Transform Emotional Pain – Be More Present
Counseling for Anxiety, Trauma, and Codependency
Anxiety – a world of worry
Even before recent events, you had a lot to worry about – the fear of what might happen. It’s draining, constantly anticipating that something bad is going to happen. In addition to the mental clutter that worrying creates in your head, you can also feel it in your body – a hive of nervous energy buzzing with angst.
Expecting the worst is a tough way to live
You might think, “If I expect the worst, then I’m ready for it.” But how often have you noticed that the horrific visions you imagined never actually happen? Often times, the inner turmoil that worry creates can take a larger toll than if the dreaded events ever actually occurred.
Accepting the unknown
At the root of most anxiety is an attempt to control what can’t be controlled – future events. Since facing the unknown feels scary, your mind imagines negative scenarios of the future, so you’ll be ready for the worst. Even if you’re not thinking about it, you may notice that you just feel a wad of nervous energy in the pit of your stomach.
Your past may play a part
You may be anxious because you’ve experienced trauma or pain in the past that has primed your mind and body to be prepared for potential danger or threat. Even if the conscious mind doesn’t remember, the body does.
Help for anxiety
I have years of experience and training in helping people overcome the anxiety that’s getting in their way. By applying some basic principles, we can start to make your anxiety more manageable. If your anxiety is a response to pain from the past, I offer therapeutic approaches, such as EMDR, to help you develop a new outlook on what happened to you.
Trauma – the past is always present
Intrusive thoughts about the abuse you suffered get in the way of your life. You like awake at night thinking, “maybe it was my fault?”
Sometimes, your body gets activated and the emotions just pour out. This can happen at unexpected times, like when your partner is trying to get close to you or when you’re talking to your family. It knocks you sideways.
Can’t seem to shake that feeling
You’ve tried different things to try to stop the pain. It’s interfered with your relationships. It’s hard to trust others. Often, you do things to keep others happy even at your own expense.
You’ll do anything to avoid conflict, but it just keeps happening anyway. You feel stuck and can’t find a way out. You just want to be free from this inner turmoil.
Counseling can help you get past your past
I can help you transform your feelings about the past, so these painful memories no longer hold power over the present. You can have a life of meaning and feel more in touch with the parts of you that are worthy, strong, capable, and resilient.
Instead of being a slave to your past, you can be someone who has passed through a storm and now looks forward to the adventures ahead.
Codependency – lost in each other
Some people say the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself, but that sounds utterly absurd to you. Maybe you have the feeling that you don’t really exist without that other person – who are you without them?
Pleasing others until no one is happy
You spend most of your time trying to make sure your partner is happy because that’s how you are able to feel happy. If they are upset, you’re upset. Whatever emotion they’re feeling, you’re feeling and if things aren’t going well, it feels like you’re on shaky ground.
Avoiding it only makes the conflict worse
To avoid conflict, you just go along to get along, but the longer you keep accepting the way things are without asserting yourself the more miserable you become. Your partner gets angry with you because they can’t seem to make you happy. You get into this cycle of arguing, ignoring, and trying to reconcile that starts to feel totally hopeless.
Tired of being stepped on
It’s tough feeling like you’re getting walked all over most of the time. Sometimes, you get really angry about it, but then end up feeling even more guilt and shame after an outburst. It’s so hard to be stuck in this vicious cycle!
Interdependent instead of codependent
There may be many reasons your closest relationships end up this way. In counseling, you will have an opportunity to learn more about yourself, how you get activated, and healthy ways that you can assert yourself. As you develop more respect and compassion for yourself, you can see your life and relationships improve.
I became intrigued by the idea of becoming a therapist after being in counseling myself. It helped me make dramatic changes in my life that I’d been struggling with on my own for years. I had to do the work, but having that unconditional support was invaluable. Becoming a therapist has entailed a long journey of persistence and self-discovery that I hope you can benefit from.
The idea for Echo Counseling is that pain and suffering from the past reverberate through our lives. Counseling can transform that echo so that it becomes a source of strength and resilience rather than something that continues to inhibit personal growth. Counseling provides a space for change, transformation, and renewal.
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