The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
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San Diego's leader in anxiety and stress relief award-winning blog for useful information and tips about anxiety, stress, and related disorders. Their mission is to apply only the most effective short-term psychological treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and biofeedback.
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
2M ago
by Auti Scolman
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is a disorder distinguished by the presence of obsessive thoughts and/or compulsions that soothe the distress brought on by the obsessions. OCD can manifest in many different ways and often revolves around a theme, like contamination, sexuality, harm, or needing things to be “just right.”. A lesser spoken about manifestation of OCD can occur during pregnancy and/or the postpartum period, called Perinatal or Postpartum OCD (-). “Perinatal” refers to the time during pregnancy and “postpartum” refers to the time immediately following birth ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
8M ago
by Auti K Scolman
Discovering EMDR
In the world of therapy, several evidence based approaches have emerged to help individuals overcome traumatic experiences and distress associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). One powerful approach is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This innovative method has gained significant recognition for its ability to alleviate symptoms related to trauma, and in some cases, certain kinds of anxiety. Let’s dive into what happens during an EMDR session and the benefits that can follow.
What happens in a typical EMDR session?
EMDR is ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
1y ago
by Auti Scolman
Mindfulness. We hear that word all the time, but what exactly does it entail? Think of it as the practice of focusing your awareness on the present moment, and acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and sensations in your body. In other words, mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the here and now in a non-judgmental way.
There are so many benefits to practicing this therapeutic technique. Here are just a few:
Respond to Stress and Anxiety More Effectively:
One of the most well-known benefits of mindfulness is its ability to help us cope with stress a ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
1y ago
by Annabelle Mebane, MA, AMFT
When you’re someone who experiences a lot of anxiety, it’s easy to end up internalizing unhelpful messages like “you’re too sensitive,” or to think that any time you are having any big feelings, it’s “just anxiety” and that you need to push through or get over those feelings. But a crucial component of learning to respond to anxiety more effectively involves learning to respond more flexibly.
The goal of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – an evidence based transdiagnostic treatment model – is to increase what we call psychological flexibility:
the ability t ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
1y ago
By Annabelle Mebane, MA, AMFT
Often when we seek out therapy for anxiety, we are hoping that with treatment we can cure our anxiety or get rid of it. Anxiety is deeply uncomfortable, and it makes perfect sense to want to make it go away. Plus, anxiety is evolutionarily designed to show up when we are facing a threat, so of course the impulse is to resolve the perceived danger and presumably get rid of the anxiety too.
But the thing is, anxiety also shows up around the things we care most about.
When we take a risk towards something we care about, our minds and bodies sometimes read that risk a ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
2y ago
By Annabelle Parr, MA, AMFT
Our capacity for language allows us as a species to be excellent problem solvers. It’s the thing that allowed us to invent cars that transport us over large distances quickly, and it’s also what gives us the ability to notice if we have a flat tire, pull over, and replace the tire with a spare (and if you are not the savviest with automotive issues, to understand a YouTube video explaining how).
When we are anxious or afraid, our minds come up with thoughts to try to help us make sense of our fear and problem solve potential threats.
If you get a flat while you are ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
2y ago
By Annabelle Parr, MA, AMFT
One of the main goals in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is to help clients get comfortable being uncomfortable. This may sound strange at first, after all isn’t therapy meant to help alleviate suffering? So why would an evidence-based treatment model suggest that we get comfortable being uncomfortable?
Because the struggle to get rid of pain often comes at a cost.
When our energy and attention are wrapped up in trying to move us away from discomfort, several things typically happen:
First, the attempt to avoid discomfort or anxiety works. We get an instan ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
3y ago
By Annabelle Parr, MA, AMFT
Have you ever wished you could have a do over? Go back in time and alter an embarrassing moment, or seize a missed opportunity, or simply get more time to do the things that matter most to you?
What might we learn if we could travel back in time and do things differently?
Every year around New Year’s, I watch my favorite movie, About Time. It’s a rom com about a man who learns that the men in his family can travel back in time within their own lives, and it is filled with sweetness and some profound messages that are remarkably consistent with the core principles of ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
3y ago
By Annabelle Parr, MA, AMFT
There are many different reasons why you might decide to seek therapy. Maybe you are struggling with the stress of the pandemic, including but not limited to stressors like working from home and trying to be a full-time parent, teacher, and employee all at the same time; maybe you are struggling with the emotional repercussions of racism; maybe you’ve started experiencing panic attacks; maybe you have developed a phobia of driving, or needles, or spiders; maybe you are constantly consumed with worried thoughts; maybe it feels like fear is making all your decisions f ..read more
The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management Blog
3y ago
By Annabelle Parr, MA, AMFT
The human mind is a meaning making machine; it searches for patterns (even where there are none) and does it’s best to make sense of the world around us so that it can help keep as safe and surviving. But if you are reading this, I’m guessing while you are surviving, you might not feel like you are thriving. Because sometimes the thoughts our minds generate feel less than helpful. Sometimes, they get us stuck.
Anxiety tells us all kinds of stories about ourselves and the world around us.
If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you are probably familiar with all the cata ..read more