This time of the COVID-19 crisis is one of the most difficult times for professionals. Due to the pandemic, the community is looking to you to give direction and understanding. As a leader, you must be strong and calm in the midst of this storm, even though you may not feel that way. As a business owner, you feel fear about providing services to the community, caring for your employees, and keeping the business afloat. As a healthcare worker, you worry about the health and safety of your patients and the concern of contracting COVID-19 yourself. Those working with the legal system are seeing an increase in divorce and domestic violence. Additionally, mental health care workers are watching the beginning stages of a national mental health crisis with increases in suicide hotline calls, depression, and anxiety.
As a professional, it is difficult to balance the world of COVID-19 and also care for yourself. You are feeling anxious and on edge as you care for those suffering and struggle alongside them. You are unsure how to manage your own emotions and get the physical and mental rest that you need to care for others. You are also dealing with the fear that the business that is your baby, your heart and passion, could be gone by the end of all this. We, too, know these fears and worries as we also are a small business looking out for the needs of others.
Fortunately, at Water’s Edge Counseling, we are not only meeting the mental health needs of our existing clients, but we are here to help you as you move forward during this time. We have therapists that specialize in working with professionals like yourself. Through therapy, our counselors help professionals identify and relieve stressors in their lives and make healthy lifestyle changes. This helps to create a better balance in their work and personal lives. During COVID-19, this process is extremely important as we all work to maintain and improve our physical and mental health.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) are two of the primary methods that our therapists use in working with professionals with anxiety. CBT focuses on changing the way professionals think about themselves and their circumstances, which then changes the way they feel, which then changes their day to day behaviors. ACT focuses on accepting existing anxiety. When an individual constantly tries to ignore his or her anxious thoughts or push them away, the anxiety actually begins to grow. Accepting anxiety and giving yourself the space and grace to deal with it, is a therapy technique that is extremely helpful to professionals dealing with anxiety. Typically, in 4-8 weeks, clients are seeing significant improvement in their overall anxiety, and they are ready to dig deeper into the underlying issues causing the anxiety, such as shame, anger, and/or depression. Our therapists work with professionals as they dig into their work and personal relationships and pinpoint underlying causes for the anxiety. This process can be difficult, but it is so rewarding when our clients are able to break free from their anxiety and experience true freedom.
If you are a professional struggling with anxiety or a small business owner who needs some help and direction during this crisis, please give us a call at 912-319-5552. The therapy team at Water’s Edge Counseling would love to help you work through your anxiety and make healthy changes in your life. Additionally, Water’s Edge offers Online Counseling to ensure the safety of our clients and our staff. We are all in this together, and we are here to help you!