What is High Functioning Anxiety?

You probably have heard about High Functioning Anxiety” and wonder what the difference is between High Functioning Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I had a friend text me recently and ask me this very thing. The answer is that High Functioning Anxiety holds similarities to Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This isn’t a different diagnosis, but it’s a different way of talking about it and what it may look like on the outside. Regardless of if you have GAD or high-functioning anxiety, anxiety therapy can help.

How do I know if I have high-functioning anxiety?

This term really means that you have anxiety but from the outside, it doesn’t interfere with your daily functioning, and it seems like it doesn’t impact your functioning. The truth is that it does impact your daily functioning but the behaviors you use to make your anxiety go away might look more positive. It might mean you show up early to work and stay late. You are a hard worker, you’re on top of your tasks, you obsessively check and respond to e-mails, you’re clean and tidy, etc. Your ways of managing your anxiety actually seem favorable and you’re on top of things in your life. Your high-functioning anxiety may actually look like success or positive outcomes. The women I work with have shared that they have been praised for some of their behaviors driven by anxiety. What others don’t realize is that many of your behaviors are driven by anxiety, and the only way to manage your anxiety is to engage in these behaviors. There is nothing wrong with finding ways to manage your anxiety but with all anxiety when those behaviors are only helpful in the short term, they may not be as effective as you think they are. With this type of anxiety, it can feel like it never stops. You always have to be on top of things, and there is no room for rest. This can lead to emotional burnout. 

Generalized anxiety might have a different stereotype even though they hold the same symptoms but use different behaviors to manage it. It might not seem like you have generalized anxiety because you can leave the house, and go to work. It doesn’t seem that bad to you so might not think you have this anxiety. It’s the same anxiety but you are managing it with different behaviors. People might be surprised you struggle with anxiety because you are able to hide it. However, you know this anxiety is actually a problem in your life. 

What are the symptoms of High Functioning Anxiety?

-Overthinking

-Ruminating on past mistakes

-People-pleasing and not telling people no

-Excessive worry

-Comparing yourself to others

-Perfectionistic thinking

What’s the treatment for High Functioning Anxiety?

Psychotherapy

The treatment options for high functioning anxiety are the same as they would be for generalized anxiety. Therapy is a  helpful treatment option for anxiety. Therapy involves helping you identify what triggers your anxiety and some helpful coping skills you might be able to utilize to lower your anxiety.  EMDR therapy, exposure and response therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are all options in helping you manage your anxiety better. 

Medication

Some people would either prefer to go to therapy and not take medication while others would gladly take medication but don’t want to go to therapy. However, doing both might be the best option. Medication can help lower your anxiety so you can work on what’s underneath the anxiety but only using medication doesn’t help you work through everything long-term. IN the same way, if you are not open to taking medication, I would challenge you on why you aren’t? It’s another tool that can be helpful to make life be more manageable. 

You deserve help for your high functioning anxiety regardless of what it looks like

The thing I wish everyone would know is that your anxiety doesn’t have to be keeping you from leaving your house or making it so you can’t function or if your anxiety is hidden. All of it deserves help. You don’t have to wait until it gets bad or prove that your anxiety is bad to anyone. As a therapist, I am eager and willing to help anyone who wants tools to get better and is willing to put in the effort. I have never once thought a client shouldn’t be in therapy because they weren’t bad enough or struggling enough. In fact, I think getting help early on before you find your anxiety debilitating is the best option. Please don’t wait to get help or talk yourself out of needing help. Everyone has good days and bad days when it comes to anxiety but that’s not a reason to not come to therapy. I want to help you feel better and lessen the intensity of your anxiety.  I want you to be able to have to hope the negative chatter in your head doesn’t have to be so loud. You don’t have to be overwhelmed all the time. You can allow yourself to rest and not feel so guilty about everything you’re not doing. I help my clients be able to cope effectively and feel better about their lives. 

Start High Functioning Anxiety Treatment in Provo, Utah

If you are reading this and realize you have symptoms of high-functioning anxiety, there’s help available. The good news is there is help available. This Utah County Counseling Center has an anxiety therapist specializing in high-functioning anxiety. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

1. Complete online forms and schedule the first session with an anxiety therapist in Utah

2. Begin High Functioning Anxiety Treatment

Online Therapy in Utah

One of my favorite things about technology is its ability to help us connect with each other. I know you’re busy, and I know you’re dealing with anxiousness. These things can prevent you from reaching out for help; I don’t want that. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. It’s convenient and just as effective as meeting in the office but with the perk that we both can wear sweatpants and nobody has to know.

Online therapy also means that you can access anxiety therapy wherever you are in Utah. This means if you live in St. George, Cedar City, Heber City or Logan, we can help you find relief from anxiety.

Other mental health services provided at Maple Canyon Therapy

Axniety therapy isn’t the only therapy provided at this Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include body image therapy, therapy for binge eating, eating disorder therapy, and EMDR and trauma therapy.

LDS Women and Anxiety: Thoughts From an Anxiety Therapist

Many of the women I work with are LDS and experience symptoms of anxiety.  It’s hard enough for these women to admit they struggle with anxiety let alone come in and seek help. They feel like they should have it all together and that they should have the answers because of their faith. These women share how much their faith means to them, and their spiritual beliefs bring them peace and happiness. They have shared their belief in Christ helps guide their actions and gives their life meaning. Their spiritual beliefs and religion mean so much to them,  and it brings them so many other answers in life so why isn’t it working for their anxiety?

LDS women tend to go inward and blame themselves. This must mean they are reading their scriptures enough, doing enough services, or they aren’t filled with enough faith. They’ve heard comments from other well-meaning people around them say, “The atonement can help you overcome your anxiety”. This leaves them feeling like they aren’t doing enough, and if they have anxiety it must be their fault. 

What I want my LDS clients to know about their anxiety 

As a therapist, I want to give you some perspective on this topic and help you not feel so weighed down not only by your anxiety but help you realize it’s not your fault. I want to help you offer yourself compassion for having anxiety the same way you offer to other people. Anxiety is something everyone experiences regardless of their faith and beliefs. I try to challenge my LDS clients on is do these beliefs line up with what they believe about God. I would challenge you to ask yourself the same thing. Here are some things to consider about your anxiety. 

Anxiety is biological 

Anxiety is a natural response to stressors. The brain releases chemicals when it feels we are in danger. The issue with this is that our brain isn’t able to know what is a real or imagined threat based on the messages we give it. It doesn’t know speaking in public isn’t the equivalent of being attacked by a bear so it responds as if you were able to be attacked. The brain is doing its job and responding the way it was created. Keeping you safe is the purpose of anxiety. It responds because it’s a survival skill not because you aren’t praying hard enough. 

Anxiety isn’t a result of having a lack of faith 

People that have faith or spiritual beliefs can have mental health benefits and aid in the therapy process. It’s important to utilize faith in helpful ways. Believing anxiety is a punishment or as a result of a lack of faith is not helpful. Having anxiety isn’t a sin or something you need to feel guilty about having. In fact, feeling guilty and shameful about experiencing anxiety actually makes it worse. Anxiety is also not a punishment for not doing enough or retaliation for something you’ve done. It’s normal for anyone and everyone to experience anxiety to some degree. If you are experiencing severe anxiety, it has nothing to do with your faithfulness. 

