Therapy for Anxiety
Are you experiencing racing thoughts, excessive feelings of nervousness or panic? Are you avoiding certain social situations or exposures? Do you find yourself overanalyzing every situation? Therapy for Anxiety may be able to help.
We’ve all heard of anxiety – whether it comes in the form of or a panic attack, avoiding social situations or constant over-analyzing, anxiety can seem scary and confusing, often ostracizing those who struggle with it. In reality though, anxiety is a very dynamic mood disorder that can range in symptoms and experiences. For some, anxiety can be crippling and seriously impact their quality of life, while others may find ways to hide their anxiety and struggle quietly. Whatever your experience with anxiety, whether mild or severe, we’re here to help.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety, believe it or not, is natural! The experience of anxiety is our body’s natural response to stress or scary stimuli. There’s many experiences in life in which it’s normal to feel anxious, like going to a job interview, public speaking, or getting chased by an animal! However, while it’s a natural human reaction, anxiety can become problematic when we experience it in the face of stimuli that shouldn’t elicit such a response.
In therapy, we’ll explore the cycle of anxiety, learning how each part of the cycle relates to your own experiences. The cycle of anxiety begins with a trigger - an event, place, situation or experience that causes the next stage of the cycle to occur – thoughts. Anxious thinkers often experience racing, negative or catastrophizing thoughts that can be intrusive and demanding. From these thoughts come feelings. For anxious people, these feelings will often be negative – sadness, stress, confusion, grief, angst, or pressure. These feelings lead to consequential behaviours which, often, are unhealthy coping, avoidance, or distraction habits that help us get through the negative experience. With your therapist, you will explore this cycle in greater depth and establish healthier ways to intervene on thoughts, feelings and behaviours with the goal of stopping the cycle of anxiety.
What symptoms of anxiety can therapy help with?
Symptoms and manifestations of anxiety range from mild to severe and can include (but is not limited to) nervousness, restlessness, feeling tense or panicky, dread, a rapid heart rate or rapid breathing, hyperventilation, increased or heavy sweating, trembling or muscle twitching, weakness and lethargy, difficulty focusing, or the inability to think about anything other than that which makes you feel anxious. Not sure if this is you? If you’re not sure if what you’re experiencing is anxiety or not, don’t worry! We don’t require any formal diagnosis or referral in order to help you with your experiences of anxiety. We’re here to listen and help you navigate the symptoms and experiences you’re facing.
What are the causes of anxiety?
Symptoms and causes of anxiety can vary greatly and as such, a wide range of things can cause anxiety. For some, it can be a major life change or event. For others, it could be a stressful period and/or situation. For many people, anxiety can be seemingly random! Whether you know what is causing your anxiety or not, you and your therapist will work together to determine the underlying influencers of your anxiety symptoms.
Can’t Tell If It’s Anxiety or Stress?
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Different Types of Anxiety
There are a wide variety of anxiety disorders that could be impacting you! Below we’ve explained some of the most common anxiety disorders
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Characterized by fears and avoidances of places or situations that cause you to feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.
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Consistent and excessive levels of anxiety associated with everyday tasks and a variety of activities. Most of the time, the level of worry is disproportionate to the circumstance.
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Anxiety that involves repeated episode of intense anxiety and fear that case panic within a matter of minutes. Panic attacks can involve a variety of symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, rapid or fluttering or pounding heart, feelings of impending doom.
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Anxiety around separation from parents, loved ones or a safety person.
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Involves high levels of anxiety surrounding social situations. This is often associated with fears of embarrassment or high levels of self-consciousness and fears of being judged.
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Anxiety that is associated with a specific object or situation. The individual with a specific phobia often takes significant measures to avoid the object or situation.
What are some strategies to help manage my anxiety?
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
This technique is used to help bring your focus to the present moment, and out of your head!
Name 5 things you can see
Name 4 things you can feel
Name 3 things you can hear
Name 2 things you can smell
Name 1 thing you can taste
Pro Tip: Focus on the sensations & stimuli that you normally would NOT notice!
Put the thought on Trial
Take your anxious thought and put it on trial
What are the facts that prove this thought? What are the facts that disprove this thought? Do your best to tip the scale!
Pro Tip: Do this with a friend or loved one, out loud! No one around? Write out your answers –sometimes the worst place for your thoughts is in your own head!
How Can We Help You through your anxiety?
When addressing anxiety, we help clients explore the cycle of panic to understand what is happening and how their anxiety is being perpetuated. We’ll provide psycho education on the ins and outs of anxiety and what it actually going on in your body. Our goal is to breakdown old coping habits that no longer work and establish more effective methods of coping. Together, we’ll explore negative and inaccurate thoughts, learn to challenge them, and discover healthier thought patterns.
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