Depression and Anxiety

Are you feeling hopeless, isolated, and not your usual self?

Do these thoughts often enter your mind?

  • I feel worthless.
  • I feel guilty for just wanting to eat, sleep and be alone.
  • I can’t stop crying, which makes me want to stay away from others.
  • I feel gut-wrenching pain, but no one understands.
  • My life and the world around me seem impossible.

If you have had any variation of these thoughts and don’t feel like your usual self, chances are you may be suffering from depression. I want you to know that you are not alone. Many folks find relief in the realization that their struggle does not have to own them, and options are available to once again have hope.

Is anxiety taking over your life? Does it feel like you can’t control it no matter how hard you try? Have you already tried therapy but found it ineffective?  Have you taken the advice of countless professionals only to find nothing is helping?

When it comes to treating depression, and/or anxiety, research shows that therapy is an effective option. That’s because effective depression and anxiety therapy treat more than just the symptoms of the problem.

Some common symptoms of anxiety: Nervousness, restlessness, tension, feelings of danger, panic, or dread, rapid breathing/hyperventilation, increased or heavy sweating, trembling or muscle twitching, weakness or lethargy, difficulty focusing, rushing thoughts – running through scenarios over and over in your mind, insomnia.

Therapy can help to uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears and help you learn how to relax, look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.  

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder:

Simple and Complex (c-PTSD)

Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? Are you suffering from lingering fear and anxiety? Do you feel like you no longer have any control over how you think, feel, and behave?

Posttraumatic stress disorder – also known as PTSD – can be thought of as an enduring injury that may occur in individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a terrorist act, an act of war, a serious accident, rape, or any other violent personal assault.  But the possibilities for suffering from trauma don’t end at these kinds of events… Complex Posttraumatic stress disorder, also known as c-PTSD occurs when any multitude of developmental needs were missing in childhood.  You may have experienced inadequate caregivers – not able to provide loving attunment and validation of your feelings.  You may have been harmed by a family member or someone close, and not been adequately protected. Maybe you experienced bullying in your school years. You may have grown up with the belief that you’re not good enough, that you’re not lovable, that you’re not worthy.

People with PTSD (both acute and complex) often experience intense thoughts and feelings. These can last for a long time after the initial event(s). Many people also relive the events through flashbacks and nightmares. Those with Complex PTSD will often experience great difficulties with current relationships, negative feelings towards self, and may look at the world as all bad.  Intense emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and detachment from friends, family, and community members may occur. Even though the threats may be long-over, and we know this in our logical minds, our emotional minds (our nervous system) do not forget.  Therefore, we may continue to react to situations and other people as though threat is present.  In cases of complex PTSD, this has massive implications for relationships in particular.

How Can Treatment Help? There are a variety of treatments that can be used to treat underlying traumas. However, there are three specific techniques that are consistently gaining research-based evidence of their effectiveness:

  • Cognitive Behavioral therapies – provide us with the stabilization and tools required to do the deeper work safely and effectively.
  • EMDR – EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. This technique uses bilateral sensory input such as side-to-side eye movements to stimulate the brain to process difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions.
  • Emotion-focused and Ego-State therapies – these help to explore parts of self that are stuck and wounded, and aims to bring them the appropriate healing and attunement to these parts, so they may integrate back into the whole.  

Life Transitions

Has your life been touched by a major event such as a death, divorce, or a layoff at work? Perhaps you are questioning what you are currently doing, how you are currently living, or how you have been identifying. Are you having a hard time moving through and past the emotional turmoil? Do you feel completely stuck?

There’s no denying that life often presents its fair share of challenges. These life transitions, even the positive ones, can throw us into a tailspin and leave us feeling stressed, confused, and vulnerable. But with the right support, you have the power to not only overcome any adversity, but also transform into a more authentic and confident version of yourself. Change (even difficult change that is neither wanted nor expected) can influence personal growth. Change gives us the opportunity to see what we’re made of; to become stronger, more confident, and better prepared for what life throws at us next.

Some of the most common life transitions we help clients navigate are:

  • Adjusting to university life or your first professional job
  • Moving out of the family home
  • Getting married
  • Having a new baby Parenting
  • Empty nesting syndrome
  • Breakup, separation, or divorce
  • Infidelity recovery
  • Retirement
  • Job loss or major change in career
  • Relocation
  • Financial gain/loss
  • Serious illness or disability
  • Issues pertaining to aging
  • Death of a loved one
  • Questioning the meaning of life
  • Questioning your faith/spirituality Questioning your sexual/gender identity

Is it Time to Speak to Someone? Sometimes we can handle change and adversity by ourselves, and sometimes we need a little help. I’m here to lend that helping hand and offer a warm and encouraging environment where you can discover and own your authentic self, learn to better meet your needs, and feel more congruent.