It’s ok to admit you have anxiety 

Women that I work with are afraid to admit they struggle with anxiety. Fear of being judged or misunderstood stops them from opening up. Not everyone is a safe place to talk to about your anxiety but there might be people you know who would be able to be compassionate and kind. Dealing with anxiety on your own can be overwhelming. You would be surprised how many other women deal with anxiety You might not even know what you are struggling with is anxiety because it doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant being called anxiety. Anxiety is on a spectrum, and it doesn’t have to be debilitating to count as anxiety. 

Trauma and negative experiences can create anxiety

The women I work with open up about the trials they are going through. As a therapist listen to this and recognize that the trials they are experiencing are actually traumatic events. Most women I work with regardless of their faith or spiritual beliefs don’t feel like what they have gone through is trauma. What you have experienced in your life commonly increases your anxiety. This is normal for all of us. It’s not a weakness or a lack of faith to have anxiety. 

Anxiety doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy

This is the one that tears me up inside. When I hear my clients express that they feel they aren’t worthy because they are struggling with anxiety, I desperately want them to know it’s not true. You are worthy regardless of anxiety or what you’ve been through. You’re loved and your life has a purpose and meaning no matter what. 

Anxiety and spiritual promptings are different

This is one of the hardest things to work with LDS women on sorting out. It’s hard to discern between a prompting and anxiety. All of us deal with thoughts and sometimes scary thoughts. We have intrusive thoughts around losing the things we value the most or something happening to the people we care about. Sometimes the women I work with fear this is a prompting that they need to act upon rather than just an anxious thought. I could write a separate post on this topic itself but I would challenge you to notice how you feel differently with spiritual promptings that you feel confident in versus what anxiety feels like.

Anxiety therapy can be a helpful tool. 

There are many tools out there that can help you manage your anxiety, and therapy is a powerful tool in helping you utilize them. Therapy can be a place where we talk about some things that make you anxious and find ways to deal with them more effectively. The women I work with have often tried everything they can on their own and are discouraged about needing more help. Therapy can also help you recognize past experiences that might be contributing to anxiety and to help you work through them.  I wish everyone would utilize therapy a lot more to cope better with their anxiety and get better faster.

Most of the women I work with struggle with varying degrees of anxiety and perfectionism, regardless of what has brought them into therapy. When anxiety gets in the way of you being able to do the things you want to do and show up for the people in your life the way you want to, going to therapy can make a big difference. I help women be able to feel less anxious and manage it better when it does get triggered. 

Ready to start working with an anxiety therapist and located in Utah?

You don’t have to keep living in anxiety. You can find relief from your struggling through anxiety therapy. This Utah Counseling Practice has an anxiety therapist specializing in working with LDS women. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with a therapist for anxiety in Utah

3. Begin managing anxiety better

Online Anxiety Therapy in Utah

It’s hard to make time for therapy and commit to traveling to a weekly appointment. I know it’s not the most convenient thing to do, and I also know how crucial it is to prioritize your mental health. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. It’s secure, convenient, and just as effective as in-person therapy.

If you are located in St. George, Cedar City, Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber or more, we can work together in online counseling.

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Anxiety therapy isn’t the only counseling service offered at this Utah County Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include eating disorder therapy, body image therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, birth trauma, and EMDR therapy in Utah.

Why You Shouldn’t Comment on Anyone's Body

I was vacuuming my floor this morning because therapists do that too, and thinking about what I wanted to write about. It seems like on a weekly basis there is a topic or theme that seems to somehow circulate through all of the sessions. I work with women who struggle with anxiety, with eating, and their bodies so yes it makes sense that we would be covering some similar ground. This week’s weekly theme was about people commenting on their bodies or on the bodies of other people. 

I don’t know about you but when there is a topic I feel passionate about I feel the fire in my chest even when I think about it. That’s exactly how I feel about this topic, making remarks about people’s bodies even when it feels positive I have strong emotions around it because of the work I do and also being a woman in this society. 

When I was working at an eating disorder treatment center, I heard a therapist presenting to family members of the patients we worked with that had to come to treatment for their eating disorders. He advised the parents not to make remarks about anyone's bodies. This felt pretty extreme and an intense guideline to have. Years later, I would donate some cash money if we could make that statement onto a billboard on the I-15 here in Utah. 

There is a lot to unpack when it comes to making any comment on a person's body size. It’s a slippery slope. It’s been reinforced to both men and women that complimenting a woman’s appearance is a positive thing to do, and that’s really what a woman wants. Maybe true for some but here’s why I don’t recommend it. 

All bodies are good bodies regardless of appearance

In eating disorder therapy, we focus on the fact that all bodies are good bodies not because of what they look like but because they inherently just are. I don’t expect anyone to love their bodies, and for many, that’s pretty unrealistic. However, can come to terms with the fact that our bodies help us do many things. We can learn to respect and have gratitude for them. We can also learn to feel neutral about them rather than actively hating and picking them apart. When there is a focus on weight, appearance, and body size it doesn’t give us much room to truly appreciate them regardless of those factors.  Commenting on a person’s body in a negative or positive way is continuing to emphasize appearance. 

Don’t comment on weight loss of weight gain

This is the hill I will die on. Don’t compliment or comment on a person’s changing body. Telling someone they look so good after they’ve lost weight is not a good approach. Many of my clients have experiences where they received more attention and compliments when they lost weight. One of my clients used the term “hot girl privilege”. Receiving attention and being hyped up about weight loss isn’t in their heads. In a society that is obsessed with being thin, this is reinforced all over the place. My clients have been in the depth of their eating disorders and their mental health was in the dumpster but they were thinner and were told “You look so good!”. This has reinforced that they didn’t look good before and with this newfound attention, they focused even more on weight loss. They’re not afraid to gain weight because what will people think about them then? Someone close to me lost a significant amount of weight when they were in critical condition, and their weight loss was complimented. This was not what this person needed and nor were they even medically stable but weight loss was still someone deemed of something of value.  We are obsessed with weight, and it’s messed up.

 My unsolicited advice is don’t compliment anyone’s weight loss, and don’t make comments on someone’s weight gain. It’s not our business what a person’s body is doing, and weight loss or weight gain doesn't hold any value to who they are as a person. It may seem innocent to speak negatively about your body to other people but this is harmful not only to you but to the people around you. They might start to wonder what you think about their body and look at themselves with a critical eye. 

You are not complimenting their health. 

This is the disguise that we like to hide behind. We are only complimenting a person's weight loss it’s because we care about their health not because we care about what they look like. I would invite you to be really honest with yourself if you truly care about someone’s health especially when there is plenty of research that suggests that weight has much less of an impact on health than we think. There are also no illnesses that only people in larger bodies experience. “Health at Every Size” is a book and also a movement about what health looks like for people of all body sizes. It would certainly challenge what you’ve believed about weight and health. 

