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Anxiety care

You carry a lot. Let's make sense of the anxiety together.

Dr. McDade knows anxiety can hide behind a full, capable life. She listens deeply, helps you understand what you are feeling and why, and builds a plan with you, by secure video in Texas.

Make Sense of What I'm Feeling Meet Dr. McDade

Opens the booking page. A brief screening confirms fit before your first visit.

  • Every visit with Dr. McDade
  • 60 to 90 minute first visit
  • No referral needed
Dr. Allison J. McDade, MD, smiling against a weathered wood wall
Dr. Allison J. McDade, MD Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in psychiatry and in child and adolescent psychiatry

The answer

Anxiety is your body's reaction to stress, and it can keep going even with no threat in front of you. It can show up as worry that will not switch off, tight muscles, restless nights, and a short fuse, even in a life that looks fine from the outside. The American Psychiatric Association calls anxiety disorders treatable, and many people improve with appropriate care. Dr. McDade starts with an unhurried evaluation, explains what she finds, and builds a plan with you. You understand what you are treating and why.

If you need help now

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred relay service or dial 711, then 988. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. This practice does not provide emergency services.

Dr. Allison J. McDade, MD, smiling in glasses in a sunlit garden

Who will you see?

Dr. McDade, at every visit. Health & Harmony Psychiatry is a physician-only practice, so every follow-up is with the physician who already knows your story.

There is time to describe your symptoms fully, along with the context around them. Dr. McDade has extensive experience treating anxiety and burnout.

The practice provides psychiatric evaluation, medication management, follow-up, and coordination with the patient's other clinicians. Full recovery is the goal, even if the best path is a referral.

What if you are the one holding it all together?

Maybe you keep showing up for everyone else, at work and at home. Maybe you have told yourself you should be able to handle this, and "I'm fine" has become the easiest answer.

Success can look very different from the outside.

In Dr. McDade's experience, you can do well at work, where there is built-in structure, and struggle once you are home and the structure disappears.

She asks about the parts of life that depend on self-direction, such as medical appointments, time with friends, and household tasks, because they are easy to overlook when someone looks high-functioning.

Anxiety is not a character flaw or a lack of willpower. It is a treatable medical condition, and you do not have to push through it alone.

Dr. Allison J. McDade, MD

How does Dr. McDade make sense of what you are feeling?

Dr. McDade hears your story and reviews your history and your health, over 60 to 90 minutes. Understanding relies on context, and some stories need more time.

  1. 01

    When it started, and your life now

    You and Dr. McDade piece together a timeline of your symptoms and what sets them off. If a significant stressor is going on, she considers adjustment disorder before a diagnosis of anxiety.

  2. 02

    Which kind of anxiety

    She takes time to tell types of anxiety apart, and to tell anxiety apart from related conditions such as OCD.

  3. 03

    Your history and your health

    She reviews past diagnoses and treatment, your mood, physical health, current medications, sleep, recent labs, and any hormonal changes. She looks for anything else that could cause your symptoms or add to them.

  4. 04

    A plan built with you

    She explains what she finds in plain words. Starting a medication is a collaborative conversation, with each option discussed in depth. When therapy is the better starting point, she refers to therapists she knows well.

    Collaborative

Your plan is built with you.

What can anxiety feel like?

Feeling anxious is a normal part of life. With an anxiety disorder, the National Institute of Mental Health explains, anxiety does not go away, is felt in many situations, and can get worse over time. You might notice some of this.

What it can feel like

  • A mind that keeps running the list after the day is done.
  • Lying awake rehearsing tomorrow, or waking up already tired.
  • Tight shoulders, a clenched jaw, headaches, or a knotted stomach.
  • Feeling on edge, with a shorter fuse than you want.
  • Rereading the same email because your focus keeps slipping.
  • A pounding heart or short breath, even on a calm day.

If some of this sounds familiar, a careful evaluation can sort out what is behind it. You are far from alone. Nearly one in three U.S. adults experiences an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates.

Anxiety is common, and it is treatable.

Why does anxiety feel this way?

