Understanding Anxiety & Depression

What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

GAD is marked by excessive, hard-to-control worry about many different things, such as health, work, family, money, or the future, that occurs more days than not for at least six months. The worry often feels out of proportion to the situation, and it tends to jump from one topic to the next.

Common symptoms of GAD include:

• Feeling restless, keyed up, or on edge

• Tiring easily

• Difficulty concentrating or your mind “going blank”

• Irritability

• Muscle tension, headaches, or jaw clenching

• Trouble falling or staying asleep

Many people with anxiety also develop habits meant to feel safer, like seeking reassurance, over-planning, checking, researching, or avoiding situations altogether. These behaviors bring short-term relief but end up keeping anxiety going in the long run.

How DBT Helps With Anxiety

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches practical skills for handling overwhelming emotions without being ruled by them. For anxiety, DBT can help you:

• Practice mindfulness to notice anxious thoughts without getting swept away by them

• Use distress tolerance skills to calm your body and ride out intense moments

• Regulate emotions by understanding what triggers anxiety and reducing your overall vulnerability to it

• Balance acceptance and change, so you can make room for uncertainty while still working toward your goals

How ERP Helps With Anxiety

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is best known as the gold-standard treatment for OCD, and its principles are also very effective for anxiety. ERP works by gradually and safely facing the thoughts, situations, or uncertainty you’ve been avoiding, while resisting the urge to neutralize the discomfort through reassurance, checking, or avoidance.

Over time, your brain learns that you can tolerate anxiety and that the feared outcome is less likely, or less catastrophic, than it feels. Exposures are always collaborative and paced at a level that feels challenging but manageable. Rather than trying to eliminate anxiety, ERP helps you build confidence that you can handle it.

What is Major Depression?

Major depression involves a persistent low mood or loss of interest in activities that lasts at least two weeks, along with other changes in how you think, feel, and function.

Common symptoms of depression include:

• Feeling sad, empty, or hopeless most of the day

• Losing interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy

• Changes in appetite or weight

• Sleeping too much or too little

• Fatigue or low energy

• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt

• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

• Feeling slowed down, or restless and agitated

• Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression can look different for everyone. For some it’s deep sadness; for others it’s numbness, irritability, or simply feeling “flat.”

A Holistic Approach to Treating Depression

Depression affects the whole person, so treatment usually works best when it addresses the whole person too. Effective care often combines three areas:

1. Lifestyle
Small, consistent changes can make a real difference in mood. These may include regular movement or exercise, a steady sleep routine, time outdoors and in natural light, balanced nutrition, staying connected with supportive people, and gradually reintroducing activities that bring meaning or enjoyment.

2. Medication
For many people, antidepressant medication is a helpful part of treatment, especially when symptoms are moderate to severe. Medication is prescribed and managed by a psychiatrist or primary care provider, and therapy and medication together are often more effective than either alone. I’m happy to coordinate care with your prescriber when helpful.

3. Therapy, Including DBT
Therapy offers a space to understand what’s contributing to your depression and to build tools for moving through it. DBT is particularly helpful for depression because it focuses on:

• Building a life worth living by identifying values and setting meaningful goals

• Behavioral activation, re-engaging in activities even before motivation returns

• Emotion regulation, reducing emotional vulnerability through skills like sleep, nourishment, and positive experiences

• Self-compassion and acceptance, softening the harsh self-criticism that often comes with depression

• Interpersonal effectiveness, strengthening relationships and asking for what you need

You Don’t Have to Feel This Way Forever

Anxiety and depression can make it hard to imagine feeling differently, but change is possible. With the right support and tools, most people find real relief and begin reconnecting with the parts of life that matter to them.

If you’ve been carrying worry or heaviness for a while, you deserve support. Sessions are offered via secure telehealth for clients located anywhere in California, so you can get care from a space where you already feel comfortable. When you’re ready, I’d be glad to talk with you about what you’re going through and how we might work together.

If you have questions please give us a call at (213) 648-0942!

If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 for immediate help.