Instead, Focus on body positivity

I have been in too many scenarios where I have listened to people speak negatively about their bodies or someone else’s, and I didn’t say anything. I didn’t like hearing it, and I disagreed with it but I was silent because I didn’t know what to say.  If I could go back in time I would have been more assertive and emphasized that this isn’t ok to speak that way about anybody. You are allowed to dislike people but don’t take it out on their bodies. If you can’t say anything kind or neutral about your body or anyone else, then don’t say it. Your body deserves kindness and compassion regardless of size. Everyone else’s body deserves that too. We don’t know what other bodies are going through, and I would also emphasize that it doesn’t really matter how thin or large someone is. Everyone deserves to have a positive body image no matter what. We don’t have to love everything about our bodies, but we can give them respect. Consider all the unrealistic expectations society has about bodies and the damage it does to our mental health rather than imposing those expectations on ourselves or others. 

Body image therapy can help

It’s not easy to feel comfortable with how your body looks. Many women spend more energy than they would like focusing on their body and its appearance. If you are tired of trying to change and alter your body and are ready to get feeling better about your body, body image therapy can help. Body image therapy can help you focus on respecting your body and being body positive regardless of its shape or size. Therapy also helps you break down the experiences that led you to believe your body size was important.

Begin body image therapy in Utah 

You don’t have to keep hating your body. Body image therapy can help you find relief from obsessing about what you look like. This Northern Utah Counseling Clinic has body image therapist that specializes in body image therapy. To begin counseling, follow the steps below:

1. Sign up for a free 15-minute phone consultation 

2. Meet with a body image therapist in Utah

3. Begin body image therapy

Online Therapy in Utah

I know it’s difficult to access a body image therapist near you. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. Online counseling allows you to work with an online therapist to achieve your body image goals. It’s safe and convenient, and just as effective as in-person therapy.

Using telehealth means that I can work with you anywhere in Utah. I work with clients located in Heber, Logan, Cedar City, St. George, Salt Lake City, and more.

Other Mental Health Services at Maple Canyon Therapy

Body image therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided at this Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include binge eating disorder treatment, trauma therapy, birth trauma therapy, eating disorder therapy, and anxiety therapy in Utah.

EMDR Online Therapy: Here’s What You Should Know

The Covid-19 pandemic has stretched us all in ways we probably didn’t want to be stretched. The lack of connection was hard for many people. This has been a time in our lives when we have had to be innovative and creative in how we reach others and keep our relationships alive and well. As therapists, we have had to find ways to support people in their mental health at a distance. We have had to find ways to provide our services through online therapy. Despite all of the distance and scurrying to figure things out in a pinch, I have found unexpected positive results with online therapy. One of them was seeing people be able to utilize EMDR more effectively through online therapy than they were able to in person. People were better able to engage with EMDR over computer screens than they were face-to-face. Trauma impacts our sense of safety, and through online EMDR therapy people were able to feel safer at home. We have also found that EMDR is just as effective through online therapy as it is in person. 

What’s the difference between doing EMDR in-person versus with online therapy?

As I shared in my last EMDR FAQS, the secret sauce of EMDR is bilateral stimulation. We have a variety of ways we can use bilateral stimulation in EMDR based on what you need. When it comes to online therapy, I like to use auditory bilateral stimulation to help with reprocessing trauma or negative experiences.  This just means it’s a sound that plays alternatively back and forth in your ears like a metronome. or sounds like a ping-pong ball. When we are using EMDR online, the therapist and the client might check in more often than we would in person but otherwise, we are using the same methods as we would with in-person EMDR. 

What’s the benefit of online EMDR therapy?

I have found with some of my clients the benefit of using EMDR online is they can do it in the comfort of their homes. Doing trauma work is one of the most difficult types of therapy for a person to go through, and it’s important to feel safe during this process or else it can make symptoms worse. My clients have felt safer in their homes surrounded by things that bring them comfort. They like to be able to have their pets, fidget toys, and weighted blankets during EMDR. Online therapy is helpful for people that get anxious about going to a therapy office and ultimately wouldn’t go at all because it seems too scary. Online therapy is for people that have busy schedules and don’t want to be stuck in traffic or want to commute. Online therapy is really for everyone and using EMDR online is just as effective as in-person. 

Can everyone do EMDR therapy online?

Not everyone can do EMDR through online counseling. Those that do not have access to the internet or a computer may not be able to use EMDR through online therapy. People that don’t feel safe at home may also not feel they can be vulnerable and utilize EMDR while there. People that don’t have adequate coping skills or experience severe dissociation may also not be the same fit for EMDR virtually. Something to be aware of and keep in mind is one of the steps of EMDR is adequate preparation. An EMDR therapist will help you develop adequate coping skills and help you remain present through the process, which may eventually make it so you can do online EMDR therapy. 

5 Tips for a successful EMDR online therapy session: 

1. Make sure you have privacy

It really doesn’t matter where you are in your home for these sessions as long as it’s private. I have had people do online therapy from their closets because it’s where they felt they had the most privacy. If you don’t have enough privacy you aren’t going to be able to feel that you can be open about what you are experiencing and feeling. You don’t want to have to constantly be worried people overhearing what you are saying. If you feel comfortable make sure your family or roommates know that you need to maintain privacy for the hour so you don’t have any unexpected surprises. 

2. Eliminate distractions

There are things that are always outside of our control. Distractions can be one of them. I live by train tracks and trains come barreling through in the middle of EMDR sessions I am conducting. My clients and I are used to it by now and know how to ignore it but my point is there seems to always be something that can prove to be a distraction. If it’s possible make sure you are in a space where you won’t be distracted by children, roommates, or co-workers. Part of EMDR is helping you focus on a particular memory or experience and it’s difficult to stay focused when you have distractions. Trying to eliminate these as much as possible can be important in the process. 

3. Use earphones

Because we are using sound when it comes to doing EMDR therapy online, you want to make sure you bring earphones or headphones to the session. This allows you to have the sound close to your ear to help with processing so it enhances your ability to hear.  It also helps with your sense of privacy. 

4. Make sure you have a stable internet connection 

Sketchy internet happens to the best of us including myself. It’s happened in the middle of an EMDR session, and t’’s not something we have full control over. Honestly, most of the time that this has happened, it’s been my sketchy internet’s fault. We can work with imperfect internet but really terrible internet causes many disruptions in processing and is not ideal. It also can disconnect us from contact when you are feeling vulnerable, and I don’t want that. I want to help you through your emotions and experience. Try to make sure you have a stable internet connection and you may need to ask others in the household not to use streaming services during your session. 

5 Have time after the EMDR session to decompress 

In EMDR you connect with emotions that can be difficult to feel. Even when you end the session feeling relief and a weight lifted off your shoulders, you still need time to decompress and breathe. It can be helpful not to have somewhere you need to rush off to right after your session but to be able to take a moment and ground yourself. Most people report feeling tired after an EMDR session so it might help if you can take some time to rest after the session. 

EMDR therapy is just as effective through online therapy

EMDR is an effective form of therapy that helps people make changes and shifts that they feel like they haven’t been able to do otherwise. EMDR helps reduce symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. It has far-reaching benefits that are often unanticipated by those who utilize it. It does not matter whether it is don’t through an online platform or in-person when it comes to being effective. EMDR is something I recommend for many of my clients, regardless of how big or small they believe their experiences to be, and online therapy makes it possible. Online EMDR therapy gives people access to working through these experiences that they may not have access to otherwise. I recommend giving EMDR therapy online a shot. 

