Counselling services
Anxiety Counselling
If you are struggling with the pain of anxiety, we would like to help you with our counselling services. Anxiety is
treatable, and seeking help as soon as possible allows you the greatest chance for recovery.
Reach out to us to book a session today.
What is Anxiety Counselling?
Anxiety counselling helps people overcome the experience of many forms of anxiety.
Anxiety is normal-it’s something everyone experiences at times. It’s also adaptive. Anxiety is the body’s way of helping you deal with real danger (like allowing you to jump out of the way of a speeding car) or perform at your best (like motivating you to prepare for a big presentation).
If your anxiety response is incongruent to the threat at hand, you may be dealing with anxiety that isn’t normal or healthy. Trust yourself. If it feels wrong, it is-and that’s the best time to seek help.
Common Signs & Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety can cause numerous symptoms in your heart, mind, and body as it prepares for danger. These sensations are called the fight or flight response, and it happens when the body’s natural alarm system is activated to keep your body safe from a real or perceived threat.
Some of the most common signs and symptoms of anxiety include:
- Trouble sleeping
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Feelings of sadness and/or guilt
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Shortness of breath
- Vision changes
- Hot and cold flashes
- Heart rate palpitations
- Changes in appetite
- Disinterest in daily activities
- Feelings of restlessness
- Lack of concentration or energy
- Dry mouth
- Feeling of choking
- Feeling of dread
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
The Different Types of Anxiety Disorders
If depression is a sadness disorder, then anxiety is a fear disorder. It’s characterized by being overcome by overwhelming feelings of fear, feeling unsafe, and being out of control in a world that lacks complete safety.
There are many different types of anxiety disorders:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Social anxiety disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Illness anxiety disorder (substance/medication)
- Anxiety disorder due to other medical conditions
General Anxiety Disorder
General anxiety disorder (GAD) occurs when an individual is worried about everyday life events for no reason. People with symptoms of GAD tend to expect the worst—that some catastrophe will happen regarding their health, money, kids, family, work, or activities.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is characterized by an excessive fear of the bodily sensations associated with panic. Panic attacks occur unexpectedly and surprise people with symptoms like a racing heart and hyperventilation, which is what tends to be so upsetting. There is often no real danger, which can make panic attacks seem strange.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety is used to describe anxiety that occurs in response to connection with others or a fear of being in front of others. It may occur when you’re in a situation with another person or even thinking about going to a party, attending a job interview, or walking around on the street.
Phobias
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder that cause an individual to experience extreme irrational fear about a situation, place, or object with which they have a deep sense of terror. This often causes panic attacks.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological disorder that occurs when individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as:
- Finding out a partner has cheated
- Being sexually abused as a child
- A natural disaster
- Being in an accident
- Rape
- Loss of a loved one
- Medical procedure
- Seeing someone die or under threat of death
With PTSD, these traumatic experiences get trapped in the memory networks. When our ‘threat system’ is active, the hippocampus doesn’t work so well. It can forget to bring those memories forward in time, which means they are sometimes stored incorrectly. When we remember them, it can feel like they are happening again.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder with an underlying cause of traumatic, unprocessed memories.
- Finding out a partner has cheated
are unwanted, uncomfortable, and intrusive thoughts, images, emotions, or urges that trigger intensely troubling feelings.
- Finding out a partner has cheated
are behaviours that an individual participates in to try to decrease distress.
How Does Counselling Help with Anxiety?
Therapy for anxiety can help to calm your nervous system, giving your body a coping strategy and reassuring you that you won’t break down from the perceived threat.
Many people don’t recognize their anxiety for what it is and instead think there is something “wrong” with them.
When Should You Get Help for Anxiety?
When you feel that it’s time to reach out, that’s when you should get help.
You know when you’re struggling. Recognizing anxious behaviours that make you uncomfortable and finding ways to manage those situations differently can help you be in control of your anxiety, rather than letting it control you.
Our Approach to Anxiety Counselling
Our therapists, based in Calgary, Alberta, have years of experience and expertise in providing counselling sessions and psychological services to treat anxiety.
Methods include:
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
- Stress-management techniques and coping skills
- Narrative therapy
- Relationship therapy
- Solution-focused therapy
We’ll also consult with your doctor if you’d like. Your doctor may prescribe antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication, or beta-blockers to help manage anxiety symptoms.
Get in touch with us today to book your first anxiety counselling session.
Begin Your Anxiety Recovery Journey Today
Recognizing the physical symptoms of anxiety is the first step towards changing them.
Ask yourself:
- What happens when I'm anxious?
- Where do I feel the anxiety in my body?
- What have I been through that has reduced my resiliency and made me feel under this level of threat?
This begins your road to recovery.
Book an Appointment for Anxiety Counselling
Our Anxiety Counselling is led by highly-trained registered psychologists from our office in Calgary, Alberta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anxiety and depression are both negative emotional states that can be accompanied by a range of negative body reactions, thoughts, and behaviours.
- Sadness is the main characteristic of major depression
- Fear and worry are the main characteristics of anxiety
Both states are nervous system conditions. Depression is experienced as hypo-arousal whereas anxiety is experienced as hyper-arousal.
