Carolyn Tucker, LAPC
type: channel
description: Just another Weblogs at Harvard Law School site
date: 2012-10-29T18:37:38Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Anxiety and the Horrible Breakup
items: Anxiety..What If I Am Not As Excited About My New Baby As I Expected?
items: Social Anxiety Over the Rainbow
items: Anxiety and the Really Big Bad News
items: Anxiety, Authenticity and Getting Naked
items: How to Cope With Infidelity and the Anxiety it Brings
items: Motherhood: The Anxiety Maker
items: Help For When Unexpected Events Cause Your Anxiety To Soar
items: How The Practice of Mindfulness Can Help Treat Anxiety
items: Barefooting as Natural Treatment for Anxiety

Anxiety and the Horrible Breakup
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-10-29T18:37:38Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: Breakup therapist Atlanta
subject: Breakup therapist Buckhead
subject: Breakup therapist Conyers
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: So your relationship is over? Whether it is a divorce, a breakup with a long time partner or the dissolution of something that you felt would have potential, breakups are painful. My clients report being in literal physical pain after a breakup, and many do not know how to soothe the pain or where to […]
encoded: So your relationship is over? Whether it is a divorce, a breakup with a long time partner or the dissolution of something that you felt would have potential, breakups are painful. My clients report being in literal physical pain after a breakup, and many do not know how to soothe the pain or where to turn to get better. Let’s discuss the energy of ending a relationship. When a relationship ends there is a grieving process that is rivaled only by death. I have heard some say that death might be easier. I believe it was Alice Cooper that said he felt like “the man with no skin” after a breakup. This is echoed by my clients over and over. One client stated that she felt like someone had poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. This is no small pain. Anxiety prevails alongside the pain as the major emotion that is reported to me. What will I do now? Will she come back? Is it really over? Will I ever really heal? Having to rebuild a life that you thought would be different is a monumental task when you are in pain and twisted in knots with anxiety. Doubting your ability to make decisions and lack of confidence in yourself comes with the blow to the self esteem. Learning who you are all over again seems impossible, since it feels like half of your identity walked out the door. I have been told that the feeling of grief of losing someone is the same feeling of loving someone. The difference is the story that the brain is telling about the sensation. Since you are already in that energetic space in your body, you can leverage the energy by focusing on something that you love and dwelling on that instead of the lost partner. Learning to shift out of the energy of grief and into the energy of love is very helpful in transforming the pain. Transform the focus from the lost partner to your dog, or your child, or even your wounded self can help change the story your mind is telling your body. Allowing the pain and anxiety to flow through your body without resistance is so imp…

Anxiety..What If I Am Not As Excited About My New Baby As I Expected?
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-10-22T17:50:27Z
subject: Uncategorized
description: New mother anxiety can be overwhelming. Not only do you wake up with a body you don’t recognize, a life that is nothing like the one glamorously portrayed in commercials, but you wake up with this tiny human in your home whom you may or may not connect with. Moms who do not feel immediately […]
encoded: New mother anxiety can be overwhelming. Not only do you wake up with a body you don’t recognize, a life that is nothing like the one glamorously portrayed in commercials, but you wake up with this tiny human in your home whom you may or may not connect with. Moms who do not feel immediately connected with their new bundles of joy report high levels of anxiety. Inability to share these feelings is isolating. There may be reluctance to share with friends lest they be judged, families who minimize the feelings and spouses who may feel helpless or get their feelings hurt by the revelation. No matter what the reason, the new mom feels alone and guilty, and anxious that she is a “bad mother” or that she will never feel connected to this little person for whom she has total responsibility. In therapy I attempt to normalize these feelings for the new mother. We all experience things differently. I do a screening for post partum mood disorders as well. This is frequently overlooked, and is a simple assessment to identify areas where the mother needs support. Medication is not always recommended. Many mothers want to continue nursing, and medication may compromise this. Nutritional support for the mother can be just as effective as prescription medication and allow the mother to continue nursing, which will enhance the bonding experience, and experience less side effects as well. Working with the mother to develop bonding by encouraging the mother to notice the baby’s body language, vocalization cues and eye gaze is helpful. Once you start breaking down the baby’s attempts to communicate on a primal level sometimes a mom can step right into her role and be the mirror her baby needs. Skin to skin contact and staring into the baby’s eyes helps stimulate oxytocin, the bonding hormone. An exhausted mom is no help to anyone. A good schedule of self care activities is a must. Someone to hold the baby while mom takes an extended bubble bath or long hot shower can make her feel like …

