Anxiety and Depression Therapy in Royal Oak, MI
Even having a clear, positive thought can take herculean strength when people are struggling with anxiety or depression. If you have had one or both of these mental illnesses, then you know. Maybe you can relate…
- “Other people don’t really understand what it is like to feel nervous and worried all the time. By all the time, I mean every moment of every day. What am I worried about? I don’t know.”
- “My friends asked if I could go out. ‘No, I can’t—I’m busy,’ I lied. At least, I’m not busy in the usual sense. I am busy breathing, apologizing, and reassuring myself.”
- “I have this ongoing conversation in my head with a voice that knows all my insecurities and all my fears. It’s a constant reminder of what could go wrong and how I could make a mistake.”
Negative thoughts can be crippling. Best-selling author Jodi Picoult illustrates the difficulty: “Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.” And about 40 million adults in the US are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder each year. Many of those who have anxiety, also have depression—as many as 50 percent. The long-lasting and severe symptoms of these mental illnesses distinguish them from the normal ups and downs that everyone experiences in life. Anxiety and depression inhibit people from living their daily lives.
That said, fortunately there are effective treatment options available. If you are fighting depression or anxiety, you are not alone. There are millions of others struggling with this same problem. And you can find help and support in a depression therapist or anxiety therapist. The depression and anxiety therapists at Thriveworks Counseling in Royal Oak, MI know how depression and anxiety can overwhelm people. We also know how to help these individuals heal and live better. To schedule depression therapy or anxiety therapy at Thriveworks Counseling in Royal Oak, give our office a call.
The Physical Symptoms, Side Effects of Depression and Anxiety
When people are fighting a physical illness, they may suffer emotionally as their bodies fight the disease. The opposite can be true of mental illness. As people fight anxiety and depression, their bodies may suffer as well. People are whole beings, and their bodies and minds are interconnected. Anxiety and depression take both an emotional and a physical toll. For example, people may experience…
- Disrupted Appetite:The movie Melancholia depicts Justine’s struggle with depression, and in one poignant scene, she sits down to eat her favorite meal. As soon as the food hits her tongue, however, she spits it out. “It tastes like ashes,” she explains. Depression changed her appetite and taste buds, as it does for many. Some people want to eat constantly. Others barely eat at all.
- Irregular Sleep Patterns:People who have anxiety or depression frequently experience disrupted sleep. The disruptions may come in the form of hypersomnia—where they want to sleep all the time. The disruptions may come in the form of insomnia—where they have difficulty staying asleep, falling asleep, or getting restful sleep.
- Fatigue:Whether people are experiencing sleep disruptions or not, they often feel fatigued when they are fighting anxiety or depression. Battling a mental illness is draining—emotionally but also physically.
- Difficulty Focusing:All the challenges of anxiety and depression are deeply distracting from what people want to give their attention to. Many people find accomplishing tasks in their daily lives very difficult because they cannot focus or think clearly.
- Indecisiveness:Coming to a conclusion, resolving differences, prioritizing needs, making a choice—these are all activities most people do all day long without much thought, but anxiety and depression makes these vital tasks nearly impossible. People often feel stuck when they are fighting anxiety and depression because making a decision is so difficult.
Identifying Anxiety and Depression: The First Step in Healing
Like many other illnesses, recognizing anxiety and depression for what they are may be the first step in healing. If you have experienced the following for a period of two weeks, it may be time to seek help:
- Apathy about relationships and activities that were once fun and enjoyable.
- Feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness, and worthlessness that persist and are difficult to control.
- Psychosomatic pain, that is, emotional pain that shows itself as physical pain.
- Thoughts of suicide or dying.
As you can imagine, or might even know from personal experience, the above can make day to day living extremely difficult and unenjoyable. It’s important that if you are suffering as a result of anxiety and/or depression you obtain the professional help that is needed.
Schedule Anxiety or Depression Therapy at Thriveworks Counseling
Anxiety and depression do not have easy cures—there are no silver bullets, but there is help. In fact, there are many options for treatment. Because each person experiences anxiety and/or depression in a unique way, often, the start of treatment is about finding the right diagnosis. Then, a plan can be formed that is based upon the specific symptoms that you are experiencing.
If you are ready to meet with a counselor or therapist about the anxiety or depression symptoms you are experiencing, know that Thriveworks Counseling in Royal Oak is ready to meet with you. When you contact our office, you may be meeting with your mental health professional the following day. New clients often have their first appointment within 24 hours of their first call. We also offer weekend and evening appointments. We want our clients to receive the support they need—when they need it.
Let’s work together. Contact Thriveworks today.
