Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders:

Symptoms, Screening Tools, and How Therapy Can Help

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions, affecting millions of people each year. Yet, many individuals struggle silently, thinking they need a "good reason" to feel the way they do. The truth is, anxiety is real — and it can impact every aspect of daily life. If you find yourself feeling constantly on edge, battling racing thoughts, or overthinking even small decisions, you are not alone.

Anxiety can be exhausting, making it hard to focus, sleep, or feel comfortable in your own body. Whether your anxiety shows up as perfectionism, social avoidance, or physical symptoms like headaches, stomach issues, or muscle tension, it deserves attention and care. Therapy can help by offering effective tools to quiet the mental noise, manage overwhelming emotions, and create a greater sense of balance in your day-to-day life.

Common Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety can manifest in different ways for different people. Some of the most common symptoms include:

  • Persistent worry or fear that is difficult to control

  • Racing thoughts or obsessive overthinking

  • Difficulty concentrating or staying focused

  • Physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating, headaches, or stomachaches

  • Restlessness or feeling "on edge"

  • Irritability or unexplained mood swings

  • Sleep disturbances, including trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

  • Avoidance of social situations or activities that trigger anxiety

  • Perfectionism and fear of making mistakes

Recognizing these symptoms early can make a significant difference in managing anxiety before it worsens.

Screening Tools for Anxiety

If you’re unsure whether what you’re experiencing could be an anxiety disorder, several screening tools can help. While a professional evaluation is always recommended for diagnosis, self-assessments can be a good first step. Common anxiety screening tools include:

  • GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7): A simple, seven-question screening often used by clinicians to identify levels of anxiety.

  • Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI): Measures the severity of anxiety symptoms.

  • Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A): Used primarily in clinical settings to assess the severity of a patient's anxiety.

  • Self-Check Quizzes: Many mental health organizations offer free online anxiety assessments to help you better understand your symptoms.

If you score high on a screening tool or if anxiety symptoms are affecting your quality of life, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional.

How Therapy Can Help Manage Anxiety

Therapy is a highly effective treatment for anxiety disorders. Working with a trained therapist can help you:

  • Understand Your Triggers: Learn what situations, thoughts, or memories contribute to your anxiety.

  • Shift Unhelpful Thought Patterns: Cognitive-behavioral techniques help identify and reframe negative thinking patterns.

  • Manage Physical Symptoms: Learn relaxation techniques, grounding exercises, and mindfulness practices.

  • Build Coping Skills: Develop practical strategies to handle stress, uncertainty, and difficult emotions.

  • Find Balance: Therapy helps you reconnect with your values, goals, and activities that bring joy and meaning to your life.

Our approach is personalized and compassionate. We work alongside you to develop practical tools that reduce anxiety’s grip on your life and restore a greater sense of calm and confidence.

Final Thoughts

If you’re struggling with anxiety, know that help is available — and effective. You don’t have to navigate racing thoughts, fear, or overwhelming emotions alone. Therapy offers a safe space to heal, grow, and find lasting relief.

Ready to take the next step toward feeling better? Contact us today to schedule an appointment. We’re here to help you build the skills you need to quiet the mental noise and find balance again.

 What to Expect

  • If you’ve received the client portal invitation, log in and check any messages, fill out paperwork, etc.

    Be thinking of what you would like to talk about, or any questions you have. Feel free to write those down and bring them in.

    Verify your insurance. Click here for more information regarding insurance.

  • Our office is tucked beside/behind Ge’Angelo’s in the. Northern Lights Shopping Center.

    We do not have a receptionist, so feel free to have a seat and we will be with you as soon as possible.

    If there is still paperwork to be done, you may be asked to fill out paperwork before your appointment.

    Each therapist has a private office, so you will be with the same therapist in the same office every session. To increase privacy we leave a noise machine on as well as the bathroom light/fan. These are to muffle noises.

    The lighting in the office LED. If you prefer lamps to overhead lighting, let us know and we will be happy to use lamps instead.

    After your appointment we will work together to decide if you would like to schedule another session. We will also determine if that will be scheduled at that time, or if it will be scheduled later. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

  • Be kind to yourself, you’ve done a lot of hard work.

    You are welcome to contact your counselor with any questions/concerns between session. Email or the client portal are the preferred and most direct ways to get in contact. We are generally in with clients and are unable to answer phone calls much of the time. Please be aware we may not be able to return your message for up to 48 hours.

    You can use the client portal to check your appointments or make/change any appointments.

    Contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit your local emergency department if you are having thoughts of self harm or suicide. Vivant is not a crisis center.

 Frequently Asked Questions

  • Age ranges are based on individual clinicians.

    Child specific information:

    Sometimes kids are unable to manage more than 30 minutes. Children’s sessions may seem short, but they are still working.

    All child sessions are unique. Sometimes kids have parents/caregivers in the session, other times they do better without parents in the room. Parents/caregivers are almost always involved in the first session, and we will talk about these options.

    If you are bringing an elementary aged child, we ask that you stay in the building during the session if you are not in the session. If there is a concern we will try to accommodate something. We want your child to be safe.

    If you are bringing an older child that gets dropped off, please be aware of the end time (generally 45 minutes for middle school/high school aged kids) so they can be picked up quickly. Again, we want everyone to be safe and we will likely be in session and unable to monitor safety.

  • We treat a variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD. Our clinicians have extra training in trauma, and am Basic Trained in EMDR.

    We are not licensed to prescribe medications.

  • Yes. Vivant is LGBTQ+ Affirming

  • While we are not faith based, we welcome all faiths.

  • For ongoing clients, scheduling your next appointment can be done at the end of an appointment, through the client portal, or by calling 515-523-5543. Counselors are not always able to accommodate same day appointments.

    Potential clients can fill out a form on our scheduling page.

  • Read about our insurance/fees/payments here

  • We take your privacy seriously. This is suppose to be a safe space and confidentiality is vital to that. If you want someone to be able to communicate with us about your services. (including billing) you can sign a release of information. This is also something that can be revoked by you at any time. Best practice includes coordinating with your primary care provider, but again, this is your choice.

    HIPAA (Health Insurance Privacy Portability Act) protects your PHI (protected health information). Our emails use HIPAA compliant encryption. Our client portal and our backup telehalth platform are HIPAA compliant.

    Counselors are mandatory reporters. As such we are mandated by law to report any suspected child abuse.

    Child Specific: During our first session we will go over confidentiality with children. It is my practice to keep conversations private and only tell parents general updates (ex: ____was open and talkative today), unless there is a safety concern or something that I feel the parents/caregiver should know. If this is the case, I try to be transparent with that so the child is not caught off guard.

    42 CFR Part 2 affords special protection when talking about substance abuse. Therefore children 14 years of age and older need to sign a specific release of information for parents/caregivers to obtain information from the counselor about anything substance abuse related.

  • While our emails use a HIPAA compliant encryption, it is safest to use our secure portal to communicate with your counselor. You may call 515-523-5433, however this is not the preferred form of communication as we are often in session and unable to answer phone calls.

    We discourage coming in person without an appointment as we may be unable to help you. Our office space is shared with other counselors, but they are unable to see your information and will likely be unable to help.