Can counseling help anxiety?

Certainly! Counseling can help you manage anxiety. This is one of the most common reasons people seek a counseling professional. Anxiety is very prevalent in our society, especially since the pandemic began. People are struggling with many anxious thoughts about the future and just feeling anxious daily.

Different counseling professionals will approach the issue very differently, though. For instance, a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT) might assign you homework around recording and confronting your anxious thoughts in a journal. A counseling professional specializing in in-depth work might help you find some of the early root causes of why you are an anxious person. A behavioral modification counselor will probably have you focus on specific breathing exercises when you experience anxiety symptoms. Or an art therapist could have you create a piece of art portraying your anxiety in physical form.

Obviously, not all strategies or methods are going to work for everyone. The most important thing to remember is finding someone you both trust and feel that their method speaks to you somehow. If you are not a person who is interested in art, an art therapist is probably not the best counseling professional to work with regarding your anxiety.

Keep in mind that anxiety is normal. We all feel it at times. Your goal should not be to eliminate it but become better at listening to it and managing it. Sometimes, anxiety has a utility. Imagine not feeling anxious as a tiger charged at you…that would not be particularly beneficial.

An appropriate counseling professional will help to understand that your anxiety might be telling you something important. Sometimes, we ignore uncomfortable feelings because we know that a change must take place. Since change is anxiety-provoking for many of us, it is not uncommon for people to try and avoid it, making themselves feel anxious in the process. Whatever the reason for your anxiety, a counseling professional can help you look at it with new eyes and find ways to manage it.