Anxiety can take many forms.

Counseling Will Help

We all experience some degree of anxiety in life, perhaps feeling fearful, on-edge, or jittery in response to a stressful situation. It is normal and even healthy for life challenges such as a new job, school, health issues or pregnancy, economic hardship and difficult social situations to trigger some degree of anxiety. When experienced in a positive way, these feelings of anxiety can help motivate us to take risks, move beyond our comfort zone, and discover new abilities. Sometimes, however, our feeling of anxiety keep us from having a healthy response to these challenges. This is when counseling can help; working together to help you gain control of your fears, develop positive coping skills, and move forward to a place of well-being.

I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Training, Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR therapy for anxiety counseling and I have witnessed my clients experience significant relief from stress, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and panic attacks.

Contact me now to learn more about your options for counselling to help you move beyond fear and stress.

How can you know if you need help with anxiety?

So if anxiety is a normal response to a stressful event, how can you know if you need help? Clues might include:

Are you overwhelmed with anxiety and fear about your life and unable to control your thoughts?
Do you often feel tense, stressed or restless?
Is your anxiety response to a challenging situation beyond what might be expected or considered healthy? Is it keeping you from coping in a positive way?
Do people say you’re irritable or short-tempered, and do you find yourself regretting outbursts that felt beyond your control? Is you irritability causing tension with loved ones?
Is your anxiety affecting your sleep or appetite?
Has anxiety taken over your life? Perhaps the constant worry and fear makes you feel as if perhaps you’re losing your mind?

First, you’re not alone in these feelings – they are far more common than you might imagine. At the core, when anxiety feels beyond your capacity to cope, you will know that you need outside support. It can be difficult to reach out, because we perceive that we “should” be able to cope. But if you are struggling with some form of an anxiety disorder, “coping” is simply not an option – you need, and deserve, help.

What is an anxiety disorder?

When feelings of anxiety take over, fear or panic become chronic and overwhelming and represent some form of an anxiety disorder. While the experience for people living with anxiety disorders can feel overwhelming, the good news is that they are very responsive to treatment. Most can fully recover with the help of counseling.

We know that anxiety has become a serious problem in our lives when it gets in the way of everyday living or enjoying important relationships. There are five broad categories of anxiety disorders. The main categories of anxiety disorders are:

Generalized anxiety

You may experience anxiety and worry that seems continuous and interferes with daily life and relationships, and perhaps may also experience depression. Feelings can include being tense and restless, irritable, tired, and having difficulty getting a good nights sleep.

Social anxiety

Do you ever struggle with being in groups of public and find yourself worrying that everyone is watching or judging you? While you may rationally know this isn’t the case, is it still difficult to relax due to fear of being judged or embarrassed?

Panic

Have you experienced repeated, unexpected attacks of intense fear mimicking the symptoms of a heart attack. Often there is accompanying anxiety and worry about when another attack will occur. The worry and anticipation about when another panic attack will happen can become so upsetting that you may become afraid to leave the house.

Post traumatic stress

Have you seen or experienced a traumatizing event that involved the threat of injury or death to yourself or others, you may become overwhelmed with intrusive frightening memories and thoughts about the ordeal so vivid that you feel like you are re-experiencing the event, accompanied by attempts to avoid these memories leaving you feeling detached or numb.

Phobias

If you experience an persistent or irrational fear of a specific object or situation that is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat, such as fear of elevators or flying, you may be struggling with a phobia. Often there is intense worry and stress about the fear itself accompanied by interruptions in daily life and a tendency to avoid the feared situation or object.

You don’t have to live with anxiety

Even with all of life’s usual ongoing challenges, you don’t have to live with worry, fear or depression. Counseling will help address the root of your anxiety and help you develop the skills to move forward with greater calm and confidence!