Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Havelock, ON.

Anxiety and stress are symptoms of underlying repressed emotions; unresolved trauma; sadness; anger; grief etc. They can also be a normal response to living in a society that doesn't value or nurture connection. In my therapeutic approach, we will explore the underlying emotions behind your anxiety while also taking into consideration societal pressures that induce stress.

In life, we face various stressors and there are times when we may feel anxious, overwhelmed, or helpless. Finding a way to calm the body and mind can be difficult, regardless of whether this is a new struggle or one you have been dealing with for years. I believe that therapy can be a safe container in which stress and anxiety can be explored and worked through. Should you reach out for help, I will work with you to help you better understand how stress and anxiety impact you and I will also help you to develop coping strategies that may invite more calmness and that may support you in feeling empowered. Contact me or book a free consultation if you wish to learn more.

In these difficult times, and before, anxiety and stress can sometimes sneak up on us until we are surprised to find that we are catching colds, experiencing muscle aches and pains, or even are having difficulty eating or sleeping regularly. I will help you get to the root of what ails you, whether it is past trauma, current life stressors, an impending life transition, or generalized anxiety. By helping you uncover your strengths and teaching you tools to manage your stress or anxiety, I can assist you in rewriting the story you tell yourself about your past and your future.

Anxiety is the most common issue in mental health. Worrying has a protective value, usually to keep us and our loved ones safe, but when it goes above and beyond what it necessary for the situation, it becomes quite overwhelming. I will help by listening to your story and understanding your unique situation. I can help you learn better coping strategies to manage the thoughts, feelings, and reactions to stress.

Anxiety and stress often result from people feeling that they are out of control in their lives, they have too much to do and not enough time, or there are excessive demands being made on them. They often have a need to simplify and streamline their lives to make things more manageable. I will give you the tools to help you de-stress and regain a sense of inner balance.

Anxiety falls along a continuum from acceptable to crippling, debilitating anxiety requiring professional intervention. The major forms that anxiety takes are: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Phobic Disorders, Social Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD). A variety of proven therapeutic interventions are well established now, eg., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Yoga, Tai Chi, Breathwork. By diving into therapy clients regain a sense of optimism, courage and confidence in relationships, workplace and career, driving, aging, life transitions and more.

Living with anxiety or having a high stress can have an impact on every area of our lives. Emotional health, physical health, relationships and careers can all suffer as a result. I use a poly-vagal informed approach to help my clients cope with and reduce their anxiety and stress while learning to gain control over their nervous systems. This approach is both educational and practical. If you would like to improve your quality of life by reducing anxiety and stress contact me for a free consult.

Everyone feels anxiety at some point in their lives but when it starts to interfere with your life, counseling can help. Although anxiety can feel debilitating, it is treatable. People with anxiety don’t always share the same symptoms, they vary from person to person. Therapy will help you to reclaim your life and function in a chronically stressful world.

Anxiety can come in many forms, such as: panic and anxiety attacks; extreme fear; worrying thoughts from which one rarely gets a break; sleeplessness either due to going over and over how one behaved during the day, and judging oneself, or, from dreading what the following day might bring; fear and avoidance of one's own intense emotions; fear of rejection of others, leading to intense social anxiety or avoidance of close relationships; performance anxiety, such as worries about exams, job interviews, or performance appraisals at one's place of work. I like to get a sense of the frequency, intensity, and duration of somebody's anxiety, and then to help them to reduce all 3.

Welcome! I have worked with a number of clients who experience anxiety and stress. How I operate it working with you to find out the goals you have for your life and work on coping skills and healing from the anxiety and stress so you can live the life you dream of. The reality is, is everyone has stress and anxiety how we manage these two things is helps to make life more enjoyable.

Our emotions work to provide us with information about a situation, environment, or relationship. When we feel anxious or stressed, our brain is signaling to us that there is a real or perceived danger and/or that our current coping strategies will not be able to work at this moment. Together, we will explore the circumstances surrounding your anxiety and stress symptoms to develop an understanding of them. This will assist us in identifying new ways of reducing and managing these emotions, to improve your daily functioning and overall quality of life.

The experience of stress and anxiety can be a challenging one to navigate alone. Throughout sessions, we will work to understand activators of stress and anxiety, develop management tools that serve you best, and explore the various meanings and purposes that stress and anxiety serve in your life. Contact me for a free consultation to learn more about my approach and to see if we would be a good fit.

Do you feel a lot of worry or hypervigilance? Do you sometimes freeze or shut down and have difficulty thinking clearly or completing tasks that felt easy? Anxiety and stress can be debilitating. Sometimes the cause can be trauma or a nervous system response. Anxiety is not something you can think your way out of. It is more about having compassion for yourself and how scared your body feels. I approach anxiety with compassion and love to help you find a sense of safety and support. I am a trained and experienced in cognitive, behavioural and somatic (body-based) ways to heal from trauma and reduce stress and anxiety.

Anxiety and being fearful are often confused. Fearfulness is often based on an external situation. Anxiety is more internal and focuses on “something bad” is going to happen. Treatment for anxiety requires a focus on reducing your bodies response to the “something bad” through using coping skills. In as much the physical response to anxiety is part of our genetic “survival tool kit” it is how our minds distort the reality that is debilitating. Learning skills, strategies and alternative ways to perceive the event all help. I would be delighted to discuss with you a treatment plan to assist you in managing your symptoms.

Anxiety and stress are responses to either internal or external forces in the client's life. Hearing the client's story is the first part of the process of therapy and can often be helpful in alleviating some of the symptoms of anxiety stress. One part of working clients who are experiencing anxiety and stress is to teach some coping skills which relate to their particular situation. Another part of therapy would be to learn relaxation techniques to help the client manage their anxiety on a regular basis. Some examples of relaxation techniques are; meditation, breathing exercises, visualizations, and learning how to listen to their inner voice for what they need. Art therapy is also used.

Depending on the source (if it can be identified) most anxiety can be effectively treated with various forms of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Behavioural experiments and exposures, combined with thought analysis and restructuring can bring about swift positive improvements. However, CBT for anxiety is hard work and involves willingness to experience discomfort as one learns to tolerate their fears and then experiences the powerful safety feedback which counters them. With practice, anxiety can be nearly completely extinguished. If panic is related to trauma, a longer and involved process may be needed using EMDR, imagery re-scripting or dialectical behavioural interventions.