If your mind feels like it never quite shuts off, you are not alone, and you are not broken. Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people reach out for support, and it is also one of the most treatable. With the right tools and a calm, steady guide, the worry that feels so consuming right now can loosen its grip. At Family Life Resources, we offer warm, practical anxiety counseling to people across Raleigh and all of North Carolina.
Anxiety counseling here is led by Ginny Porowski, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who is also a registered nurse. She especially helps adults whose anxiety is tied to the hardest seasons of family life: fear about their own health, caring for an aging parent, recovering from a narcissistic relationship, or rebuilding after losing a spouse. You can read more about Ginny and her background.
What does anxiety feel like?
Anxiety feels like your mind and body are stuck on high alert, even when nothing is wrong. It is more than feeling nervous before a big day: for many people it shows up in the mind as racing or looping thoughts, constant "what if" worry, trouble concentrating, irritability, and a sense of dread. It can make rest feel impossible and small decisions feel overwhelming.
Anxiety also lives in the body. You might notice a pounding heart, tight chest, shallow breathing, a knot in your stomach, muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, or trouble falling and staying asleep. These physical sensations are real, and they are your nervous system trying to protect you, even when there is no true danger. Understanding that connection between body and mind is often the first step toward relief.
What kinds of anxiety can counseling help?
Counseling can help with chronic worry, panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety, work stress, and the anxiety that comes with big life changes. Here is how each one often shows up.
Generalized anxiety and chronic worry
Persistent, hard-to-control worry about many areas of life — work, money, health, family — that leaves you tense and exhausted.
Panic attacks
Sudden, intense waves of fear with physical symptoms like a racing heart or shortness of breath. They can feel frightening, so have new or unexplained symptoms checked by a doctor first (see when to see a doctor below).
Social anxiety
Fear of judgment or embarrassment that makes everyday interactions, meetings, or gatherings feel draining or something to avoid.
Health anxiety
Fear that a body symptom means something is seriously wrong, with frequent checking or reassurance-seeking (more on health anxiety below).
Performance and work stress
Pressure, perfectionism, and burnout that follow you home (more on work stress and burnout below).
Anxiety with life transitions
The unsettledness that comes with new seasons — a move, a job change, parenting, caregiving, an empty nest, or shifting relationships.
Why won't my anxiety go away?
Anxiety often sticks around because the very things we do to feel safer keep it alive. Avoiding what scares us brings short-term relief but teaches the brain that the fear was justified. Seeking constant reassurance, over-planning, and trying to control uncertainty all reinforce the cycle. Meanwhile, a nervous system that has been running hot for a long time can get stuck in alarm mode. None of this is a character flaw — it is a learned pattern, and patterns can be gently unlearned.
Anxiety in the hardest seasons of family life
Anxiety rarely appears out of nowhere. For many of the adults Ginny works with, it grows out of a specific situation, and naming that situation is often where relief begins.
Health anxiety: "What if something is really wrong with me?"
Health anxiety is a loop: you notice a body sensation, fear the worst, then check, search symptoms online, or ask for reassurance that only helps for a little while. Because Ginny is a registered nurse, she understands the medical worries behind health anxiety and will take them seriously. Your doctor evaluates your symptoms; counseling helps you follow that guidance and step out of the checking-and-worrying cycle.
Anxiety while caring for an aging parent
If you are burned out caring for Mom or Dad, anxiety can look like lying awake waiting for the phone to ring, dreading the next fall or hospital visit, or feeling guilty no matter how much you do. Counseling gives you a place to set the worry down, prepare for hard conversations with siblings and medical providers, and protect your own health. Ginny's nursing background helps her understand the medical side of a parent's declining health or dementia.
Anxiety after a narcissistic relationship
Years with a narcissistic parent, spouse, or family member can leave your nervous system on constant alert. Many survivors describe walking on eggshells, scanning every text for tone, replaying conversations, and apologizing before anyone is upset. That hypervigilance made sense when you needed it; counseling helps your body learn it can stand down. Our narcissistic abuse recovery counseling focuses on that deeper healing. If anyone in your life makes you feel unsafe, call 911 in an emergency or reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, free, confidential, and available 24/7.
Anxiety after losing a spouse
Whether you are a widow or widower or going through a divorce, losing a spouse can bring new fears: handling money and decisions alone, the quiet house at night, worry about your own health, or wondering what dating or a second marriage might look like. Anxiety and grief often travel together, and our grief and loss counseling in Raleigh can address both. If you are heading into a second marriage, marriage and couples counseling in Raleigh gives you and your partner a place to talk through those worries together.
Work stress, burnout, and career anxiety
When the Sunday-night dread starts on Saturday, work stress has turned into anxiety. Counseling helps with the worry, perfectionism, and sleeplessness. If the deeper question is what comes next in your career, life and career coaching can help you plan it.