Social Anxiety Over the Rainbow
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-10-06T16:41:24Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: Gay anxiety
subject: Gay issues
subject: Gay social anxiety
description: According to Alan Downs in his book The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World. Gay men learn anxiety and anger early in their development. He refers to this development as velvet rage. “Velvet rage is the deep and abiding anger and anxiety that result from growing up […]
encoded: According to Alan Downs in his book The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World. Gay men learn anxiety and anger early in their development. He refers to this development as velvet rage. “Velvet rage is the deep and abiding anger and anxiety that result from growing up in an environment when I learn that who I am as a gay person is unacceptable, perhaps even unlovable,” he explains. “This anger and anxiety push me at times to overcompensate and try to earn love and acceptance by being more, better, beautiful, more sexy – in short, to become something I believe will make me more acceptable and loved.” “We have created a gay culture that is, in most senses, unlivable. The expectation is that you have the beautiful body, that you have lots of money, that you have a beautiful boyfriend with whom you have wonderful, toe-curling sex every night… none of us have that. To try to achieve that really makes us miserable. The next phase of gay history, I believe, is for us to come to terms with creating a culture that is livable and comfortable.” There is a significant correlation between gay identity and social anxiety in research. Social anxiety is the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social or performance situations: Social anxiety can wreak havoc on the lives of those who suffer from it. People with symptoms of social anxiety often…. fear doing or saying something embarrassing in front of other people worry about making a mistake or being judged by others avoid speaking to others fear meeting new people blush, sweat, tremble, or feel nauseous when self-conscious avoid social situations and giving speeches may drink or use drugs to try to relieve their social fears Researchers at the State University of New York investigated the occurrence of social anxiety in a sample of undergraduate gay and heterosexual men. Gay men reported greater social interaction anxiety, greater fear of negative evaluation, and lower self…

Anxiety and the Really Big Bad News
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-09-28T15:11:52Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: Receiving unexpected news can really throw you for a loop. Here are a few simple interventions to help you cope.
encoded: I have talked in past blogs about how to handle your anxiety when things get chaotic and interrupt your routine. Today I would like to discuss what happens when you get the really “big bad news”. A family member has cancer, the baby you are carrying has something wrong with it, you are getting a divorce. How do you cope? When anxiety goes from zero to warp speed and threatens never to leave, it feels like it may become a way of life. That terror that resides in your chest or the knot and nausea that come to dwell in your stomach are a constant reminder that your life may never be “normal” again. The first thing to do when you get uncomfortable news is to focus on the felt sense of whatever emotion is evoked in your body. It could be that your muscles tense, you get a knot in your stomach, a tightness in your chest, or your breathing becomes short and rapid. Notice those symptoms, and actually do of the opposite of what your body wants to do. If you notice that it wants to tense up, then purposefully let your muscles go limp. If you tighten in your stomach, release the muscles and breathe relaxation into that area. If your breaths become short and rapid, make a point of taking slow deep breaths. This will help to stop that hormonal cascade that begins with a shot of adrenaline when you get upsetting news. If you intervene immediately it can prevent may unpleasant symptoms from taking root in your body. Seeing emotions as literally being energy in motion in your body that want to be expressed (or actually squeezed out,) allows you to visualize allowing the energy to exist without resistance and to assist that energy in moving through the body in a way that minimizes the effect of those negative emotions. The key is not resisting the negative feeling. When a negative feeling is present we tend to tighten around it because we are afraid that if we allow it, it will get worse and become more unpleasant. Actually the opposite is true. When we allow the sensation to pass t…