Online Therapy in Utah

EMDR therapy isn’t the only thing that can be done online. All of Maple Canyon Therapy’s counseling services are available through online therapy in Utah.

I work with clients in Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber, St. George, Cedar City, and more.

Ready to start EMDR therapy in Utah?

You don’t have to keep living in trauma and fear. EMDR therapy can help you find relief from your symptoms. This Utah Counseling Practice has an EMDR therapist who specializes in EMDR therapy. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with an EMDR therapist in Utah

3. Begin EMDR therapy

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

EMDR therapy isn’t the only mental health counseling service provided at this Northern Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include body image therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, eating disorder therapy, and birth trauma therapy.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt LCSW is a licensed therapist at Maple Canyon Therapy located in Spanish Fork, Utah. Ashlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a bachelor’s degree in Family Life and Human Development, and a master’s in social work. Ashlee has extensive training and experience in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, and trauma, and works primarily with women

An Anxiety Therapist’s Top 5 Tips For Calming Down

It seems like there are just some days you wake up more anxious than usual, and you don’t really understand why. Maybe there are days where you wake up more on the anxious side, and you have a good guess why but are trying not to think about that. It could also be that a situation increases your anxiety, and it feels unmanageable. Anxiety serves a purpose at times but sometimes it feels excessive and overwhelming. 

Anxiety can be kind of complicated. In the work I do with my clients, I view anxiety as a symptom. As a therapist, I generally see there is a trigger for anxiety that may not be as obvious as we would like it to be. The clients I work with typically feel anxious about the following things. 

Causes of anxiety: 

• Job/employment 

• Finances

• Family Relationships 

• Strained relationship with a partner

• Friendships 

• Worrying about children 

• Previous trauma resurfacing

• Body image

• Eating 

• Religious/spiritual beliefs 

• School/education 

• Dating

What happens to your body with anxiety?

Our brains don’t know when a situation is truly dangerous or not based on what we tell it so it responds as if you are in danger and there is a threat. It doesn’t know if you’re anxious about what you look like that day or you’re dreading a conversation with your boss. Your brain thinks a bear is about to attack and is preparing to fight the bear. When you are anxious, your breathing and heart rate speed up. Blood rushes to your head in preparation for you to handle the threat. It can lead to feeling nauseous and lightheaded. Anxiety can have a significant impact on your digestive system where you might experience stomach aches, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. 

With these symptoms, it’s hard to feel that anxiety is helpful, and I definitely don’t blame you. It might be helpful to understand that this is a natural response for your body when it’s under high stress and anxiety. There are actions we can take to calm these responses down when they are triggered. 

 5 Tips for Calming Down

Slow down your breathing

As we just talked about earlier, anxiety speeds up our breathing so we need to find ways to slow it down. There are many deep breathing exercises you could try to make this happen. I would recommend pulling up youtube if you want to learn how to do these exercises and have someone to help guide you through them. The following breathing exercises to try: box breathing, belly breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and lion’s breathe. Try these out and find the ones you like the most. Remember slowing your breath cues your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is the brain’s way of calming your stress responses down. I didn’t try deep breathing for a long time because I didn’t understand how it actually made sense. 

Mindfulness 

First of all, don’t knock it until you try it. Mindfulness has focused on reducing stress, and it works. Not only does it work but it changes your brain in other aspects of your life, and it’s amazing. There’s a TED Talk I recommend that might be helpful in understanding this called, “The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows” that will help you understand more of how it impacts the brain. In instances of anxiety, being mindful helps bring you back to the present moment. When we are anxious, often times our brain is focusing on the past or on the future but not the present moment. To get started with mindfulness, I recommend the “Insight Timer” app. It has mindfulness meditation practices that are timed but aren’t too long. They are also categorized by topic so you can find one that suits your fancy. 

Bilateral Stimulation

This term just means stimulating alternative sides of the brain. We do this all the time without knowing it. Some examples of bilateral stimulation are walking, snapping our fingers back and forth, tapping one knee at a time, juggling, typing, dancing, reading, etc. Bilateral stimulation is what we use in EMDR therapy to help process trauma. When we want to help with calming, we use slower bilateral stimulation. This can decrease anxiety by creating distance between worry and stress and helping you relax. Finding a bilateral stimulation activity that you enjoy can be a helpful approach to take. I have had clients who enjoy playing the piano, taking the dog on a walk, dancing to music, listening to music on earphones, etc. Spend as much time as necessary trying different techniques to ease your anxiety. 

Self-Compassion

I have written about self-compassion and why you need it here before, and I want to reiterate again why it’s essential especially when you are feeling anxious. If you are berating yourself and trying to tell yourself you’re being stupid for the way you think, not only is it not going to work, it’s going to make you feel even more stressed. You don’t deserve to feel worse than you already are feeling. Be kind to yourself. Validate your emotions. Even if you don’t feel like being gentle with yourself do it anyway. You are going through a lot right now, and it really is ok. There is nothing wrong with you for feeling anxious or worried. I know you don’t want to feel this way. If you need to say statements to yourself repeatedly, do that before you give yourself critical thoughts. Some positive statements I like are: “I am having a hard time right now, and that’s ok” “I am allowed to feel the way I do” or “I am worthy of compassion, and I will treat myself with kindness.” Choose a statement or create one of your own that you feel like you can connect to and repeat rather than your unkind thoughts. 

Thought Diffusion

Changing your thoughts sometimes feels impossible. It seems you can try it, and it works for a little bit before they start showing up repeatedly. Honestly, sometimes this really isn’t worth your energy because it can make you feel more and more defeated. If changing your thoughts and choosing something else to think about helps you, by all means, do it. Sometimes it will be helpful to change the channel on your brain and think about your favorite vacation or someone you love. If this isn’t effective, I like to utilize thought diffusion. Thought diffusion is a skill to create distance between your thoughts. Another youtube video to help you understand this concept is “Passengers On A Bus - an Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Metaphor”. We can have thoughts floating around in our brains, but it doesn’t mean we have to listen to them. A thought diffusion technique that I like is talking to your anxious thoughts like you would a little child. You can give those thoughts awareness and compassion and respond with something like, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I know it’s important, but I really don’t need it right now. I will take, it from here” or you can repeat the thoughts you are having in a different accent, or you can sing the thoughts you are having. These are all techniques you can do to decrease the impact and intensity anxious thoughts might have on you. 

Maple Canyon Therapy’s approach to anxiety treatment 

I believe some of us are prone to be more anxious than others. It can be part of your temperament but if your anxiety is on average, an 8 every day, I want to help you get it down to a 3 or lower. The approach I utilize with my clients is helping them find a balance between coping with their anxiety but also getting to the roots of it too. Anxiety is often related to other experiences in your life that haven’t been properly healed before. I believe working through those negative experiences and trauma in your life that are still painful or elicit strong emotions using EMDR can contribute to having less anxiety. No matter what, I believe in going at your pace and focusing on the things you want to. 

