Anxiety Disorders I Treat:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is a normal and natural part of life. Everyone worries from time to time like before a big test, an important meeting. But when anxiety starts to take over your thoughts and disrupting your ability to function or enjoy things, it may be more than everyday stress — it could be Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
GAD is a common anxiety condition marked by persistent, excessive worry about everyday events or situations. But that description alone doesn’t quite capture how exhausting it really is. The worry feels uncontrollable and disproportionate to the situation. Over time, this constant vigilance can steal the joy from daily life — even from things that used to feel relaxing or enjoyable.
Your mind scans for possible problems before they even happen. It can feel catastrophic — as if if one thing goes wrong, everything else will unravel. You overestimate risk and underestimate your ability to cope with it. Even when part of you knows it’s unlikely, you can’t help but treat every possibility as a real threat.
Unlike other anxiety disorders that focus on specific fears (like social situations or phobias), GAD spreads across many areas of life — health, finances, relationships, work, and the future. This isn’t occasional worry — it’s a chronic pattern that can drain your energy, disrupt sleep, strain relationships, and make daily life feel harder than it should. GAD often runs in families, can be intensified by stress or major life changes and commonly co-occurs with other mental health conditions.
Common Symptoms of GAD
A constant stream of worry that’s hard to shut off — even when nothing is actually wrong.
Mentally playing out worst-case scenarios or needing reassurance just to feel okay.
Feeling restless, on edge, or unable to fully relax.
Physical symptoms like muscle tension, stomach discomfort, or headaches.
Trouble falling asleep or waking up with racing thoughts.
Difficulty concentrating or feeling mentally foggy.
Irritability or feeling easily overwhelmed by small things.
With the right support
You can learn how to:
Stop arguing with every “what if” your brain throws at you.
Build confidence by doing the things anxiety said you couldn’t.
Tolerate uncertainty without immediately spiraling.
Break the avoidance patterns that keep anxiety alive.
Let thoughts come and go — without needing to chase or control them.
Treatment Options for GAD
Recovery from GAD is absolutely possible — not by eliminating anxious thoughts altogether, but by learning new ways to respond to them. Here are the research-backed approaches I am trained in and offer for treating anxiety:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps you identify distorted thinking patterns like catastrophizing or black-and-white predictions, then challenge them with evidence instead of fear.
Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) focuses less on what you worry about and more on how you relate to worry itself — helping you reduce both excessive worrying and the tendency to worry about worrying.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches you how to carry anxiety with you while still moving toward your values, rather than waiting to “feel calm” before taking action.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) — commonly used for OCD — can also be effective for GAD by helping you face discomfort and uncertainty without letting anxiety dictate your reaction, helping you build confidence through real-life action.
You don’t have to figure it out alone
Let’s talk and see if I’m the right person to help.
I offer several ways to get support — from standard individual sessions to extended sessions and Intensive Treatment options for more severe symptoms. You’re not expected to know which one is right for you. That’s what the free phone consult is for — a 30-minute conversation to ask questions, learn more about how I work, and get a better sense of what moving forward could look like!
Your first step is simply filling out the brief inquiry form to schedule that call.