Anxiety, Authenticity and Getting Naked
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-09-17T23:35:06Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Authenticity
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: The masks we wear in public are the cause of much anxiety. Authentic relationships are the cure!
encoded: anxiety |aNGˈzī-itē| noun ( pl. anxieties ) a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome: he felt a surge of anxiety. authenticity |ˌôTHenˈtisitē| noun the quality of being authentic: the paper should have established the authenticity of the documents before publishing them. naked |ˈnākid| adjective 2 [ attrib. ] (of something such as feelings or behavior) undisguised; blatant: naked, unprovoked aggression | the naked truth. It seems anxiety symptoms are skyrocketing these days. People come into my office tied up in knots and paralyzed by symptoms such as fear, tension, shakiness, describing a lump in their chest or stomach and feelings of dread. Anxiety is a very unpleasant feeling, and yet it is pervasive in our society. We are overworked, underpaid and we barely have the time to do the things we “must” do, the things we “like” to do are a mere fantasy. We do not have time anymore to cultivate supportive relationships in which we feel “safe.” We rush from work to the soccer game to home in time to throw dinner on the table and clean up just in time to go to bed and start all over again. Conversations at work are superficial, and soccer games are hardly times to deeply connect with people. We run around with our social “masks” on and lie and say we are doing fine as we juggle our responsibilities and we ache and are all alone on the inside. Anxiety and Authenticity. What do the two words have in common you ask? Authenticity allows us to remove the mask, to share the fact that we struggle, to allow that we are not perfect and that we long for things we are not experiencing, that we are not happy or that we feel alone or that we are afraid we are not enough. To be authentic we must feel safe taking off the mask and sharing ourselves with others knowing that we will not be judged. In all of our busyness, we have neglected as a society to cultivate these safe relationships. We wander around thinkin…

How to Cope With Infidelity and the Anxiety it Brings
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-08-31T16:59:34Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: How to cope wit
subject: How to cope with infidelity
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: Trying to monitor or control a partner after infidelity is destructive and useless. Learn ways to manage anxiety and how to decide whether staying in a relationship is right for you.
encoded: In this age of technology and digital communication, I have seen a growing trend in my practice of serious technology related issues in relationships. These issues can signal the beginning of the end for relationships as they can propel the couple to try to control each other and to descend deeper and deeper into codependency and mistrust. Cell phones are wonderful things, they allow us to stay in constant communication in a myriad of ways, but they can be the source of much conflict. Text messages are a prime example. Communication with someone other than the partner can trigger insecurity and suspicion in a relationship and the informal nature of text messages can sometimes allow for communication to veer towards subjects that may be seen as inappropriate or that feel disrespectful to the other partner. Someone already prone to insecurity may be propelled to anger and jealousy by the discovery of messages to another. Computers can be another source of pain. From Facebook to pornography, there are triggers everywhere that can cause hearts to constrict and fear to rule. Friend requests from former flames can cause more anxiety than a four-alarm fire, and private messages when discovered can damage trust and build walls. It can seem like there is nowhere in the world that is safe from the potential “threat” to the relationship once the line is crossed. It seems like the first response to these events is to “control” them. The wounded party may ask to see the offender’s text messages or view their computer history on a regular basis. Monitoring the phone records and promises not to delete anything until inspected become commonplace. It seems like once that first step to “monitor” is taken, the relationship becomes a playground for crazy making. There are too many ways around being monitored for monitoring to be an effective means of achieving that feeling of safety. There are apps that allow you to receive texts on a server so that they never actually show on a phone,…