Ready to try anxiety therapy in Utah?

You don’t have to keep feeling overwhelmed by anxiousness. Therapy can give you relief. This Utah County Counseling Center has an anxiety therapist specializing in anxiety treatment. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Sign up for a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Complete online forms and schedule your first appointment with an anxiety specialist

3. Start working on reducing your anxiety!

Online anxiety Therapy in Utah

Finding a therapist that you feel understands you and knows how to treat your anxiety isn’t always easy or convenient. I want you to feel safe and comfortable in therapy, and I want it to be accessible for you. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. Online counseling is just as effective as in-person therapy without traveling or commuting.

Online therapy allows me to work with you when you are located in Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber, St. George, Cedar City, and more.

Other mental health services offered at Maple Canyon Therapy

Anxiety treatment isn’t the only counseling service offered at this Provo Area Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include body image therapy, EMDR therapy for birth trauma, binge eating disorder treatment, and eating disorder therapy in Utah.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy near Provo, Utah. Ashlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a bachelor’s degree in Family Life and Human Development, and a master’s in social work. Ashlee has extensive training and experience in working with women who deal with anxiety, including dating anxiety, high functioning anxiety, and performance anxiety. Ashlee believes in teaching coping skills balanced with digging deeper into why triggers for anxiety show up. When Ashlee isn’t doing therapy, she enjoys exploring Utah and enjoys hiking the Grotto Falls Trail in Santaquin.

EMDR Therapy: Frequently Asked Questions

EMDR is my favorite thing to nerd out about as a therapist. I love to see the impact it has on my clients and for them to find relief from the things they are struggling with. I love to see the women I work with in therapy feel the weight lifted they’ve had on their shoulders for so long. That’s why I love EMDR and love to use it in my therapy practice. Love, love, love. 

If you are just now learning about EMDR, you can learn more about it here. The short version is that EMDR uses something called bilateral stimulation to help efficiently process memories. Some therapists use eye movements, light bars, or handheld tappers as bilateral stimulation. It’s not as wild or complicated as it sounds. Tapping your legs back and forth, reading lines in a book, snapping your fingers alternatively, and even walking are all forms of bilateral stimulation. 

Is EMDR therapy for me?

EMDR helps people work through those experiences that still bother them. These are the experiences where you feel that rush of emotion come up whenever you even think about it. You might feel that lump in your throat or tightness in your chest when you try to talk about them. You might feel those butterflies moving around in your stomach and not in a good way when it comes to these experiences. The memories and experiences you try not to even think about are the ones that likely are still painful and unprocessed in your brain. EMDR is used to treat trauma but also to treat the negative beliefs you have about yourself and the things that trigger you. 

One of the reasons why people love EMDR is because they don’t have to share in much detail with the therapist what they are experiencing. It’s horrifying for some people to try and share some of the worst experiences of their lives with someone else. Some people find healing in people about to talk about it. Either way with EMDR, you can share as much or as little as you feel like and still have the lasting benefits. 

Is EMDR therapy like hypnosis? 

Not at all. In EMDR it’s important that you are connected and present with your body. You don’t go into a trance or and you are conscious. There are no smoke and mirrors, and it’s a relatively simple process. It’s an evidenced-based practice meaning that there have been many legitimate research studies done on it and find it to be effective at processing big things. 

Am I ready for EMDR therapy?

Those that are ready for EMDR are those that can sit with some temporary discomfort without dissociating or avoiding the memory. This isn’t always something people are fully aware that they do because it’s how they have coped with it so long. People that feel like they float away as soon as they think about it will likely need some preparation. In order to start EMDR processing, we make sure you have coping skills to use and feel like you can handle your emotions. It’s also important you feel like this is something you want to do and not feel like you are pleasing me as your therapist or someone else in your life. You have all the control in this process.

What does an EMDR therapy session look like?

EMDR is a process and might take a few sessions to prepare for. We focus first on giving you a couple of coping skills or making sure you have some of your own you feel are helpful. Some people find they don’t even need the coping skills, but it’s important to ensure you have them just in case. To begin, I will ask you a few questions about the memory you’ve chosen to work on. I’ll ask you about the part of the memory that seems the worst, the emotions you feel when you think about it, rating how much it bothers you, and where you feel it in your body. I will ask about the negative thoughts you have about yourself and what you would like to think instead.

After we get the answers to these questions, then we begin. You’ll hold those little black tappers, and I will have you think about the answers to those questions, and we just let your brain go where it wants to go. We will check in about every 45-60 seconds, and I’ll ask you what you are noticing, and we do this until you can get it all out. During this process, as the therapist, I’m pretty quiet as EMDR has an emphasis on letting your brain go where it wants to go without the therapist getting in the way. At the end of the session, you and I will talk about what you experienced and any shifts in beliefs and feelings you noticed. We will discuss how you can use your coping skills if needed. It is also very common for people to feel tired after EMDR. 

How long does EMDR therapy take?

This is always tricky for me to answer because everyone’s brain works differently, and sometimes the memory you are working on has other memories that go along with it. On average per memory, it takes about 1-3 sessions to work through. Sometimes it brings up other experiences you want to work through as well. 

How do I know if I’m doing EMDR therapy right?

There is no right or wrong way of doing EMDR. We are just noticing what comes up in our brains and being aware of it. Bilateral stimulation is the secret sauce that helps you work through the memory. If you were not making progress or stuck on something, I would help you get through it. Otherwise, it’s free association during your process, and get just to see what your brain comes up with. 

EMDR can be a powerful and healing process for people. I recommend trying it to everyone interested in it and feels adequately prepared to do so. There is no experience too big or too small to use on EMDR. Many times, the experiences that don’t seem that significant end up impacting us without realizing it. It doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience to use EMDR because it will work regardless of what it is. 

Ready to try EMDR therapy in Utah?

You don’t have to keep replaying the negative experiences you’ve been through. You can move beyond the negative thoughts you have about yourself. This Utah County Counseling Center has an EMDR therapist that can help. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with an EMDR therapist in Utah

3. Find relief from trauma

Online EMDR Therapy in Utah

You can have access to EMDR therapy through online therapy in Utah. This allows you to work through your trauma with a therapist with specialized training in EMDR. It’s safe, convenient, and just as effective as in-person therapy. Some people have even better experiences with online EMDR versus in-person.

I work with clients in Logan, St. George, Cedar City, Heber, Salt Lake City, and more.

Other Mental Health Services offered by Maple Canyon Therapy

EMDR Therapy isn’t the only mental health counseling service provided at this Utah Counseling Practice. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include anxiety therapy, body image therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, eating disorder therapy, and birth trauma therapy in Utah.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt LCSW is a licensed therapist at Maple Canyon Therapy, located in Spanish Fork, Utah. Ashlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a bachelor’s degree in Family Life and Human Development, and a master’s in social work. Ashlee has extensive training and experience in treating eating disorders, anxiety, and trauma and works primarily with women. Ashlee is EMDR trained and utilizes EMDR to help people find greater peace in life.

