I can’t calm down
Feeling anxious from time to time is a normal part of life. But when worry, tension, or fear become overwhelming and begin to interfere with daily activities, relationships, or health, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Your symptoms can include:
- Constant or excessive worrying
- Restless or difficulty relaxing
- Racing thoughts or trouble concentrating
- Physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, or muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances
Anxiety Counseling approaches include:
- Recognize patterns that keep you feeling stuck, unseen, and not enough
- Navigate family or professional relationships with clarity and greater confidence
- Learn to set and maintain boundaries without guilt
- Manage conflict or criticism in healthier ways
- Communicate effectively
- Identify and eliminate people pleasing
Together, we can explore what’s within your control, strengthen your communication skills, and help you respond to others from a place of agency rather than obligation. You deserve relationships that support your well-being rather than ones that drain it.
About Your Therapist
Thetis Alcott, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor | Founder, Pivotal Counseling
With more than a decade of experience, I specialize in helping adult women navigate relationship stress, anxiety, and life transitions with clarity and compassion. My approach combines evidence-based methods with genuine understanding — empowering you to feel grounded, confident, and capable in your relationships and within yourself.
More About Professional Counselor Thetis Alcott
What happens in therapy sessions?
Our initial meeting, both telehealth and in person, is a casual conversation where you begin to share your unique goals for therapy. Sometimes people aren’t exactly sure why they are seeking help and this is OK too! This is your time to be seen and heard, to feel genuinely listened to and understood without judgment. In our next sessions I gather information about your history and background so that I have a full picture of the person you are. We set a plan for our path and so the growth process can begin!
Counseling Session Information:
- Session Length: 50 minutes
- Format: In-person and telehealth options available
- Frequency: Weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your goals
- Payment: Private pay
FAQs About Anxiety Counseling
Do I need anxiety counseling?
We all get nervous about particular situations. We all have those sleepless nights when
we toss and turn as we worry. When these symptoms begin to interfere with your daily living, with your relationships, with your health, it is time for anxiety counseling. We become irritable, experience somatic symptoms, our appetite and sleep is interrupted. I like to say depression is ruminating about the past and anxiety is ruminating about the future. Where we want to remain is in the Present. Mindfulness is a large part of anxiety therapy. Anxiety therapy consisting of mindfulness, meditation and breathing helps to rewire your brain and calm your nervous system. It interrupts the anxiety loop. The more we worry, the more our anxiety builds and the more it builds, the more we turn to maladaptive methods of coping. Practicing mindfulness is the most effective way to bring us back to the present.
How do you become mindful?
A mindfulness practice is exactly that, A Practice. It takes time to feel as though it is
helpful. We start with small steps, only a few minutes per day. And gradually build. Research demonstrates that when we are mindful and practice breathwork, our reactivity lessens. We become less edgy, we are more tolerant and patient, we sleep better and our appetite returns. I hear so many people in anxiety therapy say that they can’t do it or it doesn’t work for them. If given an opportunity, it can and I am here to help.
What works in Anxiety Therapy?
I find a combination of approaches are helpful including mindfulness, psychodynamic
(talk therapy) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I have also found that self-compassion is
helpful. What are you saying to yourself about your anxiety? Is that keeping you from moving forward? I have training in all of these areas and more. My versatility as a therapist
accompanied by years of experience allows me to provide the highest level of care possible.
Am I experiencing stress or anxiety?
I would say that again, we all experience stress on some level. And that isn’t necessarily
a bad thing. Without stress our life would be a flatline with nothing to anticipate or care about. Small amounts of stress are fine and usually resolve themselves in a finite matter of time.
Anxiety lasts for a longer period of time. It becomes too big to manage as we try to avoid
it. It impacts all aspects of life: at work, at home, even at our kids’ games or the drive through. It takes us over and we become prisoners. Oftentimes, anticipatory anxiety is more intense than an actual situation. How many times have you said to yourself, “that wasn’t as bad as I was expecting?” Managing these feelings takes time to sort through but I am here and ready to help.
