Overcoming Anxiety and Depression

Is your “life getting in the way” of how it “should” be?

You have been stressed out for some time now.

Work is overwhelming.

Your family has always been difficult.

Looking back, you think, “It hasn’t always been this bad,” but you are not even sure you believe that.

You go to bed at night and say that tomorrow will be a new day. Then you wake up in the morning with a sense of undefined (or maybe too defined) dread.

Worse, nobody around you really understands. With all the negative thoughts running in your head, you’ve had enough. Enough is enough. GIVE ME HAVE A SOLUTION!

Are your emotions and moods making life difficult?

“Why should I be happy? My family and friends don’t know what my life is like, and I don’t want to tell them. That would be more than I can bear.”

Maybe it is time I “talk to somebody.”

“Who wouldn’t be anxious in my situation? Anything and everything can go wrong. I will lose everything I worked for. And I do not want to make my loved ones worried. So I just keep it inside. I’m about to explode.”

Maybe it is time I “talk to somebody.”

Janice* told me she had been depressed her whole life.

She came to me after having “tried everything,” including many medications (all of which she hated).

She told me how she always screwed things up. She was convinced that she was a loser. Like most people, she thought she was a loser BECAUSE she was depressed. But I taught her that the opposite was true: She was depressed because she BELIEVED that she was a loser.

We mapped out her emotions and thoughts in situations that made her upset. We examined how those emotions and thoughts were making her feel bad. Then, I gave her other, practical ways of dealing with those situations that triggered the cascade of emotions and thoughts she called depression.

In three months, she changed her life. She can’t imagine how she lived so long without the joy and happiness she now feels.

Anything that could go wrong for Sam* usually did…

And because of that, he was consumed with anxiety. He walked around just KNOWING that every day would be a disaster.

He was a single father with an eight-year-old daughter. He lost his wife seven years ago and believed he was over it. He told himself that anyone in his situation would be anxious. At his job, his mind often strayed from his work… and at home, his mind often drifted to his job.

“But isn’t that to be expected?” he thought.

Then, one day, he was packing a lunch for his daughter and couldn’t find the bread. His anxiety skyrocketed, and he abandoned the task altogether. He even retreated to his room to calm down because he just couldn’t let his daughter see him like that. It was really bad… so bad that it took an hour before he could finish her lunch, get her to school, and head off for work. He knew then that he needed help.

Although it was a bit more complex than Janice’s case, the same basic treatment gave Sam complete control of his anxiety. Once I completely understood Sam’s situation, we mapped out his thought patterns and how they triggered his anxiety. We looked at how he was relating to his thoughts and why he got into such frightening, downward spirals. We then applied and practiced various exercises to transform his anxiety into “workable concern.”

In five months, Sam’s life was back to normal. After realizing that he was still thinking negatively about what happened to his wife and that there was no rational reason for those thoughts, we began to retrain his thinking. He practiced more adaptive thinking patterns for about five weeks and realized he was coping and no longer anxious.

You, too, can escape the anxiety and depression.

Think of the last time you got upset. Something happened. Your emotions flared. Your mind went to explain and justify why that upset you.

Sometimes, if you are lucky after you calm down, you realize that your automatic thoughts that explained why you were upset were not 100% rational. More often, you hold on to the “reason” for getting upset. Holding on to that irrational thought keeps you from feeling good and acting efficiently.

Together, we will identify the automatic non-rational and formulate rational thinking to replace the upsetting thoughts. Then we will practice using the tools that will enable you to put the new skills into real-life, in real-time.

I would love to work with you.

If anxiety or depression prevents you from working or living in the most satisfying way, it’s time to change things. As Einstein said, doing the same thing over and over and expecting change is insanity.

There is no reason to remain anxious or overwhelmed with sadness. If you have a hard time making or keeping friends… if you feel isolated, alone, unlovable, or hopeless… or if you’re too embarrassed or guilty to change things…

There is a solution. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, I have the tools to help you feel great about life.

You can change everything. I’ve seen it hundreds of times. Give me a call: (973) 944-0274.