7 Ways to Cope With Seasonal Depression

In Utah, it seems there are more people than we realize that are struggling with seasonal depression. It’s hard to admit that this is what you are experiencing and can be attributed to the winter blues. If you are powered by the sun, well, solidarity sister and your mental health can struggle in these cold, dark months. This is the time of year when it’s even more important to offer yourself a big, old dose of self-compassion.

Coping with Seasonal Depression is different than curing it.

Before I offer some ways to help you cope with seasonal depression, I want to make sure know these ideas are likely not going to cure your seasonal depression. For some people, they can take the edge off of a depressed mood just a little and for some, they help tremendously. No matter what I don’t want you to think anything is wrong with you if you’re still feeling a little low when trying these things out. I would also highly encourage you to see your primary care physician if your depression seems unmanageable. If you are having suicidal thoughts please go to your nearest emergency room, and tell someone you are struggling. Your life has meaning and value, you are cared about, and you have a purpose. Don’t try and deal with this alone. 

Alright, here we go….

7 Ways to Cope with Seasonal Depression:

1. Focus on comfort

This is the time of year to focus on keeping yourself comfortable. Surround yourself with cozy things. Keeping your body comfortable is one thing that can impact mood in a positive way. Wear sweaters, fuzzy socks, slippers, and stay under blankets when you can. If these type of clothes don’t make you feel comfortable, give yourself permission to wear what does. If your body has changed in the winter months, make sure you get clothing it feels comfortable in. Your body deserves comfort no matter what size it’s at. Take care of that cracked skin with lotion or take a bath in Aquaphor if you need to :) Again, be good to your body. It deserves care. 

2. Regulate your temperature

Make sure you are staying warm as the drop in temperature can influence a drop in mood. It’s the season of warm relaxing baths, space heaters, heated blankets, heated mattress covers, heated gloves, etc. Keeping the temperature low in your house might save money but it doesn’t always save your mental health. You don’t need the reminder that it's winter by freezing so consider this me giving you permission to bump up the heat in your house. Drink warm drinks and eat warm food. This might sound simple but a big part of emotional regulation can be shifting temperatures. If you find drinking a cup of ice water in the winter, improves your mood then do it. 

3. Notice days when you can spend time outside

There will be days when the sun comes out and the temperature isn’t as low. Those are the days where it’s important to prioritize time outside. It can be briefly walking the dog around the block, riding your bike through the neighborhood, or just sitting on the porch and feeling the sunlight. Even if the sun isn’t out and the temperature isn’t as low, getting fresh air is important for mental health. These moments outside can fill your cup a little until the weather consistently improves in the Spring. 

4. Get adequate light 

LIght helps in the production of serotonin and serotonin helps improve our mood. Light is also comforting and cozy. Keep your blinds and curtains open for when those sunrays do make an appearance. Lighting candles might allow for comfort and chase away a little darkness even if it doesn’t produce vitamin D. Therapy lights have been helpful to some people and you can even change out your lightbulbs for these types of lights. 

5. Find ways to do things you love indoors

For some people that live in the outdoors, wintertime feels like they can’t do any of the things they enjoy. It’s important to find things you love inside. If you live in the pool in the summertime. Check out the Provo Recreation Center or Clyde Recreation Center in Springville to get some swimming or hot tubbing. These places also have climbing or other sports to move your body, improving your mood. If you like gardening or yard work (bless your soul), get a house plant and focus on caring for those. 

6. Do the opposite

This is a skill for any level of depression or anxiety. When we are feeling depressed, we may not feel like doing anything. We may isolate, stop hanging out with friends and family, avoid going places or participate in things we know help our overall well-being. When you are in that space, the best way to help you get out of it mentally is just to do the opposite. Hang out with friends, tell people how you are feeling, socialize, and participate in an activity even when you don’t feel like it, especially when you don’t. You will be surprised what doing this can do to help your mood. 

7. Go to Therapy

Sometimes the colder months can be reminders of painful memories, or it may be hard to know how to cope with all your feelings. Therapy is meant to help you work through painful experiences and triggers. I recommend therapy to people all year, but winter can be a good catalyst for beginning the work to get better in all parts of your life. It can be helpful to talk with someone to be fully open about how you are feeling.

Looking to work with a Utah therapist?

You don’t have to keep feeling worn down by your emotions. Anxiety doesn’t have to be something you continue to struggle with. This Utah Counseling Practice has a Utah therapist specializing in anxiety treatment. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with an anxiety therapist

3. Find inner healing

Online Therapy in Utah

I know it’s important to be able to attend therapy to improve your overall mental health. I also know that traveling to a therapy session is difficult when you have a busy schedule. this is why I offer online therapy in Utah. It’s safe, effective, and much more convenient than in-person therapy.

Telehealth means I work with clients in Salt Lake City, Cedar City, Heber, St. George, Logan, and more.

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Anxiety therapy isn’t the only mental health counseling service provided at this Northern Utah Counseling Center. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include binge eating disorder treatment, body image therapy, eating disorder therapy, EMDR therapy, and birth trauma.

5 Things to Look for in an Eating Disorder Therapist

There have been times my clients have come into therapy after having seen someone that said they treated eating disorders, and it didn’t go well. They’ve left feeling discouraged and feeling defeated. These women have felt hopeless because someone that stated they treated eating disorders couldn’t even help them get better. As therapists, we really do care about people and want to help people. The truth is we don’t have the training and specialty to be doing that. Eating disorders require specialized treatment. If your therapist doesn’t have this treatment, you can end up getting worse. That’s not to say that a therapist can’t be helpful to you if they don’t have experience and training in eating disorders. However, to get the most comprehensive care there are things to look for in an eating disorder therapist. 

1.  A good eating disorder therapist, will not encourage you to lose weight. 

The goal of eating disorder recovery is for you to make peace with food and your body. A therapist that states they treat “obesity” or offers “weight management” likely isn’t your best choice for eating disorder therapy. Someone trained in eating disorder treatment doesn’t want any of their clients to continue to try and manipulate their body into being smaller than what it wants to be. No therapist out there knows what your weight is meant to be. Your body gets to determine that. Continuing to encourage weight loss in eating disorder recovery is harmful. I bet you might wish to lose weight and might even find it appealing to have someone state they can help you with weight loss. It’s ok that you still have those thoughts and desires, but putting the desire for weight loss on the back burner will help you get better much faster. 

2. An eating disorder therapist doesn’t look at food as an addiction. 

I’ve seen many people talk about being addicted to food or sugar. I’ve seen clients be treated for their eating disorders this way, which has not been helpful. Plenty of research backs up that sugar isn’t addictive, and food is not your addiction, either. I find my clients with Binge Eating Disorder get this approach the most. People with binge eating disorders don’t have an addiction to food. They binge because they have a long history of restricting foods, which results in binging behaviors. These people definitely don’t need the reinforcement that they can’t control themselves around food. Please don’t see any provider that makes you feel that way. 

3. An Eating disorder therapist will believe you when you say you have an eating disorder. 

An eating disorder therapist will believe you when they say you think you have an eating disorder or disordered eating. You are probably the first person that will try and minimize what you are going through. You’ll talk yourself out of getting help or thinking you have disordered eating for a long time before reaching out for help. If you meet a therapist that doesn’t think you have an eating disorder, that probably just means they don’t understand eating disorders or have the proper training to treat it. Your feelings and experience are valid, and you are the expert on what you know about yourself. Find someone that’s going to believe you and help you get better. 

