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When Anxiety Doesn’t Go Away: How to Know If It’s Time to Seek Professional Support
Anxiety is a normal human experience. It can show up before a big presentation, during a difficult conversation, or even when life feels uncertain. In small amounts, anxiety can even be helpful.
The struggle arises for many of our clients when anxiety becomes constant, overwhelming or begins interfering with daily life. Does this sound familiar to you? It may be time to look at it more closely. If you’ve been searching for how to deal with anxiety, you are not alone. Many adults and couples in Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and surrounding areas quietly struggle with persistent worry, racing thoughts, sleep disorders and/or physical tension.
Understanding the difference between everyday stress and clinical anxiety is the first step toward much-needed relief.
What Does Ongoing Anxiety Actually Look Like?
Anxiety is not always dramatic or obvious. Sometimes it presents as:
- Excessive worrying, catastrophic or spirals of “what-if” scenarios.
- Noticeable irritability or feeling “on edge”.
- Trouble sleeping, even when exhausted.
- Physical symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, headaches, increased heart rate and excessive sweating.
- Difficulty concentrating, even on every day tasks.
For some people, anxiety is tied to a specific event. For others, it feels constant and hard to explain. When symptoms last for weeks or months, or begin affecting work, relationships, or physical health, professional support can make a meaningful difference. With the help of our licensed therapists, you will feel confident in utilizing tools to ground your body and mind, slowing the racing thoughts and alarm bells.
Why Self-Help Strategies Sometimes Aren’t Enough
- Exercise
- Breathing techniques
- Journaling, coloring or planning
- Reducing caffeine intake
- Listening to podcasts or reading articles
These tools can be helpful. However, if anxiety continues despite consistent effort, it may indicate that something deeper is contributing.
- Trauma history
- Chronic stress
- ADHD
- Relationship conflict
- Hormonal shifts
- Unresolved grief
- Longstanding cognitive patterns
In some cases, psychological testing can help clarify whether anxiety is part of a broader diagnostic picture.
How Therapy with Krueger Wellness Institute Helps Reduce Anxiety
Therapy allows us to identify thought patterns that often fuel your anxiety and address the root causes, rather than just the surface symptoms. Anxiety puts a strain on your own well being but our closest relationships with our significant others, parents, kids and friends.
By maintaining a structured therapy schedule, we can develop long-term skills for emotional regulation. Our licensed therapists provides you with structure and insight that self-help methods cannot always offer. Through in-person or telemed therapy, we provide a confidential space to slow down and untangle the patterns that keep anxiety active.
Support is not about “fixing” you. It is about helping you understand your nervous system, your history and your triggers in a way that restores confidence and calm.
Grounding Techniques
Focus
- 5 – See: Look around and identify five things you can see (a chair, a picture, etc).
- 4 – Feel: Acknowledge four things you can feel, such as your clothes, a blanket, rug, etc.
- 3 – Hear: Listen for three distinct sounds, such as birds chirping, sound machine or your own breathing.
- 2 – Smell: Identify two things you can smell, like coffee.
- 1 – Taste: Identify one thing you can taste, or simply notice the current taste in your mouth.
Breathe
Exhale all air from your lungs prior to beginning.
- Inhale (4 seconds): Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your stomach and lungs.
- Hold (4 seconds): Retain your breath.
- Exhale (4 seconds): Breathe out slowly through your mouth.
- Hold (4 seconds): Keep your lungs empty before the next breath.
Reach Out Today for Relief
If your anxiety is feeling constant or worsening, you feel exhausted from constantly having to manage your thoughts, or you feel stuck despite trying multiple strategies, it is time to call Krueger Wellness Institute. Our team of licensed therapists can help you get back to feeling like yourself.
Call (850) 842-2424 to schedule an appointment or learn more about therapy and psychological testing services.
Support begins with a conversation.