Is it a panic attack? When to see a doctor first
A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear with physical symptoms such as a racing heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, or tingling. Because some of these symptoms can also come from heart, lung, or other medical conditions, the safest first step is to have new or unexplained symptoms checked by a doctor.
- Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or symptoms that feel different from your usual anxiety.
- See your doctor if your symptoms have never been checked, if they are changing, or if you have questions about medication.
- Start counseling now or alongside your medical care; once serious causes are ruled out, counseling helps you understand panic and respond to it with less fear.
If you are thinking about suicide or feel unable to stay safe, please reach out now. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24/7, or call 911 in an emergency. Counseling is for ongoing support; in a crisis, please use these resources first.
How does anxiety counseling help?
Anxiety counseling helps you understand what keeps your worry going and gives you practical skills to calm your mind and body when it flares. The work is collaborative: we draw on evidence-based approaches and tailor them to you, including:
- Identifying thought patterns — learning to notice the anxious thoughts driving the fear and respond to them with more balance and self-compassion.
- Calming the nervous system — breathing, grounding, and body-based skills that help you settle in the moment and over time.
- Gradual exposure — facing feared situations in small, manageable steps so your confidence grows and avoidance loses its power.
- Practical coping skills — tools you can use in real life, between sessions, to interrupt the worry cycle and reclaim your day.
Because Ginny Porowski is also a registered nurse, she brings a holistic, mind-body-spirit perspective to this work. That means we pay attention not only to your thoughts and emotions but also to sleep, movement, breathing, and the whole-person factors that shape how anxiety feels — honoring you as a complete person, not a symptom.
Is anxiety counseling right for me?
Anxiety counseling may be right for you if worry, panic, or tension is getting in the way of your sleep, work, relationships, or peace of mind. You do not need to wait until things are unbearable. We build a plan together and move at a pace that feels right; you will never be pushed. Over time, the work becomes less about managing anxiety and more about living the life it has been getting in the way of. If you are also struggling with low mood that often travels alongside anxiety, our depression therapy in Raleigh may be a helpful next step.
Counseling may be a good next step if you notice yourself:
- Worrying so much that it interferes with sleep, focus, or daily life
- Experiencing panic, racing heart, or physical tension with no clear cause
- Avoiding people, places, or situations because of fear or dread
- Feeling tense, irritable, or "on edge" much of the time
- Seeking constant reassurance or over-checking to feel safe
- Sensing that anxiety is shrinking your world and stealing your peace
What happens in an anxiety counseling session?
An anxiety counseling session is a 50-minute conversation about what is happening in your life now and practical ways to respond to it. A typical session might include:
- Checking in on the past week: what triggered anxiety, what helped, and how you slept
- Looking closely at one worry or panic moment, including the thoughts and body signals around it
- Practicing a calming or grounding skill together, right in the session
- Choosing one small, realistic step to try before your next visit
Your first appointment is the 65-minute initial consultation, which gives time to understand your history, health, and goals. How often you meet after that is something you and Ginny decide together. For details on cost and superbills, see our fees and insurance page.
Can anxiety counseling include my faith?
Yes, if you want it to, and only if you want it to. Some clients ask to bring prayer, Scripture, or their spiritual values into how they handle worry; others prefer counseling that simply respects their beliefs without making faith part of the work. Both are welcome. Learn more about Christian counseling in Raleigh, which is always optional.
Our approach
Anxiety counseling at Family Life Resources is led by Ginny, who is currently accepting new clients. With more than 30 years of experience and a background in nursing, Ginny offers a calm, compassionate, and practical style grounded in evidence-based care. Sessions begin with a free 10-minute phone consultation so you can ask questions and see if we are the right fit before committing to anything. Individual sessions are $160 for 50 minutes, with an initial consultation of $200 for 65 minutes; we are a private-pay practice and provide superbills for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
You can meet in person at our Raleigh office on Creedmoor Road or by secure video telehealth anywhere in North Carolina. Our counselors are Christian, and faith-based support is available to those who want it — always optional, with clients of every background warmly welcomed. Whatever brought you here, you do not have to carry it alone.
Anxiety counseling near me: Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, Durham & telehealth
Family Life Resources offers in-person anxiety counseling at 8218 Creedmoor Road, Suite 101, in North Raleigh (off Creedmoor Road near I-540), and secure video telehealth for anyone located in North Carolina.
- Raleigh and North Raleigh: in person at our Creedmoor Road office or online
- Cary, Wake Forest, and Durham: visit the Raleigh office or meet by telehealth
- Garner, Apex, and Holly Springs: visit the North Raleigh office or meet by telehealth
- Anywhere in North Carolina: telehealth counseling in NC from home, work, or another private space
See all the communities we serve across North Carolina.
Ready to talk? Request your free 10-minute phone consultation or call or text 919-306-0207.