Anxiety Treatment in Red Bank & Monmouth County, NJ
Your heart races for no reason. Your mind spirals with “what if” thoughts you can’t shut off. You’re exhausted from constantly being on edge.
At Kolli Psychiatry in Red Bank, New Jersey, we understand that anxiety isn’t something you can just “think away.” It’s a treatable condition involving real changes in brain chemistry and nervous system function.
Our anxiety treatment starts with a psychiatrist. We evaluate what is driving your anxiety, explain your options in plain language, and manage medication when it is needed, working alongside your therapist or connecting you with one through our talk therapy service.
You can see us in person at our Red Bank office or by telehealth from anywhere in New Jersey. If you have been looking for anxiety treatment near you and therapy alone hasn’t been enough, a psychiatric evaluation is a good next step.
We serve patients throughout Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore, including Red Bank, Middletown, Rumson, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Shrewsbury, Holmdel, Long Branch, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Marlboro, and surrounding communities.
How to get started with Anxiety Treatment
- Book online or call 732-655-4568. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm.
- Come to a 60-minute evaluation, in person in Red Bank or by telehealth. We’ll talk about your symptoms, what sets them off, your health history, current medications, caffeine and sleep, and anything you’ve tried before.
- Leave with a plan. It may include medication, therapy, lifestyle changes or a mix of these, with follow-up visits to adjust as you go.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s natural alarm system. It triggers the fight-or-flight response to keep you alert before a job interview or out of real danger, and a little of it can even help you perform.
In an anxiety disorder, that alarm gets stuck in overdrive. It’s like a smoke alarm that keeps going off when there’s no fire: the worry is persistent and out of proportion, it doesn’t fade when the stressful moment passes, and it starts to interfere with work, relationships and daily life.
Anxiety isn’t a character flaw or something you can simply think away. It involves real changes in how your brain and nervous system respond to threat, which is why the racing heart and tension feel so physical, and it is highly treatable.
Here’s what matters: Anxiety isn’t “all in your head” or something you can simply think away. It involves real, measurable changes in brain chemistry and how your nervous system functions.
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety
If these symptoms feel familiar for most days over the past 6 months, consider professional evaluation:
Mental/Emotional Symptoms:
☐ Excessive worry about multiple things
☐ Can’t control or stop the worry
☐ Feeling constantly on edge or keyed up
☐ Difficulty concentrating (mind goes blank)
☐ Irritability or feeling easily frustrated
☐ Sense of impending danger or doom
☐ Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety
☐ Reassurance-seeking behavior
Physical Symptoms:
☐ Racing or pounding heart
☐ Shortness of breath or feeling smothered
☐ Chest tightness or pain
☐ Muscle tension, especially neck/shoulders
☐ Restlessness, can’t sit still
☐ Feeling tired despite sleeping
☐ Trouble falling or staying asleep
☐ Digestive problems, nausea
☐ Sweating, trembling, or feeling shaky
☐ Dizziness or lightheadedness
Checked several? Book an anxiety evaluation in Red Bank or by telehealth. Chest pain or trouble breathing can also have medical causes, so if they’re new or severe, see your medical provider right away.
Crisis box: If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.
Different Types of Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Chronic, excessive worry about everyday things—work, health, family, finances—even when there’s little reason for concern. The worry feels uncontrollable and interferes with daily life. You might worry about being late, making mistakes, or things going wrong, even on good days.
Physical symptoms include muscle tension, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and sleep problems. GAD is the most common anxiety disorder, affecting about 6.8 million American adults.
Panic Disorder
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks—sudden surges of intense fear that peak within minutes. Symptoms include racing heart, chest pain, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, and feeling like you’re dying or losing control.
What makes panic disorder particularly difficult is the fear of having another attack, which leads to avoiding places or situations where attacks have occurred. Many people with panic disorder end up in the emergency room convinced they’re having a heart attack.
Social Anxiety Disorder (social phobia)
Intense, persistent fear of being watched, judged, or embarrassed in social situations. This goes far beyond normal shyness. You might fear speaking in public, eating in front of others, meeting new people, or any situation where you might be scrutinized.
The anxiety is so severe that it causes significant avoidance—turning down job opportunities, skipping important events, or having difficulty forming relationships. Social anxiety can be limited to performance situations (like public speaking) or generalized to most social interactions.
Specific Phobias
Extreme, irrational fear of specific objects or situations—flying, heights, needles, blood, spiders, enclosed spaces, dogs. The fear is out of proportion to actual danger and causes significant distress or avoidance.
