Often clients come in overthinking, ruminating, worrying too much, and not being able to “turn off” anxious thoughts. I wish there was a quick and easy fix I could give them to manage anxiety and overthinking- but the reality is that it takes a lot of hard work from YOU! Trust me, I’ve had to do the work too! 🔨

Here’s part of my strategy to manage anxious thoughts:

1. Awareness- Notice when you’re experiencing anxious thoughts. Notice them nonjudgementally, just let them exist and take inventory of the content.

2. Challenge - Challenge your thoughts. I like to ask, “what evidence do I have that these thoughts are true?”. Be a detective, don’t trust your thoughts outright.

3. Problem Solve- Is there something you’re worried about that you can actually do something to change? If so- focus on what you can do to solve the problem in the future. If there’s nothing you can do to change it, let it go. ✅

4. Mindfulness- Practice mindfulness daily. These skills only work if you practice them! Be present with yourself and your thoughts, know they can’t hurt you and that the uncomfortable feelings will pass.

This strategy takes a lot of hard work- but it WORKS!

Let’s work together to put this strategy into action. What other strategies work for you? 💕

counseling, mental health, portland, therapistEmelie DouglasAugust 30, 2018anxietysupport, anxietyrelief, anxietysucks, anxietyawareness, anxietyquote, anxietymemes, anxietymeme, anxiety help, anxietyattackComment

it’s monday!

It’s Monday again which means I’m doing the best I can to focus on getting back into the work week! ☀️

This weekend I was able to get out into nature with loved ones and our pets! The weather was perfect and I even had a chance to stand professionally next to this tree! 😂

Anyone else not ready for summer to end??

mental health, therapist, counselingEmelie DouglasAugust 13, 2018bipolardepression, anxietyhelp, breakthestigma, authenticity, anxietyquotes, awareness, anxious, anxietyattack, advocate, anxietymeme, anxietyrelief, anxietydisorder, albertaarts, cityofportland, anxietywarrior, counseling, counselinglife, dailymeditation, anxietysupport, believeinyourself, anxiety, bipolarawareness, anxietysucks, counselor, Self care #selflove #flower #flowers #flowerstagram #takecareofyourself #selfcaresaturday #saturdayvibes #selfcaretips #hiking #hike #mentalhealth #explore #hiker #getoutside #yesatherapist #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthwarriors #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthadvocate #mentalillness #anxiety #anxietyhelp #depression #depressionrecovery #depressionhelp #anxietyrecovery #ptsdrecovery #pdx #portland, anxietyquote, beinghuman, anxietyawareness, dailyinspiration, badasswomen, bipolardisorder, anxietymemes, bekindtoyourself, counselingpsychology, albertaartsdistrict, couples counseling, bipolardisorderawareness Comment

don’t believe everything you think!

Let’s talk anxiety. I believe anxiety in part comes from our attachment to believing everything we think is true. Just because a thought feels true doesn’t make it true.

The average person thinks between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day. In the moment, our thinking seems logical, but when we start looking more critically at the content of our thoughts, we notice thinking errors- therapists call these cognitive distortions. We tend to believe many of our thoughts- but we are not our thoughts.

I love this idea: “You are the consciousness (the ocean) from which your thoughts (the waves) arise.”

Here’s your goal:

1) Be the observer. Listen to your thoughts without judgement! Practice mindfulness.

2) Train your brain. Say goodbye to thoughts your don’t like. Decrease your attachment that your feelings are true!

For more help with anxiety, contact me!

mental health, therapist, counselingEmelie DouglasAugust 9, 2018bpdproblems, copingskills, dbtskills, abusesurvivor, bekindtoyourself, cityofportland, anxiety, depressionhelp, beinghuman, borderlinepersonalitydisorder, anxietydisorder, bodypositivity, dailymeditation, compassion, anxietysucks, calming, bipolardepression, depressionquotes, anxietyrelief, depression, depressionmemes, authenticity, cbt, counselor, anxietyawareness, anxietyquote, anxietyquotes, believeinyourself, depressionawareness, anxious, bipolardisorder, bpd, awareness, childhoodtrauma, anxietymemes, dbt, counseling, anxietyhelp, anxietyattack, anxietymeme, breakthestigma, depressionrecovery, anxietysupport, anxietyrecovery, depressionsupport, anxietywarrior, dailyinspiration, depressionquote, bipolardisorderawareness, coping, bipolarsupport, bipolarawarenessComment