It is difficult to explain, and even when explained well, difficult for others to understand, including clinicians.

It is further complicated because it is a necessary part of daily life. If you did not have a healthy worry about things that could be harmful to you, you would probably be in much worse condition and almost definitely not reading this.

We will work together to try to come to a shared understanding of why anxiety is getting in the way of your life, even if that means agreeing that there isn’t a great explanation but that it is still there. There is a very broad range of causes and manifestations of anxiety, and it is often accompanied by other symptoms that many would not intuitively think of as related to anxiety.

The brain is far more complex than to be explained by a “chemical imbalance” that can simply be “balanced” by the addition of any medication or combinations of medications. There are many medications that have been demonstrated to be helpful in reducing the intensity of anxiety that can be used safely. Often, my hope is for medication to help make anxiety less of a barrier to other forms of treatment, like psychotherapy and lifestyle changes, as the combination is often far more helpful than medications alone.