You might drive 8 hours rather than fly, avoid medical care because of needle phobia, or miss opportunities because of height-related fears. Specific phobias are very common and highly treatable with exposure therapy.
Agoraphobia
Fear and avoidance of situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic symptoms occur. This often includes crowds, public transportation, open spaces (parking lots, bridges), enclosed spaces (stores, theaters), or being outside the home alone.
Many people with agoraphobia have panic disorder, but not everyone. In severe cases, people become housebound. Agoraphobia affects about 1-2% of adults and typically develops after experiencing panic attacks in these situations.
Health Anxiety (Illness Anxiety Disorder)
Excessive preoccupation with having or developing a serious illness, despite medical reassurance and normal test results. You might constantly check your body for signs of disease, research symptoms online excessively, or seek repeated medical consultations.
A normal headache becomes a brain tumor; indigestion becomes a heart attack. The anxiety about illness becomes more impairing than any actual medical condition.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Excessive fear about being apart from the people you’re close to. It is often thought of as a childhood condition, but it also affects teens and adults.
Selective Mutism
Being consistently unable to speak in certain settings, such as school, while speaking normally at home. It usually begins in young children, so you may prefer to leave it out given the 13+ age range.
Normal Stress Vs Anxiety: What’s the Difference?
|
Normal Worry |
Anxiety |
| Temporary, related to specific stressor | Persistent, often without clear cause |
| Doesn’t interfere with daily life | Significantly impairs work, relationships, activities |
| You can usually manage it | Feels overwhelming and uncontrollable |
| Goes away when situation resolves | Continues even when nothing is wrong |
| Occasional physical symptoms | Frequent physical symptoms (racing heart, trouble breathing) |
| You can ‘talk yourself down’ | Reassurance doesn’t help for long |
Book an appointment with our Best Psychiatrists in NJ for Anxiety
Other Conditions We Treat
What Causes Anxiety?
Anxiety develops from biological vulnerability, brain chemistry, life experiences, and environmental stressors.
Brain Chemistry: Imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin (regulates mood), GABA (calms the nervous system), and norepinephrine (controls stress response) play a central role.
Genetics & Life Experiences: Anxiety runs in families—having a parent or sibling with anxiety increases your risk 2-4 times. Childhood adversity, trauma, major losses, and chronic stress can trigger anxiety, especially in those with genetic vulnerability.
Medical Factors: Thyroid disorders, heart arrhythmias, asthma, certain medications (stimulants, corticosteroids), caffeine, and alcohol can cause or worsen anxiety.
Personality Patterns: Perfectionism, need for control, catastrophizing (imagining worst-case scenarios), and difficulty with uncertainty maintain and worsen anxiety over time.
At our Red Bank practice, we see anxiety affecting college students, NYC commuters, parents, and retirees throughout Monmouth County. Understanding your combination of risk factors helps create an effective treatment plan.
The Impact of Untreated Anxiety
Physical Health
Chronic anxiety increases risk of cardiovascular problems (high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke), digestive issues, weakened immunity, chronic muscle tension (headaches, back pain, jaw pain), and sleep disruption that worsens anxiety further.
Mental Health
About 60% of people with anxiety develop depression. Risk of substance use disorders increases as people self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, complicating treatment.
Daily Life
Avoidance behaviors start small but expand over time. You stop going places you enjoyed, turn down work opportunities, withdraw from relationships.
Quality of Life
Living with constant tension means missing out on travel, career opportunities, and social events. Many describe “watching life from the sidelines.”
Here’s the good news: 70-90% of people experience significant improvement with treatment. Our Monmouth County patients report sleeping through the night, accepting job promotions they’d declined, repairing strained relationships, and rediscovering joy.
How We Treat Anxiety in Red Bank, NJ
Effective anxiety treatment usually combines more than one approach. Your plan depends on your symptoms, your preferences and your health, and we adjust it as you go.
Psychiatric Evaluation
Your first visit is a 60-minute psychiatric evaluation. We look at what is driving your anxiety, check for conditions that often come with it, such as depression or ADHD, and note anything that could be adding to it, like thyroid problems, caffeine or other medications.
Medication for Anxiety
Medication can calm anxiety enough for daily life, and therapy, to work better. Options we may discuss include:
- SSRIs, such as sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro) and paroxetine (Paxil), and SNRIs, such as venlafaxine (Effexor) and duloxetine (Cymbalta). These are often the first choice for generalized anxiety, panic and social anxiety, and usually take a few weeks to start working.
