Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and a healthy amount of it can actually be beneficial in some situations. It’s important to understand that experiencing a certain amount of anxiety is a normal part of life. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. However, when our anxiety takes control, normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness can shift and become excessive. Repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror can occur and peak at levels that are uncomfortable to manage.

These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control. Typically they are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. Coping mechanisms such as avoidance behaviours start to become routine. Doing things such as not going to a certain place or putting oneself in certain situations can occur.

Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years, continue into adulthood. Without tools to help manage these spiralling thoughts, the cycle can worsen.

Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense

• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom

• Increased heart rate

• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

• Sweating

• Trembling

• Feeling weak or tired

• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the stressful thought

• Sleep Issues

• Gastrointestinal (GI) problems

• Spiralling thoughts

• Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Together we can approach the issue and give you tools so that you become the master of your mind, not the other way around. We’ll teach you to recognize the signs that anxiety has taken hold so that you can gain some control over your mental health before you start spiraling.

Together we will discover the tools that you need that lie within you. We will peel back the layers of what creates the anxiety and how to manage it