Your anxiety might make total sense. There’s a lot going on in the world, on top of what’s happening in your personal life, and you may have experienced things in the past where things really did go wrong, and that fear has stayed with you to try to protect you. Or, your anxiety may be showing up out of no-where, with no apparent cause, which can feel just as overwhelming.

When we’re facing a perceived threat (either something happening right now, or that we’re worried about in the future), our body tries to prepare us by increasing our heart rate, tensing our muscles, and making our breathing more shallow, to either run away or confront the threat (fight-or-flight response). This is something that’s critical to our survival, and something we all experience.

What’s problematic is if this starts to take over your life, occupying your mind, draining your energy, and preventing you from doing the things you want to do. Even if there are clear unchangeable causes of your anxiety, you still deserve to live a restful and engaging life. It’s also easier to make change when we can feel calm and can think more clearly to take action.

Some other signs you may be experiencing anxiety include:

  • Being unable to stop worrying/anxious thinking
  • Having a hard time sleeping at night, or relaxing during the day
  • Feeling unusually restless or irritated
  • Catastrophizing/thinking the worst will always happen
  • Avoiding specific places or situations related to your fears
  • Having a panic attack, which can seem like a heart attack

Therapy for Anxiety

My approach to counselling for anxiety includes looking at what’s going on in your life, what may be contributing to anxiety, assessing what can be changed, and helping you learn to live a meaningful and fulfilling life despite what can’t be. This may include therapeutic modalities like DBT, CBT, Polyvagal Theory, and mindfulness, all of which can be really effective at coping with anxious thoughts and feelings. There are so many things in life that are out of our control; despite all of this uncertainty, you can still find ways to feel calm, centred, and connected with life.

Schedule a consult with me to share what’s been on your mind and we can discuss what approaches may be helpful in counselling for you to help you find some rest and calm again.