- Buspirone, taken every day. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to reach its full effect and doesn’t work as an as-needed medication.
- Hydroxyzine, a non-addictive option for as-needed relief.
- Beta-blockers, sometimes used for the physical symptoms of situations like public speaking.
- Benzodiazepines, considered only in select cases where other treatments haven’t helped enough. Because they can lead to tolerance and dependence, they are usually prescribed for short periods and tapered slowly.
We explain how each option works and what side effects to watch for, then follow up regularly to adjust. Read more in Does Anxiety Medication Work?, our Psychiatric Medication Guide and our Medication Management service.
Therapy for Anxiety in NJ
Therapy teaches you skills to manage anxious thoughts and face what you have been avoiding. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-established choice for anxiety, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is another option.
We offer talk therapy and work with therapists across Monmouth County, so your medication and anxiety therapy stay coordinated.
Lifestyle Support
Regular sleep, less caffeine and alcohol, exercise and simple breathing or grounding exercises can all ease anxiety. They work best alongside treatment, not instead of it. Our articles on alternatives to medication cover more options.
High-Functioning Anxiety
High-functioning anxiety isn’t a formal diagnosis, but many people recognize it. You meet every deadline and look calm from the outside, while inside you are running on worry, overthinking and poor sleep.
Because life still seems to work, it often goes untreated for years. We see it often in professionals, parents and women in midlife. Therapy and, when needed, medication can ease the constant strain without taking away what drives you.
Book our Best Psychiatrists for Anxiety
Every patient’s journey is unique. We create individualized treatment plans that work for you.
Whether you need medication management, therapy coordination, or comprehensive treatment combining both, our Red Bank team helps patients throughout Monmouth County, Ocean County, and the Jersey Shore find relief from anxiety.
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Frequently Asked Questions about Anxiety Treatment
Can anxiety be cured?
Many people achieve complete remission with treatment. 70-90% improve significantly with proper care. Some have episodes that fully resolve; others manage anxiety long-term with periods of wellness. At Kolli Psychiatry in Red Bank, we help Monmouth County patients achieve lasting relief through short-term or ongoing treatment.
What triggers panic attacks?
Triggers include caffeine, lack of sleep, high stress, certain medications, medical conditions, and specific phobias. However, unexpected panic attacks with no trigger are also common. At Kolli Psychiatry in Red Bank, we help identify triggers and develop prevention strategies for Monmouth County patients.
Do I need medication for anxiety?
Mild anxiety may improve with therapy and lifestyle changes. Moderate to severe anxiety typically benefits from medication, at least initially. Many Red Bank and Middletown patients use medication short-term while learning CBT skills, then taper off. Others need longer-term treatment. The decision depends on severity and your preferences.
Will anxiety medication change my personality?
No. Medications reduce excessive anxiety—they don’t change who you are. Most report feeling “like myself again.” If you feel unlike yourself (overly sedated, emotionally numb), the medication or dose isn’t right. Our Red Bank team finds medications that work without personality changes.
Can anxiety cause physical symptoms?
Absolutely. Anxiety causes racing heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, sweating, trembling. These aren’t imaginary—they’re from your overactive fight-or-flight response. Many Red Bank patients have been to the ER for chest pain, told “it’s just anxiety.” The physical symptoms are real and treatable.
What is anticipatory anxiety?
Anticipatory anxiety is worrying about future events days or weeks in advance—”fear of fear.” You might avoid making plans because you’re anxious about being anxious. CBT is particularly effective. Many Monmouth County patients find relief through treatment at our Red Bank office.
Is social anxiety the same as being shy?
No. Shyness is a personality trait. Social anxiety disorder is intense fear of being judged that causes significant distress and avoidance. You might skip important events or turn down opportunities. Social anxiety responds well to CBT and SSRIs at our Red Bank practice.
Do you see infants for separation anxiety?
Our practice treats adolescents (ages 13+) and adults. Separation anxiety in infants is typically a normal developmental stage. For young children with persistent or severe separation anxiety, we provide referrals to pediatric specialists in the Monmouth County area. We do treat separation anxiety in older children, teens, and adults at our Red Bank office.
Why do I wake up with anxiety?
Morning anxiety is very common. Cortisol (stress hormone) naturally peaks in the morning, triggering anxiety symptoms. Poor sleep worsens anxiety, creating a cycle. Morning anxiety is often a symptom of generalized anxiety disorder where worry starts immediately upon waking. At our Red Bank practice, we identify what’s causing your morning anxiety and develop a treatment plan—often including medication, sleep hygiene improvements, and morning routine adjustments.
