Anxiety can show up in a variety of ways, via panic attacks, social anxiety, persistent obsessive or intrusive thoughts, constant worry, or paralyzing fear in the absence of any real danger. When your mind is working overtime, it drains your energy and focus. This can impact your relationships, your work, and your creativity. Learning to manage and reduce anxiety and stress can help you balance the stressors in your life so you can live more effectively and peacefully.

Depression can take many forms and appear differently for different people. It can be a feeling of deep sadness or a lack of any feeling at all. Depression can manifest as constant negativity, irritability, anger, confusion, difficulty concentrating, stagnancy in relationships or in your career. Exploring the places you get, emotionally, stuck, and the ways in which you become overwhelmed or unable to move forward can help you regain your confidence and ambition and rekindle your passion.

Trauma can be with a big “T” or little “t.” It can be sudden or chronic and span years of different types of experience. The lasting impact of trauma is always profound and complex yet can be disregarded by the self and others (denial, lack of introspection/analysis). Without support, trauma almost always results in maladaptive styles of coping, even if those styles of coping were for protection early on.

Do you constantly worry about the state of your relationship? Do you worry that you are with the wrong person even though everything seems OK on the surface? Do you have trouble depending on others or do you become codependent in relationships? Do you feel the urge to pull away when things become more intimate? Understanding your attachment style and how it plays out in your relationships can stop old patterns and ways of being and improve the quality of your romantic and platonic relationships.

Do you have difficulty with emotion regulation? Do you find that even small things can send you on a roller coaster of emotions? Do you become angered easily and resentful of others? Learning to recognize triggers for those tough emotional states and combined with building coping skills can increase your ability to manage difficult times and difficult people. It can also help uncover places where you continually get stuck in the same behavior, relationship or dynamic. Emotion regulation is a key part of maintaining healthy, mature relationships.

Do you find yourself in difficult relationships? Are you constantly arguing with loved ones, feeling abandoned, or have trouble holding onto friendships and relationships? How we relate to others is an integral part of the self and of the relationships we form. Understanding your own emotional, physical and social needs can help you better understand what you need from others and how to get it more effectively. This kind of exploration can help you better communicate your needs to build interpersonal effectiveness and manage the difficult relationships in your life.

Oftentimes when we embark on something new or unfamiliar, a new job or promotion, a move, graduation, having a child, becoming engaged, or getting married; many of our insecurities can surface, despite the positive nature of the transition. This can reignite past struggles with anxiety or depression, or bring about a first-time increase in self-doubt, fear and conflict. Frequently, this difficulty with life transitions can be treated in a relatively short period of time. Therapy during these times can help you normalize thoughts and feelings and work through transitions to balance the change in your life.

In our society, the experience of “otherness,” whether it be your race, gender, sexual orientation or something else, can be present in many spheres: the workplace, school, social circles, even within the context of our own families. Integrating an identity that is different from those around you can be difficult without guidance. Learning to navigate those areas better can build understanding and compassion, which can lead to a greater sense of satisfaction and a stronger sense of self.

On some level, shame is at the core of every feeling of depression, anxiety, drug addiction and trauma. Excess shame, which we often internalize as children, can cause us to act in self-defeating and harmful ways, especially when kept hidden in the form of secrets. Shame can be one of the most difficult things to discuss, but when examined with compassion, can be relieved. Learning how to handle the feeling of shame or self-doubt and uncovering the ways in which it might be guiding your emotions and behavior can increase your self-acceptance and alleviate feelings of depression and anxiety.