4. An Eating disorder therapist will use a team approach

Eating disorders are complicated mental illnesses; usually, it won’t take just a therapist to help you get better. Often a dietitian and or a psychiatrist will be recommended to help in your healing. Therapists can’t do it all and will often rely on a dietitian's help in learning principles of intuitive eating, challenging your food rules, and helping manage physical symptoms. As a therapist helping clients recover from eating disorders, I focus on their emotions and underlying beliefs about themselves, their bodies, and food. The goal is to get you feeling better and recovering. It might take multiple people to help you with certain aspects of your eating disorder. 

5. A good eating disorder therapist will operate from a Health At Every Size Approach. 

Health At Every Size is an important aspect of eating disorder recovery. As referenced above, the goal is not for you to weigh a certain amount but to get your body to a place where it’s healthy regardless of what you weigh. Health At Every Size means acknowledging that every person’s genetics will influence their body size, and healthy behaviors are more important than a number on a scale. A certain weight doesn’t make you healthy. An eating disorder therapist should understand this approach and utilize it in helping you in recovery. 

You deserve to recover from your eating disorder. It takes work, and it’s certainly not easy. Recovering from your eating disorder isn’t something you should have to do alone and having a therapist with the tools to help you get there makes all the difference. 

Looking to start eating disorder therapy in Utah?

You don’t have to stay stuck in your eating disorder. Eating disorder recovery is possible. Ditch your eating disorder and make peace with your body and food. This Utah Counseling Practice has an eating disorder therapist specializing in eating disorder therapy. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Sign up for a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with an eating disorder therapist in Utah

3. Begin therapy

Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah

When you are struggling with an eating disorder, you want the assurance that you’re going to have a therapist that knows how to help you recover and has successfully managed to help others recover too. I know many parts of Utah don’t have access to a therapist with specialized training in eating disorder recovery. This is why I provide Online Therapy in Utah. This allows us to work together without you having to travel.

I work with clients in St. George, Cedar City, Heber, Salt Lake City, Logan, and more.

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Eating disorder therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided by this Northern Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include binge eating disorder treatment, EMDR therapy, birth trauma therapy, anxiety therapy, and body image therapy in Utah.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt LCSW is a licensed therapist at Maple Canyon Therapy, located in Utah. Ashlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a bachelor’s degree in Family Life and Human Development, and a master’s in social work. Ashlee has extensive training and experience in treating eating disorders and has provided eating disorder treatment at all levels of care. She is passionate about helping women achieve eating disorder recovery. When Ashlee isn’t doing therapy, she loves adding plants to her collection from Sun River Gardens in Orem.

8 Things To Expect From Me As Your Therapist

Some surprises are fun, and some really aren’t. Surprises like an unexpected snack from the gas station or free tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert. When it comes to your mental health and vulnerability, that’s gonna be a hard pass for surprises. Some of those we can work to manage and some of those neither you nor I can see coming in the midst of therapy.

In order to avoid any unexpected surprises, I want to give you as much information about me and what therapy is like with me before you jump in. Although I think we can safely assume, there is no way of fully knowing until you do the thing. Either way, I want to give you a good idea of what to expect from me as a therapist and the type of work we would do together. There are things I am really good at and some things that I’m not. I’m committed to you having the best experience possible in therapy. So in no particular order, let’s go.

1. I will not be telling you what to do.

   If you’re coming to therapy, I would bet you’ve tried to figure it out on your own. That is probably what you’ve tried time and time again. I can understand if you’re at the point where you would just want me to tell you what to do and are dying to let someone else take the wheel of your life. I understand this so much. I sometimes wish someone else could tell me what to do and make decisions for me as well. I can’t tell you what to do with your life and decisions though. I would have to be spending a lot of time with you, be in your brain, and know your relationships to the depth that you do but none of those are possible. You are the expert on yourself and your life, and I believe you in wholeheartedly. What I will do, is work really hard for you. I am committed and determined to get you feeling better. I assure you I will care about you and your life. My role is to make recommendations from a professional standpoint and share observations from an outside perspective. We are in this together, and I pinky promise to share things with you from what I am seeing and to give you options to experiment with.

2. I will work hard to make you comfortable.

   You coming into my office and sharing personal things about your life and asking for help is an incredible feat and takes an amazing amount of courage. My clients are the people I admire the very most in this world. I want nothing more than for you to be comfortable while doing the uncomfortable. I want you to be comfortable with me because that makes all of the difference. We are going to go at your pace and work on the things you want to work on. I will not be pushing you too far or too hard past what you feel like you can manage. I will certainly challenge you in ways and invite you to go deeper but if you don’t want to go there, we definitely aren’t going there. I am here for you in whatever way you want and want you to feel comfortable with the approach and process.

3. We will be exploring earlier experiences and maybe (definitely) childhood things.

   I really told myself I wouldn’t be this type of therapist, and I learned it’s because I hate when people have to relive that different brand of sadness that comes from going back to painful experiences. I have developed some distress tolerance skills because I have learned it’s absolutely essential for healing to go back to those experiences and memories and to reprocess them. I come from a psychodynamic perspective, which means I believe past experiences impact us more than we realize. Past experiences impact what triggers you and your present functioning. We often think those past experiences have nothing to do with our raging anxiety or people-pleasing but sometimes they do. The good news is the intention in talking about it is to decrease your pain and suffering around those experiences and to improve the symptoms you are struggling with not just for fun :)

4. I am committed to learning and improving as a therapist

   I would say every year I spent a substantial amount of time and honestly a lot of cash money focused on continually learning how to better serve you. As a graduate student, I was saving my pennies to pay for training so I could learn more about how to help the clients I was working with at my unpaid internship. The field of therapy and psychology is continually evolving and gaining knowledge, and I want to make sure to learn all I can to give you the best chance of healing that I can. My education taught me how to keep learning and growing because it all comes down to you getting good care.

5. I will encourage a lot of self-care and self-compassion

   What you are going through is hard. It’s not for the faint of heart to go to therapy and to look their pain straight in the eye. Self-compassion is going to be essential to your healing. You learning to be kind and gentle with yourself won’t be easy but we are going to work on getting you to the point of it being more natural. Self-care is going to be encouraged all the time but especially when you have a tough session. When you leave feeling a little raw or when you come into therapy feeling a little raw, your mind, body, and soul need some extra care.

6. I do recommend books, podcasts, and other resources.

   Many of my clients have done all they can on their own before coming to therapy. They’ve read self-help books, and it still wasn’t enough. They need something extra, which is why they are coming to therapy. When I recommend you read or listen to something, it’s not a replacement for therapy but is something that is meant to help you in addition to therapy. It can also be helpful for you to reach your goals by talking about some of the things you’ve learned or read in therapy. If you want to know some of the 10 Books I Recommend in Therapy you can click this link.

7. The type of therapy I use is based on research.

   If you’re my family, you think what I do is listen to people all day and hand out advice ;). What a lot of us don’t know is that therapists use researched ways of helping people in a session that you may not even notice. It’s important to me that you know that I am using things to help you that have been studied and proven to work time and time again by many trained professionals. It matters to me that you are getting the help that is going to work and help you feel better.