ADHD and anxiety?
ADHD and anxiety commonly co-occur. Sometimes anxiety develops from years of ADHD-related struggles—missed deadlines, disorganization, chronic stress. Stimulant medications can worsen or improve anxiety depending on the person. At our Red Bank office, we carefully evaluate both conditions in Monmouth County patients, creating treatment plans that address ADHD and anxiety effectively without worsening either.
Somatic symptom disorder vs illness anxiety disorder?
Somatic symptom disorder involves excessive focus on physical symptoms (pain, fatigue) that cause significant distress—the symptoms are real. Illness anxiety disorder involves preoccupation with having or developing serious illness despite few or no physical symptoms—the anxiety about illness is the primary problem. Both respond well to SSRIs and cognitive behavioral therapy. Our Monmouth County providers differentiate between these conditions during comprehensive evaluation.
Anxiety meds OTC?
There are no FDA-approved over-the-counter medications for anxiety. Antihistamines like Benadryl aren’t designed for anxiety treatment. Supplements like magnesium or L-theanine aren’t FDA-regulated, can interact with medications, and lack consistent evidence. For safe, effective treatment, prescription medication evaluation is necessary. At Kolli Psychiatry in Red Bank, we offer many non-addictive options including SSRIs, SNRIs, buspirone, and hydroxyzine.
Adderall and anxiety?
Adderall affects anxiety differently depending on the person. For some with ADHD, stimulants reduce anxiety by improving focus and reducing ADHD-related stress. For others, stimulants worsen anxiety by increasing heart rate and nervous system activation. At our Red Bank practice, we monitor how ADHD medications affect anxiety in Monmouth County patients and adjust treatment—sometimes adding an SSRI, adjusting dosage, or switching to non-stimulant ADHD medications.
Can anxiety cause acid indigestion?
Yes. Anxiety activates “fight or flight” response, which slows digestion and increases stomach acid. Anxiety also causes you to swallow more air and tense abdominal muscles. Chronic anxiety increases risk of acid reflux, indigestion, and IBS. Many Red Bank patients report significant improvement in digestive symptoms once anxiety is treated. If you have persistent digestive symptoms, see your primary care doctor to rule out other causes while addressing anxiety
Non addictive anxiety medication?
Several effective non-addictive medications treat anxiety. SSRIs (Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil) are first-line with no addiction risk. SNRIs (Effexor, Cymbalta) are also non-addictive. Buspirone is non-addictive and non-sedating. Hydroxyzine is non-addictive and works within 30-60 minutes. At Kolli Psychiatry in Red Bank, we prioritize non-addictive medications. Most Monmouth County patients achieve excellent relief with non-addictive options.
Pediatric dental anxiety near me?
Our Red Bank practice treats children and adolescents with dental anxiety and dental phobia. We provide comprehensive psychiatric evaluation to understand your child’s anxiety, prescribe anti-anxiety medications when appropriate for use before dental appointments, and coordinate care with pediatric dentists throughout Monmouth County.
Pediatric dentists offer child-friendly environments and techniques like nitrous oxide, while we address the underlying anxiety through medication management and therapy referrals. This combined approach—psychiatric care from our team plus specialized pediatric dental care—helps children overcome dental fears and receive necessary dental treatment.
Is generalised anxiety disorder a disability?
GAD can qualify as a disability under the ADA if it substantially limits major life activities like working, concentrating, or sleeping. Many Monmouth County patients have obtained workplace accommodations or disability benefits for severe GAD. Our Red Bank team provides documentation when appropriate. However, with proper treatment, many people with GAD achieve significant improvement and maintain full functioning.
Supplements for anxiety?
Many ask about magnesium, L-theanine, ashwagandha, or CBD. While some show promise, supplements aren’t regulated and can interact with medications. At our Red Bank practice, we discuss supplements safely as part of comprehensive treatment for Monmouth County patients. Never start without discussing with your provider.
What is the difference between anxiety and depression?
Anxiety and depression often co-occur but are different. Anxiety involves worry, physical tension, fear about the future. Depression involves sadness, loss of interest, hopelessness, low energy. Many patients at our Red Bank office experience both. The good news: many treatments work for both. We address all co-occurring conditions.
Does health anxiety go away?
Health anxiety rarely goes away on its own but responds very well to CBT and SSRIs. Many Monmouth County patients find relief at our Red Bank practice. The key is treating the anxiety rather than seeking more medical tests, which provides only temporary relief.
