Therapy for Anxiety
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural human response to stress, uncertainty, and challenging events life can send our way. At times, anxiety is an understandable reaction to experiences of danger, overwhelming workloads, or feeling stretched too thin by the demands of school, work, or relationships.
However, when no clear threat is present, anxiety can leave us feeling overwhelmed, nervous, or fearful without a clear understanding as to why.
Anxiety can show up in many ways, including thoughts such as:
- “I feel scared all the time.”
- “I can’t stop thinking about…”
- “I don’t know why I feel this way.”
It is normal to experience anxiety at times. However, when anxiety feels constant, intense, or begins to take over your thoughts, emotions, or body, it may be a sign that anxiety has become more difficult to manage on your own.
Signs Anxiety May Be Impacting Your Life
- Interferes with your ability to function socially or perform tasks related to work, school, or daily life
- Feels difficult to control thoughts, worries, or fears
- Makes it hard to think clearly, or leaves your mind feeling blank
- Leads to irritability, feeling on edge, or snapping at others
- Shows up as physical tension or restlessness in the body
- Disrupts sleep, including difficulty falling or staying asleep, or not feeling rested
Therapy for Anxiety
In therapy, I use evidence-based approaches to help clients develop awareness of how anxiety shows up in both the mind and body. The process begins with assessment tools to help identify and understand presenting symptoms and unique experience.
Together, we explore thought patterns, emotional responses, and physiological reactions to better understand what is happening beneath the surface.
As clients begin to identify and make sense of their experiences, they often feel more empowered to respond to anxiety with greater clarity, choice, and self-compassion.
Therapy is tailored to meet your specific needs and goals.
Support For Anxiety May Include:
- Psychoeducation to understand the body’s response to stress
- Exploring self-talk and inner dialogue
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
- Exploring emotional experiences and inner life
- Problem-solving strategies to reduce daily stressors
- Learning and practising mindfulness, breathwork, and stress-reduction techniques
- Grounding exercises to increase a sense of safety in the body
- A trauma-informed approach to therapy
- Polyvagal-informed work to better understand the nervous system, including responses to danger and cues of safety and connection
My aim is to foster a safe, supportive, and collaborative therapeutic relationship that helps individuals build resilience and move toward a more satisfying and balanced life.
If you are struggling with anxiety and would like support, I invite you to reach out. I offer in person and virtual therapy in Barrie and Newmarket, Ontario.