Fayetteville, NC Counseling for Anxiety and Depression—Therapists

Can you resonate with any of these experiences? Maybe thoughts like these have popped in your head for a while, rattling around, and making life harder than it should be…

“Worry and nervousness are always with me. Often, I don’t even know why I’m feeling that way. Other people don’t understand how hard it is to always carry them with me.”

“This voice in my head knows what I’m afraid of and where I feel vulnerable and how I have failed. And it is loud, often the loudest.”

“I fibbed. I can’t meet up tonight. I have other plans. It some twisted way, it is true. I did have other plans—plans to breathe, to calm my sky-high pulse, to reassure myself, and to apologize over and over and over again.”

If these thoughts have rattled around in your head, you are not the only one. About 40 million people suffer with anxiety and depression each year in the United States, and thoughts like these are often a symptom that they are disrupting someone’s life. Symptoms of anxiety and depression can be treated, and many people are reaching out for the help they need. Just like someone with a serious physical illness may need to work closely with a physician, so people with anxiety and depression may need to work closely with a therapist or a counselor.

Anxiety and depression often leave people feeling helpless and alone, but the professionals at Thriveworks Counseling in Fayetteville, NC know that you have options for treatment and that you have help along the way. We have helped many people find healing and hope in the midst of anxiety and depression.

What Are Depression and Anxiety?

“Depression is like a bruise that never goes away. A bruise in your mind. You just got to be careful not to touch it where it hurts. It’s always there, though.”
– Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot

Anxiety and depression are distinct diagnoses, but they are often co-occurring. About half of all people diagnosed with one will also be diagnosed with the other at some point in their lives. Within each diagnosis, there are a variety of manifests, so depression in one person can look very different than how it looks in another. Same with anxiety.

Here are a few ways depression may manifest in an individual’s life:

• Major Depressive Disorder is what most people refer to as depression. Difficult emotions like hopelessness, emptiness, despair, and/or sadness plague people. Their eating and sleeping patterns are often disrupted. Concentrating is difficult. Thoughts of death or suicide may arise. These symptoms are felt most days, for a majority of the day, and for a minimum of two weeks to be major depressive disorder.
• Adjustment Disorder can arise during times of transition. Changes like divorce, moving, loss of a loved one, illness, job loss, and more can induce significant amounts of stress and depression. The symptoms of adjustment disorder are similar to major depressive disorder. Often, when the major change is process and resolved, so is the adjustment disorder.
• Bipolar Disorder swings people drastically between two extremes—depression and mania. Mania is a phase of frenetic energy—either euphoria or irritation. During a manic phase, people often make unhealthy and risky decisions. They may injure themselves. They may even experience hallucinations or psychosis. The symptoms of the depression phase are the same as major depressive disorder.
• Postpartum Depression occurs when expecting or new mothers experience the symptoms of major depressive disorder but with additional, difficult feelings about motherhood or their baby. During postpartum depression, women may worry obsessively about caring for their baby or fear having to care for their baby. They may also feel resentment or other negative feelings about the child.

Anxiety, like depression, is a complex diagnosis that may look different within different individuals. For example,

1. Panic Disorder – at times, anxiety can manifest as regular panic attacks, and when it does so, this may be panic disorder. During a panic attack, people’s heart often races, they may feel like they are dying, and breathing may become difficult. The fear of having another panic attack may also be crippling and disrupt people’s daily life.
2. Social Anxiety Disorder – When people fear daily social interactions, they may have social anxiety disorders. They may feel nervous about interacting with friends, family members, coworkers, and more. Social anxiety disorder may make people feel judged or embarrassed when they are around people, even people to care for them.
3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – After a traumatic event, people have feel the effects from that event for years to come. They may experience nightmares or flashbacks. They may feel the tension and the worry that they felt during the trauma, except they feel it all the time or when they are reminded of the event.

Appointments for Anxiety and/or Depression at Thriveworks Fayetteville

Working with a mental health professional is often the first step toward healing. Finding the right diagnosis and the right treatment can bring many benefits, and skilled therapists are often able to do just that. When you call Thriveworks Fayetteville for an appointment, know that we also offer evening and weekend sessions. We work with many insurance companies and accept many insurance plans. When you call our office, you may have your first session the following day.

Let’s fight anxiety and depression together. Call Thriveworks Fayetteville.