Confront Anxiety and Manage Stress
ANXIETY is useful in moderation. Moderate stress spurs us on, keeps us alert, encourages us to
organize. Excessive anxiety can take over our thinking. If that happens to you, contact 905-937-4596 for experienced stress therapy, for anxiety counselling that works.
Anxiety can dominate your mood, prevent you from focusing on other things or enjoying life. Worries can convince you that life is too dangerous, that one slip will lead to disaster. They can spiral a person into panic attacks or lead to compulsive behavior and to mental obsessions. Fight or flight instincts may push anyone to lash out in destructive anger, or to freeze and withdraw.
Excess anxiety may be a temporary response to an overwhelming situation which passes. It also may become a painful mental habit.
Sometimes disfunctional anxiety stem from our own overly high expectations. We will failon occasion. That is inevitable. At best you evaluate the causes and try again with better tools. Do not fall into self blame and depression.
PROFESSIONAL ANXIETY THERAPY
A good therapist can help you to address habitual anxiety. Every person has a history, habits, and viewpoints, certain prejudices and automatic reactions. In therapy we can build your self awareness. We look at your assumptions. Experimentation, self-talk and patience can gradually broaden your perspectives.
The best known anxiety counselling is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Mind, body and emotions are all connected. Change one, and you effect the others. CBT has various offshoots, variations and augmentations which can make it more effective for certain people.
Mindfulness is another useful tool to manage stress.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder requires more specialized counselling approaches. PTSD results from emotionally painful shock. Afterwards the victim lives in fear, expects danger to lurk around every corner. Flashbacks and dreams can bring back those feelings. In Niagara Region you can rely on professional counselling experience to gradually defang those memories.
RESOURCES
- Breathe2Relax Apps on Google Play and Apple Store
- Don’t Panic, by Reid Wilson, Ph.D.
- Feeling Good, by David D. Burns, M.D.
- Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- From Panic to Power, by Lucinda Bassett
- Mind Over Mood, a workbook, by Christine Padesky & Dennis Greenberger
- Stop Overreacting, by Judith P. Siegel
- Trauma and Recovery, by Judith Herman, MD
- When the Body Says No, by Gabor Mate, MD
- The Power of Vulnerability, Brune’ Brown, youtube.com
- COAST, crisis intervention
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, anxietycanada.com/resources/mindshift-cbt/
- Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), mental health hotline; ON Structured Psychotherapy Program (free)
- Family Support Network, three free sessions for families of mentally ill
- Niagara Health Services, Outpatient Mental Health Programs, group therapy
- Niagara Regional Public Health Mental Health groups, mentalhealth/support-groups
- Wilson, Reid, anxieties.com/Self Help