Therapy with Alex G
Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety counseling for pre-teens, teens, and adults in Santa Barbara, CA.
Get Out Of Your Head And Back Into Your Life
Anxiety can make you feel like you’re constantly on edge, overthinking every decision, and unable to fully enjoy your life. You may also experience specific fears, a general sense of dread, or the urge to avoid things that feel overwhelming—even when they’re important to you! You might struggle to stay present, second-guess yourself, or feel disconnected from who you really are.
Let me help!
In therapy, we’ll get to the root of your anxiety. Together, we’ll uncover the patterns keeping you stuck—how your thoughts, avoidance, and body’s reactions are reinforcing your anxiety—and give you the tools to break free so you can live with more confidence and ease.
Anxiety Can Show Up As…
Generalized Anxiety
Generalized anxiety, or excessive worry about everyday issues or situations, can make you feel intensely distressed and uncomfortable, negatively impacting your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, routines, and relationships. When you think about what might be impacting you and leading to your anxiety, you may either feel overwhelmed by the immensity of your fears or at a loss for why you are worrying at all. This can make it hard to problem-solve and find a solution for what you are experiencing on your own. Together, we will explore how anxiety is keeping you stuck, and I will help you notice and implement tangible skills and tools so that you can move forward. With practice, perseverance, and support, our work together will equip you to lessen your fear and stop anxiety from running your life.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is characterized by intense fear, nervousness, and self-consciousness in social situations. When you experience social anxiety, you often worry about being judged or embarrassed by others, leading you to avoid social interactions or feel extremely anxious about them. You might also be overly concerned about making mistakes, not knowing what to say, or being judged as “weird” or “stupid.” I can help by providing you with a safe space where you will feel supported and understood. As we work together, we will explore how negative thinking and behaviors sustain your distress. In addition, I will help you improve your social skills and develop unique coping strategies so that you can interact more effectively and confidently and improve your social engagement.
Phobias
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder characterized by an intense fear of particular objects, situations, or activities. Common phobias that you might struggle with are fear of heights, fear of needles/blood, fear of flying, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of public speaking, or fear of throwing up (emetophobia). The main thing distinguishing a phobia from a fear reaction is that your fear is excessive, and your distress seems uncontrollable. Therapy with me will help you face your phobias head-on by identifying and changing your fears and beliefs related to the phobia. I will also use exposure therapy techniques to help you manage your physical symptoms and avoidance. This will be done in a controlled and gradual way to help you become desensitized to your phobia so that you can face your fear with less distress.
Perfectionism
While striving for excellence is often a positive quality, perfectionism can negatively impact your mental health and lead to lower levels of self-esteem and happiness. In particular, when you experience perfectionism, you may start to think about things as either all-or-nothing and become highly critical of yourself when you fall short of your own expectations. You may also feel that you have to be hard on yourself to do things the “right” way. As your therapist, I will help you focus in on how your perfectionism impacts you and assist you in recognizing and challenging your unrealistic expectations. Together we will replace your perfectionistic thinking with more realistic and positive thoughts so that you can develop a more accepting and compassionate attitude toward yourself.
Low Self Esteem
Low self-esteem can be a debilitating experience, causing negative thoughts, insecurity, and self-doubt. It can impact how you feel, behave, and even your relationships with others. When you have low self-esteem, it can feel like no matter what you do; it’s never good enough. You may even start to believe that there’s something wrong with you and that you don’t deserve the same things as other people. However, therapy can help you increase your self-esteem by highlighting and breaking down the negative thoughts and feelings that are preventing you from feeling good about yourself. Together, we will work to increase your self-compassion and self-acceptance so that you can learn to be kind and understanding toward yourself, even when you make mistakes or experience setbacks.
