factors, such as how long the problem has been going on, how open you are to change and how willing you are to implement the tools you learn in therapy to create the change you desire.
"I've always been told that therapy is for crazy people or those in crisis. I’m not crazy."
Although anxiety can make you feel like you’re going crazy at times, it doesn’t mean that you are. Historically, seeing a therapist has carried a great deal of stigma. However, mental wellness is becoming much more mainstream, and more and more people are working with therapists.
Not only that, but therapy works. No matter how big or small your problems are, if you’re struggling, you deserve to have a happy, healthy and connected life.
You don’t have to feel guilty about taking care of yourself or investing in your personal development. You deserve to develop into the best version of yourself possible.
"Is anxiety therapy covered by my insurance?"
There are several reasons why we do not accept insurance as an in-network provider. One of the reasons is that it reduces your privacy and confidentiality. Insurance requires that your therapist provide you with a psychiatric diagnosis that goes on your medical health record and can negatively impact you in many ways.
We want you to be an informed consumer and to have the opportunity to remain in control of your care without the restrictions of insurance. However, if you aren’t concerned about getting a diagnosis and you have a PPO plan, we could discuss going through your out of network benefits.
Let us know during your initial call if you want to use your out of network insurance (PPO) and we discuss how this works.
"I’ve heard that anxiety therapy can be expensive."
We utilize an efficient team approach and some of our clinicians offer cost-saving packages to make it even more affordable. We also use a brief therapy approach, meaning therapy with us may not be a long-term commitment. Participating in therapy and investing in yourself can actually save you money down the road.
When you get anxiety under control, you’ll likely perform better at work, feel physically better, and maybe even make fewer visits to your doctor.
What’s more important than your wellbeing?
Wouldn’t you like to learn practical skills that result in a newfound ability to manage anxiety so you can achieve your personal and professional goals?
Imagine how amazing it would be to feel like your best self—to be in control, confident, at peace, happy and fulfilled… Let us help you get there...
Relief From Anxiety is Possible at Our
Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs,
& Plantation, FL Offices
If you would like to learn more about stress and anxiety counseling at Bayview Therapy or want to schedule an appointment with one of our expert therapists or psychologists, call 954-391-5305. We offer a complimentary phone consultation.
We have offices across Broward County (Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, & Plantation, Florida) for your convenience we are currently accepting new clients. We also provide psychiatric medication management for those who are in need.
We offer face-to-face sessions as well as online therapy (phone or video sessions) on a secure, HIPAA compliant platform. Our team of expert counselors in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Plantation are here to help!
Additional Counseling Services at Our Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, & Plantation, FL Offices
Anxiety therapy isn’t the only counseling and psychological service we provide in our Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Plantation offices. We help people across their life span... Sometimes, life gets complicated and you or your loved ones may be struggling with more than one challenge. Keep in mind, you're not alone... no matter what you're going through, we're here to help!
Our expert psychologists and counselors at Bayview Therapy specialize in different areas. We offer a wide range of counseling and psychological services to support our Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Plantation, Southwest Ranches, Davie, Weston, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, and Parkland communities.
We provide therapy and psychological evaluations for children, teens, adults, couples, and families dealing with a wide variety of life's challenges across the lifespan. Some of our specialties include depression counseling; trauma therapy and EMDR therapy; teen counseling; child and family counseling; couples counseling or marriage therapy; psychiatric medication management; and more.
We also provide affirmative counseling for the LGBTQ+ community and online counseling options using our secure HIPAA compliant platform.
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Anxiety Counseling in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, & Plantation, FL
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