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LightHeart Mental Health has convenient clinics located throughout the Seattle metro area.
If you’re living with anxiety, there’s no reason to be ashamed. About one in five American adults have experienced an anxiety disorder in the past year,¹ with symptoms showing up more often in women.² Anxiety is incredibly treatable, especially with comprehensive treatment, and our therapists and psychiatric providers are ready to help you find the right path forward.
At LightHeart Mental Health, our compassionate team helps people of all ages and backgrounds recover from anxiety. Call 425.800.5688 or fill out a short form to learn about our anxiety treatment services in Seattle, Tacoma, Redmond, and across Washington state.
Recognizing the Signs of Anxiety
Feeling stressed occasionally is a normal part of life. But if you’re regularly sensing impending danger, noticing physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating, struggling with sleep, or facing digestive issues, these may be signs of a deeper anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a natural response to stress, but in excess, it can start to affect your wellbeing.
Here are several signs it may be time to seek help for anxiety:³
- Persistent nervousness, restlessness, or tension
- Worry or panic that’s interfering with work, relationships, or daily life
- Rapid, shallow breathing
- A consistently elevated heart rate
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Appetite changes or stomach and digestive upset
- Difficulty controlling worried thoughts
- Going out of your way to avoid things or situations that trigger anxiety
Different Types of Anxiety
Anxiety can present in a variety of ways depending on its underlying source. Clinicians typically group it into these categories:
- Generalized Anxiety: Excessive, ongoing worry that’s out of proportion to actual circumstances, affecting sleep, digestion, and overall physical health.
- Agoraphobia: Fear of feeling trapped in an unwanted situation, often triggering panic attacks.
- Panic Disorder: Sudden, unpredictable episodes of intense fear, accompanied by symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating or chills, trembling, and nausea.
- Social Anxiety: Overwhelming dread in social situations, often leading to avoidance of social contact altogether.
- Specific Phobias: Intense, irrational fear tied to particular objects or situations, driving significant avoidance.
These types are helpful for mental health professionals to help determine the best possible treatments, but you don’t have to have any of your underlying causes or exact symptoms figured out before asking for mental health support.
What Causes Anxiety?
Anxiety can sometimes stem from an underlying health condition, such as heart disease or chronic pain. Other people develop it due to a combination of genetics, stress, trauma, or personality traits.
Common causes and risk factors for anxiety include:³
- Genetics: A family history of anxiety raises your likelihood of developing it.
- Medical conditions: Heart disease, diabetes, thyroid issues, asthma, substance use, and chronic pain can all impact anxiety levels.
- Medications: Some medications can heighten anxiety, so it’s worth talking to your doctor if symptoms worsen after starting something new or changing a dosage.
- Trauma: Trauma from childhood or a recent traumatic event can significantly increase anxiety levels.
- Situational stress: Extended stress from work, school, illness, loss, or financial pressure, or even positive changes like moving or a new job, can lead to anxiety that lingers.
How Anxiety Is Treated
Left unmanaged, anxiety can disrupt relationships, work, and daily life. Our team builds a personalized care plan around your specific symptoms, typically starting with talk therapy. When medication is part of your treatment, your therapist and psychiatric provider collaborate closely.
Therapy for Anxiety
CBT is a widely used approach when it comes to therapy for anxiety, helping you identify and challenge anxious thoughts while building new coping skills. If your anxiety is connected to unresolved trauma, processing that with a therapist can lead to real improvement. Mindfulness-based practices are also often incorporated to help you tune into physical cues rather than getting stuck in anxious thinking. Our therapists draw from multiple approaches, tailoring sessions to your exact needs.
Medication for Anxiety
When appropriate, our psychiatric providers may prescribe medications like an SSRI or SNRI to support the regulation of important neurotransmitters responsible for mood. For short-term relief from panic symptoms, benzodiazepines or beta blockers may be used for specific situations like panic attacks or performance anxiety. Psychiatric prescribers monitor your response and adjust as needed, since everyone reacts differently to medication.
Lifestyle Changes
Increased physical activity, reduced alcohol and caffeine intake, and better sleep habits can support other forms of treatment. Practices like yoga, meditation, and relaxation techniques also help manage anxiety. A therapist can help you set goals around reducing screen time, developing new hobbies, and building stronger social connections.
What’s the Outlook for Someone with Anxiety?
Anxiety responds very well to treatment, though only about one in four people with anxiety seek professional support.² Among those who do pursue therapy, research from the American Psychological Association shows that roughly 75% experience meaningful symptom relief.⁴
Why Choose LightHeart Mental Health for Anxiety Treatment
LightHeart offers comprehensive anxiety care in Seattle, Tacoma, Bothell, and across Washington state, with individualized support for every age group and background. We have providers who specialize in care for children and teens, and offer a welcoming environment regardless of identity.
Here are just some benefits of choosing LightHeart for your mental healthcare:
- We’re in network with most insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, which often keeps copays low.
- Therapy and psychiatry are available at every location, so your care team can collaborate on your treatment.
- We have several convenient clinic locations, but also offer telehealth for most services.
- Your therapist can help you understand your triggers and build long-term coping strategies.
- Care adapts to your needs and can change when necessary, whether that’s therapy alone, medication alone, or both.
Start Anxiety Treatment With LightHeart
Seeking help for anxiety shouldn’t add more stress to your life. Our intake team makes the process simple, with locations in and around the Seattle area ready to help you regain a sense of control.
Here’s what to expect when you seek care at LightHeart:
- Fill out a quick form or call 425.800.5688 to review your insurance coverage and any potential copays
- Schedule your first appointment for therapy, psychiatry, or both, either in person or via telehealth
- Receive evidence-based therapy and psychiatric support if needed, with your providers always collaborating on your care plan
Take the first step toward healing by calling 425.800.5688 or scheduling your first appointment today
FAQs About Anxiety Treatment
Therapy, particularly CBT, is highly effective, helping identify anxious thought patterns and reshape related behaviors. Medication can be a helpful complement to therapy for some people with anxiety.
No. Many people find meaningful relief through talk therapy alone. If medication comes up as a potential part of your treatment, it’s always a collaborative decision between you and your care team.
It varies by individual, as everyone responds to medication differently. SSRIs and SNRIs, such as Prozac, Lexapro, Zoloft, Pristiq, and Effexor, are commonly prescribed, supporting serotonin and norepinephrine regulation to ease both mental and physical symptoms. Benzodiazepines like Xanax or Valium may help those with panic disorder manage acute episodes. A psychiatric provider helps determine the right fit for you.
A grounding technique used to distract yourself from anxious thoughts: name three things you see, three sounds you hear, then move three parts of your body. It’s a helpful tool for in-the-moment, but it’s not a substitute for treatment.
Avoiding activities, people, or situations you used to frequent is often an early sign of anxiety. Others include shakiness, a pounding heart, racing thoughts, and chest tightness. These symptoms are treatable, so reaching out for support is worth it.
Common contributors to anxiety include procrastination, overloaded schedules, insufficient sleep, excess caffeine, skipped meals, and heavy phone or social media use.
Sources:
- Any Anxiety Disorder. (2026). National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
- Anxiety disorders. (2025). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/anxiety-disorders
- Anxiety Disorders. (2025). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961
- Recognition of Psychotherapy Effectiveness. (2012). American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-psychotherapy