Anxiety Therapist in Illinois

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Stop white-knuckling your way through the day. Anxiety therapy in Chicago that actually works with you.

Anxiety Therapy Chicago, IL, with Sarah Schufreider, LCSW

THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE

You are so stressed and overwhelmed. Your mind keeps racing and you can't concentrate. You are barely sleeping and are worried all of the time. You are noticing that you can't even enjoy the things you usually love because your mind is going a million miles a second.

It feels like you have tunnel vision, and the only thing you can see and feel is an impending sense of doom. No matter how many times you tell yourself that this isn't rational, you can't shake the feeling that things are going to fall apart. Your chest is always tight. You have headaches. You are always exhausted. And sometimes the physical symptoms are so intense that you wonder if something is seriously wrong with your heart.

You find yourself worrying that the people you love don't want to be around you anymore, that you are too much, that you bring too much heaviness into the room. So you pull back. You cancel plans. You avoid the moments you actually want to be part of, because it all feels like too much to take on. And missing out on life hurts too!


You don't want to keep living like this. You want to have feelings that don’t overwhelm every other thought and every decision. You want your life back. And some part of you believes that is still possible.

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WHAT IS STILL TRUE?

You don't want to keep avoiding. You don't want to keep missing out on your own life. You want to feel your emotions without being swallowed whole by them. That longing is not a weakness. It is the beginning of something real.

I'M SARAH, AND THIS IS THE WORK I DO

I'm Sarah Schufreider, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker offering anxiety therapy in Chicago, Illinois, and I help people who are exhausted from feeling like their worries are running the show.

For more than 17 years I have worked with people from every walk of life. I have sat with people through some of the most frightening and disorienting moments. I know that the world is scary, stressful, and unpredictable. And I know, with genuine conviction, that it is possible to feel more secure in your ability to thrive within that uncertainty.

What I bring to this work is a real belief that you are not broken. Anxiety is not a flaw in your character. It is your nervous system responding in a way that is trying to help you. And with the right support, you can learn to make your nervous system respond differently.

I will speak to you directly and honestly. There is plenty of space here for the hard stuff, and there is also room for humor and lightness, because life holds both, and good therapy should too.

HOW THERAPY FOR ANXIETY ACTUALLY WORKS

One of the first things many clients feel in our work together is relief at finally understanding what is happening inside their bodies when anxiety shows up. That tight chest, those persistent headaches, the exhaustion that sleep never quite fixes: these are not signs that something is catastrophically wrong with you. They are your body responding to anxious emotion. Understanding that changes everything.

From there, we explore how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact with and influence each other. This is not about positive thinking or convincing yourself that everything is fine. It is about learning to see what is actually happening inside you and finding the places where you genuinely have some power. When you stop pouring energy into the spiral and start channeling it toward what you can actually influence, things begin to shift in ways that feel real and lasting.

Over time, clients who do this work often notice:

  • A significant decrease in the emotional overwhelm that used to feel impossible to escape.

  • Less avoidance of the people, places, and experiences they actually want to be part of.

  • A growing sense of their own capacity to handle hard things and still move forward.

The goal is not to become someone who never feels anxious. The goal is to become someone who knows what to do when anxiety shows up, and who no longer has to let it make every decision.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP DOING THIS ALONE


If reading this felt uncomfortably familiar, that is not a coincidence. Reaching out is one small step, and it might be the one that changes the direction of everything.

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To learn more, you can reach out in one of the following 3 ways:

I’d love to help you. Click here to schedule your free 15- minute phone consultation for anxiety therapy in Chicago and greater Illinois. My other specialties include menopause mental health, postpartum depression, depression, relationship support, parent coaching & support, grief, and mid-life issues.

Frequently Asked Questions about Anxiety Therapy in Chicago

  • If you find yourself constantly worried, physically exhausted, avoiding people or situations you used to enjoy, or feeling like your thoughts are running your life rather than the other way around, anxiety therapy may be exactly the right fit. You do not need to be in crisis to reach out. If anxiety is getting in the way of how you want to live, that is reason enough.

  •  Sessions with Sarah are conversational and grounded. We usually begin by learning more about anxiety and how it impacts your mind, nervous system, and body. Then, we will talk about what is happening in your life, what you are noticing in your body and your thoughts, and what patterns keep showing up. Over time, you will start to understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact with each other. We also focus on learning, practicing, and utilizing concrete coping skills. 


  •  It is not too late. Many clients who come to Six Hearts Counseling have been living with anxiety for a long time before they seek support. The length of time you have been struggling does not determine whether change is possible. It simply means you have been carrying this longer than you needed to, and that there is real relief available to you now.


  •  Not necessarily. While understanding your history can be useful in certain cases, anxiety therapy at Six Hearts Counseling is focused on what is happening in your life now and what you want to be different going forward. You will never be pushed to go somewhere you are not ready to go.


  • Many people come in describing exhaustion, physical symptoms, avoidance, or feeling out of control without initially calling it anxiety. If what you read on this page resonated with you, that is a meaningful signal. You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or a label to start therapy.


Anxiety therapy in Chicago for people who are tired of their worries running the show.

schedule your free consultation for anxiety therapy in chicago