Motherhood: The Anxiety Maker
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-08-29T17:54:32Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: motherhood anxiety
subject: motherhood stress
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: Parenthhood stress
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: For those who struggled with anxiety before motherhood, becoming a mother may have kicked things into overdrive. Even if you didn’t have anxiety before your child was born, after birth the world may seem like it will never be a safe place again. How can it, with your heart walking around outside of your body […]
encoded: For those who struggled with anxiety before motherhood, becoming a mother may have kicked things into overdrive. Even if you didn’t have anxiety before your child was born, after birth the world may seem like it will never be a safe place again. How can it, with your heart walking around outside of your body now? All of a sudden you are surrounded by potential dangers, like accidents waiting to happen, illnesses lurking in the background waiting to pounce and potential calamities everywhere. Recognizing that you have anxiety and taking steps to intervene are vital to your health and the health of your children. Children pick up on the energy of the anxiety, and may see your anxious energy as the cue that they are unsafe or not capable of coping with what life throws at them. In order not to communicate a message of fear to your child, you must take steps to tame the beast. Talking back to your anxious thoughts goes a long way towards addressing the problem. Actually logically looking at what you are believing and fearing can help you determine if your fears are unfounded or legitimate. When fears are legitimate you can plan a course of action and take steps to ensure your child’s safety and security. Unfounded fears are more nebulous and cannot be planned for or addressed using logical methods. Reassuring yourself when you have an unfounded fear can help you relax. Having an outlet outside of your children for socialization and support is helpful too. Seeing other mothers who cope with potential situations without fear is a good model to assist you in stepping out into situations that you logically know are safe but still feel uneasy about. Having other women to discuss your fears with who will help you reframe them and support you is invaluable. Good self care is vital. As mothers we are trained by society to believe that taking care of our children is selfless and that caring for ourselves is indulgent and selfish. This is simply not true. You must fill your own t…

Help For When Unexpected Events Cause Your Anxiety To Soar
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-08-28T14:20:00Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Brainspotting Atlanta
subject: Brainspotting Buckhead
subject: Braispotting
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: Unexpected events can cause your life to go into a tailspin. Be prepared and know how to preserve your quality of life.
encoded: Wouldn’t it be nice if life was one long strand of expected events? If there were never a cancelled appointment, an overdraft at the bank, a broken air conditioner? The big and little surprises in life are the ones that can really cause us to go into a tailspin. My clients tend to report that they have a moderate to high moderate level of baseline anxiety, but when unexpected events come along to exacerbate this, they report that they can become incapacitated, or at least experience a reduction in quality of life. So how do you handle this? First of all I recommend addressing the baseline anxiety level. Good self care is the first step. Clients who report high baseline anxiety rarely have an answer when I ask what they do to take care of themselves. Good nutrition, exercise and rest are vital, but they do not completely address the problem. Having a regular routine of activities that nurture the soul is an integral part of reducing baseline anxiety symptoms. Whether it is taking the time to read the newspaper, a bubble bath, time in the garden, or an evening of stargazing, soul nurturing activities are my go-to for helping clients cope on a daily basis. When the surprises come along, I recommend stopping, taking some deep breaths and really focusing on the body. Get grounded by noticing your feet on the floor. Feel the chair on the back of your legs and the breeze on your skin. Notice the smells in the room. Then pay attention to where you have the “felt sense” of that anxiety in your body. Is it a tightness or lump in your chest or stomach? Short shallow breaths? Muscle tightening all over? Notice your body’s response to the anxiety and do the opposite of what your body wants to do. So take slow, deep breaths, progressively relax your muscles and visualize your heart rate slowing down. This is important in stopping the hormonal cascade that occurs with anxiety. The next step is in allowing the anxious energy to flow through you instead of resisting it. Notice it is…