8. I am going to work really hard to help you get better

   I believe in you and your ability to have the type of life you want. I believe in you, and your ability to heal and overcome really hard things. I believe all my clients can really feel so much better. I didn’t invest years of education and money to do something I didn’t believe in. I work with clients I know I can help. I wouldn’t be working with you if I didn’t believe in you. I want you to know that I am willing to work hard and fight to help you get better. The clients I work with have hustle and heart and are at the point they will do anything to feel better. I want you to know I am in it with you and promise to do whatever I can for you to get out of the heaviness and hopelessness you might be in.

If you’ve read this post and think I’m the type of therapist you need right now, I would be honored to help. I know it’s hard to find someone you feel comfortable opening up with about some of the hardest things in your life. I am aware this may be vulnerable, and I will be delicate.

Looking for an eating disorder therapist in Utah?

You don’t have to keep struggling with your eating disorder. I know it feels like the cycle will never end when it comes to eating and food, but this Utah Counseling Practice has an eating disorder therapist specializing in eating disorder therapy who can help you make peace with food. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with an eating disorder therapist in Utah

3. Begin eating disorder recovery

Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah

When you are struggling with an eating disorder, I know how important it is to have the reassurance that you are receiving treatment from someone that knows how to help you recover. Unfortunately, many parts of Utah don’t have an eating disorder therapist access. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. It’s safe, convenient, and allows you to connect with an online eating disorder therapist without traveling.

I provide eating disorder therapy to women located in Logan, Heber, Cedar City, St. George, Salt Lake City, and more.

Other mental health services provided in Utah

Eating disorder therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided at this Northern Utah Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include binge eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, EMDR therapy, birth trauma therapy, and body image therapy in Utah.

Self-Compassion: Why You Need It and 3 Ways to Practice It

It’s that time of year. The time of year where we are pressured to change our bodies and to get “back on track”. The message is to slim and sculpt all in the name of “health”. For me, this is the time of year where I want to check in with YOU on maybe having different goals that don’t involve manipulating your body into something or someone it’s not.

 At the beginning of the year, I posted this photo and told you 2021 was the year I was going to stop apologizing or making disclaimers for my appearance rather than trying to change it. My goal for all my clients and really every woman is to have much less focus and attention on their bodies. We can do that with the language we choose to use with ourselves and to others about our bodies. Our bodies don’t need another diet, fitness challenge, or calorie-counting app. They need kindness and self-compassion regardless of their size or weight. 

Self-compassion is the goal. 

Whether you are reading at New Year or not, this is for any time of the year. Rather than trying to change your body as a goal, try to focus more on having self-compassion. Those that I work with aren’t always hyped to work on self-compassion. What they worry about is that if they try being more kind to themselves they won’t achieve their goals. They believe part of what has made them successful is because they don’t give themselves a break. They fear that if they speak to themselves with more kindness, they’re going to end up lazy and unmotivated. 

You don’t need to be mean to yourself to be motivated. Let me tell you more about why that belief is not true. There is a woman Kristin Neff,  who has spent her life researching self-compassion, and she has found the opposite to be true. The more unkind and mean we are to ourselves, the LESS motivated we are. As humans, we are motivated by safety and gentleness. When we feel safe and comforted, that’s when we are most likely to be motivated and to do our best work. 

If you are truly being honest with yourself, have you ever felt truly motivated when someone else has been critical of you by pointing out your flaws and telling you that they don’t believe in you? Sure, some of us have an inner rebel that wants to prove people wrong but most of the time we don’t feel uplifted and motivated to do hard things when people speak to us that way. The same is true when you speak to yourself the same way. You will feel more stressed and less inclined to perform at your best. 

Self-compassion has positive benefits on mental health

Being mean and judgemental to yourself increases symptoms of anxiety and depression. Just the opposite is also true, being kind and compassionate to yourself can decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression. There’s plenty of research that shows that those that are kinder to themselves are less anxious, sad, stressed, and perfectionistic toward themselves. People that are nice to themselves are actually happier and more positive. 

Self-compassion allows you to give more of yourself to others

The women I work with love to give to others. They don’t want to be seen as selfish and self-indulgent. They actively avoid trying to be this type of person. I know that they worry that being self-compassionate is selfish. Again, the opposite is true. The more we focus on giving ourselves self-compassion and kindness, the more capacity we end up having to be there for other people in the ways we want to. 

3 ways to practice self-compassion

1. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to a friend

   Maybe you’ve heard the statement, “Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend”. Those I work with would never even dream of talking to the people in their lives the way they talk to themselves, even those they don’t like. The compassion you give to others is the same compassion that you deserve to give to yourself. You know how to be kind to others, and you are good at it. Practice speaking to yourself the same way you would to someone you care about. 

2. Focus on connecting with others

   We live in so much comparing ourselves to other people. We notice where we fall short of others or how they’re better than we are. In the end, this never results in long-term fulfillment.  We can also feel like we are the only one that struggles or feels alone. Rather than isolating and comparing, focus on cultivating and connecting with others. When we find people that are safe to be real and vulnerable with, this helps us not only to feel less alone but is an act of self-compassion.

3. Notice your experience and give yourself validation

   Be honest with yourself about how difficult what you are going through truly is. Check in with how you are really feeling. You might be prone to minimize it and tell people, “I’m fine!” and that you’ll get through it. Maybe let yourself be honest with yourself that what you’re going through is hard. The way you feel isn’t sunshine and rainbows all the time; let yourself know it’s ok! Tell yourself you’re having a hard time right now, and it’s ok that you feel this way. 

Counseling will help you get to the root

You are worthy of self-compassion. You do deserve it. It doesn’t matter what anyone in your life has said to you or how they’ve made you feel, you do deserve gentleness, comfort, and safety. Your life will drastically improve with more self-compassion. Going to counseling can help you work through those past experiences that make you hard on yourself. Sometimes it is difficult to give yourself all the compassion you deserve when you haven’t been able to heal from the past. Some people have a lot of trouble with being able even to begin trying to be more kind to themselves. They can think of all the reasons why they don’t deserve to offer themselves self-compassion. Therapy can really help you dig into why it’s hard and ways to help you be more kind to yourself.

Ready to start anxiety therapy in utah?

Self-compassion is often an approach to dealing with the symptoms of anxiety. You can learn to manage your anxiety and be more self-compassionate, and anxiety therapy can help. This Utah County Counseling Clinic has an anxiety therapist specializing in anxiety treatment. To begin counseling, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Meet with a therapist for anxiety

3. Begin cultivating self-compassion

Online Anxiety Therapy in Utah

I offer online therapy in Utah for anxiety treatment. I know that trying to find time to take off work to meet with a therapist and this ends up being a reason to put off going to therapy. I love online counseling because it saves travel time and is just as effective as in-person therapy.

I work with clients all over Utah, including St. George, Cedar City, Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber, and more.

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Anxiety therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided by this Northern Utah Counseling Practice. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include body image therapy, birth trauma, trauma therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, and eating disorder therapy.