Therapy Counselling in Halifax
Therapy for Anxiety
Symptoms of anxiety can range from nervousness to full panic. Our experienced Halifax psychological therapists are here to provide therapy for anxiety.
What are some of the symptoms of anxiety?
You might think of anxiety as those small butterflies in your stomach when you have an upcoming interview or a first date, but anxiety can be a mental health condition. Your symptoms may be more than just butterflies. Perhaps you start to sweat and your heart starts to pound, or the dread starts well in advance of this upcoming event. Maybe you feel these symptoms without being able to identify what is causing you to experience fear. These may be signs there is a bigger issue at hand.
What makes it an anxiety disorder?
While we listed some symptoms above, those symptoms alone don’t suggest you have an anxiety disorder. All people will experience anxiety at some point or another, it’s one of our built in safety alarms, alerting us to potential hazards. However, these symptoms become a problem when they persist over longer periods of time.
If anxiety interferes with your ability to function, it may be time to seek help. For instance, anxiety can affect your ability to do your job or interact in a comfortable way with colleagues. Anxiety can also impact your close relationships, causing irritability or over-reaction to stressful situations. It often leads people to withdraw from loved ones or from social life because interaction with others can create additional stress. While it is normal to feel some anxiety, it is not normal to lose control of your responses to situations. These are all signs that you may have an anxiety disorder.
What causes anxiety?
While there is no blueprint to show which people will develop anxiety, researchers have identified certain risk factors that make some people more vulnerable to developing this disorder. A combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors increases your risk of developing an anxiety disorder. For example, a family history of anxiety or other mental health problems can increase your risk. Some personality traits like shyness or inhibition are associated with greater risk of developing an anxiety disorder. In other cases, traumatic events in your past can trigger anxiety. There are also some physical conditions like thyroid problems and heart arrhythmias that can present as anxiety. A physician should rule out any of these health conditions.
Your lifestyle could be an invisible trigger of anxiety as well. Perhaps you struggle with consuming too much alcohol and the result is anxiety. Alcohol may have started as a coping mechanism for anxiety, but now is an additional cause. Our therapists can help with substance abuse. If you aren’t sure if you have crossed the line from recreational use, read our blog on how to know when it’s too much here.
What can I do about anxiety?
Therapy provides coping strategies that you can use in the long term to manage your anxiety. If your anxiety disorder was triggered by a trauma, the help of a qualified counsellor can help you understand and process the events and the associated thoughts that trigger your anxiety.
How does therapy for anxiety help?
Discussing traumatic events with a professional counsellor can help take away some of their power over you and also change the way you view the past. A counsellor can also help you interrupt the negative thoughts that lead your nervous system to overreact. Once you have identified your fears, you can work together to prepare to face these challenging situations on your own.
A therapist may also use the techniques of mindfulness to help you manage your symptoms. Mindfulness helps keep you in the present moment instead of re-living the trauma of the past. The anxious mind likes to dwell in the past or worry about the future. The tools of mindfulness will help you remain in the present and accept that you don’t have control over the future and cannot change the past.
Anxiety can be managed
There are an estimated 3 million Canadians who report anxiety or mood disorders. You are not alone. You don’t have to fight it or “deal with it” alone either. There are treatments that can help you with your symptoms and provide you with the tools necessary to face anxiety. We are here to help you make meaningful change in your life.
The information contained in this page is not to be substituted for a mental health assessment, it is here to help explain a bit about anxiety and how we can help. If you would like counselling, please reach out to us to book a session.
Anxiety Therapist Halifax, Nova Scotia
When life overwhelms you, you want a therapist who listens and has the experience to help you work through your fears. With our secure online therapy platform, we join you on your journey to healing.
For more information on our areas of practice, please click these links:
Tod Augusta Scott has worked with individuals and families since 1994 and has provided therapy for thousands of adults, children and families.
Tod’s goal in establishing this practice is to provide effective, individualized and timely counselling. The Associate therapists have been chosen by Tod from the many therapists he has worked with through the years. The Associates are chosen because they are experienced, highly trained professionals with specialized areas of practice. All Associates have over 15 years of professional experience.