What is Therapy Like? A Guide for First Timers
Even though it’s been proven effective, mental health therapy goes unutilized by many people. The reasons for this are many, but in some cases, it is simply because the potential patient is nervous or anxious about what their therapy sessions will entail. 
Maybe you are considering therapy for stress, anxiety, or many other reasons, but are not quite ready to make the call. You are in the right place! We are hoping that today’s blog helps ease your fears and guides you towards reaching out.
Here is what happens during a person’s first therapy appointment:
Setting Up a Realistic Eating Plan
Dieting is tough, and even if it’s successful to begin with, around two-thirds of people eventually gain the weight back. Most people begin their weight loss journey with enthusiasm and commitment, only to give up at the first, second, or third hurdle. This is often repeated in a cycle which leads to frustration and feelings of hopelessness.
For these reasons and others, setting yourself up for success with a realistic diet plan is so important! Doing it through the help of a dietitian can help. A dietician can help identified a style of eating appropriate for your needs and help identify areas that have prevented you from being successful in the past, i.e. stress!
Tips for Coping with an Anxiety Disorder
Over 19% of adults and over 31% of adolescents are currently struggling with an anxiety condition or have at some point in their lives. Statistically, the chances are high that you or someone you love is one of them.
If you have anxiety, you’re not alone. Our fast-paced world, coupled with the stress of COVID19 and politics, have been a catalyst for anxiety, and your feelings are not irrational. We are here to help!
Read below to learn about anxiety coping strategies and anxiety therapy to help you get through the day.
Understanding Psychological Testing and Assessments
Are you in therapy, thinking about attending therapy, or curious about your mental health symptoms and what they mean? Your therapist or primary care physician might recommend a psychological assessment.
You may be anxious or scared to take steps toward a psychological assessment, but we are here to ease your anxiety. Many people take psychological assessments every day. They are meant to test your strengths and weakness but, as long as you give true effort, you can never fail it! Not only can these tests not be failed, but they are also not harder than any regular school test that you’ve taken before.
Most people are afraid of being evaluated and participating in a psychological test, but we are here to guide you through the process so it feels stress free and you know what to expect along the way.
Anxiety Grounding Technique
Do you suffer from daily symptoms of anxiety that leave you feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about the future? Does it feel, at times, that there is no light at the end of the “anxiety” tunnel? Do you suffer from chronic fatigue and negative thoughts throughout the day? Are there specific times or specific places when the anxiety feels more intense?
If so, give this technique a try…it will help guide your mind into a calmer state and can help you feel more connected and grounded with your body.
Mental Health Care During Quarantine
The novel coronavirus, since coined COVID-19, has come crashing into our realities with unprecedented force and halted life as we know it. Many businesses have been forced either to go online or close, restaurants are resorting to take-out and delivery options only, and even the soothing balm of nature’s sanctuary has been roped-off to discourage overcrowding as we attempt to escape our stuffy dwellings. Collectively, we have experienced a historical and global event not seen by most, with many suffering exponentially from physical complications or loss of livelihood. Anxieties increase, tensions mount, and we are left wondering what’s next as we eagerly await a respite that seems far off.
These grim realities can be daunting as we fight to reclaim what we’ve lost, which is why taking care of our mental health is now more important than ever. But, what does that look like? And how can we incorporate mental health care into our lives in a simple way that won’t add to our stress? These questions are valid and, fortunately, there are approachable ways to ground ourselves every day.
Mental Health and COVID-19
Taking care of your mental health during COVID-19 can be a little daunting, but with these tips, the Krueger Wellness Institute team hopes you can be more at ease during this stressful time.
Niceville Therapy Services
Today you are one step closer to achieving your personal goals and beginning a positive path toward growth and wellbeing. At Krueger Wellness Institute, we offer a variety of therapeutic approaches that can be used to address a broad array of difficulties to include depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health conditions.
Welcome to Krueger Wellness!
Welcome to Krueger Wellness! Check back for tips, tricks and updates on Mental Health!