Anxiety looks ahead. The American Psychiatric Association describes fear as a response to an immediate threat, and anxiety as worry about what may come. It is often linked with muscle tension and the urge to avoid things.

The National Institute of Mental Health calls anxiety your body's reaction to stress, one that can occur even if there is no current threat. That is how you can feel on alert on a quiet evening.

  • Stress

    Where it starts
    Usually an outside cause, like a big deadline
    How long it lasts
    It goes away once the situation is resolved
    In short
    A response to what is happening

  • Anxiety

    Where it starts
    Usually inside, as your reaction to stress
    How long it lasts
    It can stay, even with no immediate threat
    In short
    A response that keeps going

Adapted from the National Institute of Mental Health.

It is worth a closer look when anxiety gets in the way of everyday life, makes you avoid things, or seems always present.

Anxiety looks ahead, even when today is calm.

How is burnout different from anxiety?

How the World Health Organization defines burnout

Burnout results from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It shows up as exhaustion, mental distance or cynicism about your job, and feeling less effective at work. It refers to work specifically, and it is not classified as a medical condition.

With an anxiety disorder, anxiety can be felt in many situations, so it can follow you home and into a day off. Your first evaluation looks at your medical history and current stressors as well as your symptoms.

Burnout is tied to work, and anxiety can reach into the rest of your life.

Questions about anxiety care

Is high-functioning anxiety a diagnosis?

No. The anxiety disorders the American Psychiatric Association lists include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder, and high-functioning anxiety is not among them. What you feel still deserves a careful look, and the first evaluation can sort out what is behind it.

Can anxiety be treated with medication?

Yes, as part of a plan. The American Psychiatric Association notes that medication can provide significant relief from symptoms, and that cognitive behavioral therapy is a first-line treatment for many anxiety disorders. With Dr. McDade, starting a medication is a collaborative conversation, with each option discussed in depth.

Do I need therapy, medication, or both?

It depends on what the evaluation finds. Treatment for generalized anxiety disorder typically involves psychotherapy, medication, or both, the National Institute of Mental Health notes. Dr. McDade provides diagnostic evaluation and medication management. Plans are individualized and may include referral to therapy or other specialists when appropriate.

What if I am not sure which concern fits?

You can start without a name for it. The first evaluation begins with when your symptoms began and how long they have lasted, and Dr. McDade explains what she finds.

How long is the first evaluation?

60 to 90 minutes with Dr. McDade. The length follows your age, your symptoms, and your history, and it leaves room to connect and consider.

Will I see the same doctor at every visit?

Yes. Health & Harmony Psychiatry is a physician-only practice, and every visit, from your first evaluation through every follow-up, is with Dr. McDade.

Do I need a referral to see Dr. McDade?

No. You can book a first visit without a referral, and a parent or guardian books for anyone under 18. Clinicians who want to refer a patient can use the refer a patient page.

How much does care cost?

Care is cash pay. A new evaluation with Dr. McDade is $465, and follow-up visits with Dr. McDade are $275. You receive a good faith estimate before your first visit.

Does Dr. McDade take insurance?

No. Care is cash pay, with rates set in advance and shared up front. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate explaining how much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who do not have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.

What ages does Dr. McDade see, and where?

Patients ages 6 to 70. Health & Harmony Psychiatry provides care by secure video to patients physically located in Texas at the time of their appointment. Telepsychiatry may not be appropriate for everyone; a brief screening determines fit. Certain medications, including some controlled substances, may only be prescribed to patients residing in Texas.

Is this an emergency service?

No. Health & Harmony Psychiatry does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911.

Sources for the facts on this page.

The information on this website is for general education and does not constitute medical advice or create a physician-patient relationship. For care, please schedule an appointment.

Keep reading

Care Through Connection

Room to breathe, and a clear sense of what you are feeling and why.

Book the first visit online, or call 832.387.6088 with questions. A parent or guardian books for anyone under 18, and a brief screening confirms fit before your first visit.

Make Sense of What I'm Feeling

Health & Harmony Psychiatry does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911. Ages 6 to 70. Health & Harmony Psychiatry provides care by secure video to patients physically located in Texas at the time of their appointment.