How The Practice of Mindfulness Can Help Treat Anxiety
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-08-26T16:27:40Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: Atlanta counselor
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Mindfulness and anxiety
subject: psychologist atlanta
subject: therapist specializing in anxiety Atlanta
subject: Therapist who specializes in anxiety Buckhead
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
description: Anxiety is pervasive in our world today. From the poor economic climate, to traffic, to tragedy in the news, our culture contributes as well. Our modern society is busting at the seams with stimuli that trigger symptoms of anxiety in our bodies and minds. Have you noticed that you can go about your day with […]
encoded: Anxiety is pervasive in our world today. From the poor economic climate, to traffic, to tragedy in the news, our culture contributes as well. Our modern society is busting at the seams with stimuli that trigger symptoms of anxiety in our bodies and minds. Have you noticed that you can go about your day with a sense of anxiety that flares up on an incremental basis? Even as our minds get busy, the physical sensations of anxiety such as muscle tension, tightness in the chest or stomach, fluttering heartbeat are still present. Every few moments our minds do a “check in” to be sure that all systems are functioning properly. When the mind locates the symptoms of anxiety it sends off a “code red” and all of the symptoms feel exacerbated. The practice of mindfulness can help with this. Mindfulness is defined as a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you exist solely in the moment, noticing what is going on right then to the fullest. The practice of acceptance goes along with mindfulness. In acceptance you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Acceptance is the act of acknowledging the existence of the feeling or sensation without “defining” yourself by it. Instead of saying “I am anxious,” notice the physical sensation and acknowledge that it is there. If you have an unpleasant fluttery knot in your stomach, say “there is anxiety” and gently move your awareness back to what you are doing in the moment. When we resist emotions or physical sensations they rear their ugly heads and demand to be noticed. The sheer energy of them increases due to our increase in attempt to squash them down. Our bodies were made to allow all energy, negative and positive to move through them and to be expressed in some way, whether spoken through communication, burned off through exercise or relaxed away. Acceptance allows our bodies to naturally self correct and allow that energy to pass through us without resistanc…

Barefooting as Natural Treatment for Anxiety
type: item
creator: DrDavid
date: 2012-08-26T16:22:32Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: anxiety
subject: anxiety therapist atlanta
subject: anxiety therapist buckhead
subject: anxiety treatment
subject: anxiety treatment Buckhead
subject: counseling for anxiety Atlanta
subject: EMDR Atlanta
subject: EMDR Buckhead
subject: EMDR therapy Atlanta
subject: EMDR therapy Buckhead
subject: ocd
subject: panic
subject: Panic Attacks
subject: performance enhancement
subject: stress reduction
subject: therapy for anxiety Atlanta
subject: Trauma
description: On a recent trip to the beach I was reminded again why I am such an advocate for the practice of earthing. Earthing is the act of coming into contact with the earth without wearing shoes in order to release negative energy. With the advent of rubber or plastic soled shoes many of us have […]
encoded: On a recent trip to the beach I was reminded again why I am such an advocate for the practice of earthing. Earthing is the act of coming into contact with the earth without wearing shoes in order to release negative energy. With the advent of rubber or plastic soled shoes many of us have lost the benefit of being “grounded.” Within a half an hour of being barefoot on the shore I felt like a new person. There are studies that report the neuromodulative health benefits of earthing, from positive effects on blood viscosity and oxygenation to lowering of cortisol levels. In our world of stress and anxiety, we have lost touch with many practices that could help our bodies organically self correct, and I believe earthing is one of those. When a client comes into my practice complaining of symptoms of anxiety, I take a thorough history, paying special attention to what that client does to “recharge their batteries.” One of the first recommendations I make is to get out in the sunlight for twenty minutes a day (for the benefits of vitamin D and the effects on neurotransmitters and hormones such as melatonin). This practice alone can cause wonderful benefits on mood regulation and sleep. The addition of being barefoot during this process seems to really augment the benefits for anxiety. I direct them to visualize the anxious feelings being absorbed by the earth and dissipating from their bodies. I have had clients report a dramatic reduction in anxiety just from this simple intervention. Anxiety can be seen as anxious energy flowing through our bodies, and it is insidious in its effects on our health, our relationships, our productivity and our spirits. The long term effects of unaddressed anxiety can be debilitating. Anxiety is considered a problem when symptoms interfere with a person’s ability to sleep or otherwise function. Men and women can manifest the symptoms differently. Teenagers are particularly susceptible to symptoms of irritability produced by anxiety. Physical…