Psychotherapy  & Naturopathic Services in Etobicoke

Give us a Call
416-232-2780
Book Online
Click here
Hours
By Appointment Only

Category: Anxiety

Rise Above Stigma! Mental Health Awareness

Rise Above Stigma! Bell Let’s Talk Day: Wednesday, January 28, 2015!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 is an important reminder of how we should think about, talk about, act, and treat others with mental illness. Not just today, but every day.

WHY? Most people cannot afford treatment to or are on a wait list for months.

MESSAGE:

If you are currently experiencing concerns about your own mental health, having difficulty managing emotions, or having trouble creating or maintaining healthy relationships, please act now. Remember that it takes courage and strength to reach out for help from loved ones or a mental health professional. This help is one difficult, yet life-changing step away. Help yourself and get help from people who care about you (and want to help you)!

We all struggle in life from time to time in our own ways. Take the time to assess your own self-esteem and emotional well-being, noticing any negative changes in your usual behaviours. Awareness of such changes, a strong desire for the suffering to end, and a willingness to help others is that next step you need toward reestablishing more meaning and positivity.

TAKE ACTION:

Take care of yourself, first and foremost. Practice mental wellness. Do what it takes to make you happy. Actively set aside that extra time in a day, week, and month to focus on you and how you can continually contribute to your overall wellbeing.
-Spend less on takeout, and more on pampering yourself.

Refrain from judging or criticizing those who have been labelled with or who have symptoms of a mental health disorder.
-Be conscious to avoid derogatory or hurtful terms that may offend those suffering with a disease.

Talk about therapy and encourage those around you to go. Never judge or criticize those who are seeking treatment for mental illness.
-Why don’t question medication for physical illness?

Listen to those around you with mental illness and ask questions.
-Learn about what they are going through and how you can help them, or how you can help prevent others from experiencing the negative effects of a similar disease.

Educate yourself on how you can help to spread awareness of the life-threatening effects of a mental health disorder (and how it impacts you or loved ones).

FAQS

– Mental health problems and illnesses also account for more than $6 billion in lost productivity costs due to absenteeism and presenteeism. (The Mental Health Commission of Canada)

– 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness at some point in their life. (Canadian Institute of Health Research)

– At this very moment, some 3 million Canadians are suffering from depression. (CMHA)

MOTIVATION TO END STIGMA:

**Make the choice to rise above stigma and be more aware of your acceptance and non-judgment, toward yourself, those around you, and society in general.

**We need to make mental healthcare more accessible, affordable, and acceptable. You, as members in society, as a collective, have the power to influence that. Start by taking care of ‘you’ and others around you!

Here is more information on how psychotherapy or counselling can benefit you or those around you: https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/etobicoke-psychotherapy-counselling/

What is Social Anxiety? Learn more for you or someone you know

Social anxiety is one of the most common psychological disorders that is affecting more people than we may realize. It is important to be aware of you or people around you who may be showing variations of these symptoms. Extreme shyness is one way to think of social anxiety. Social anxiety exists along a continuum, ranging from normal shyness to high degrees of social anxiety. Social anxiety can be characterized by an intense fear of specific or all social settings. This usually also involves a heightened self-focus, and avoidance or escaping social situations. Sound familiar? This could be finding excuses not to attend a certain party or to socialize with certain people that make you feel uncomfortable. And if you do go to an uncomfortable event or surround yourself with people who make you feel this way, you may often leave early.

People who experience this social anxiety are extremely attentive to other people’s feelings, but they misread them, over-interpreting anything that could be taken as a negative reaction. They are oversensitive to criticism or negative comments. As a result, people who are highly sensitive tend to be overly aware of one’s behavior and how they think they should act in certain situations. They are so caught up in how they may appear to others that they often do not enjoy many simple experiences, for fear of negative evaluation by others.

This anxious feeling and desire to avoid an event manifests in physical ways, even before they encounter the social situation. This could be shortness of breath, faster heart rates, sweating, and stomach pains. Of course, then one would worry that people around them notice these physical signs of what they are thinking and feeling. After the encounter, they replay the situation over and over in their mind. They are so hard on themselves, and falsely accuse themselves of being ineffective or appearing insecure compared to others. Consequently, these individuals want to avoid situations with people and in places that these situations have occurred in the past.

Social anxiety is highly linked to eating disorders as well. This comes from the fear of people negatively evaluating them as overweight or unattractive, leading to dietary restriction and purging behaviours. (Please see https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/eating-disorder-counselling-etobicoke/ for more information on eating disorders).

There are many basic techniques that you can work on to feel more confident and worry less about what others think of you. Please be aware if you or someone around you seems to be displaying signs of anxiety or social anxiety. Start enjoying, be comfortable with, and stop avoiding social events and people where you want to be yourself!

Please visit https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/anxiety-counselling-etobicoke/ for more information on anxiety and anxiety disorders, call at 647-961-9669, and/or email at carlyclifton@gmail.com

 

How Social Comparison is Related to Anxiety and Depression

Technology provides various forms of social comparison that can be taxing on our mental health and wellbeing, such as anxiety. It’s no wonder that youth today are experiencing higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. The platforms provide so many ways for us to compare ourselves to the people around us. And of course, most want to publicize and upload visions and notes on their most positive experiences and moments. These sources are constantly updated by the second, providing no escape from viewing others’ happiness. We are continually dissatisfied, as we are comparing ourselves to someone we think is or who has something better. But hey, who says the numbers of ‘happy’ pictures and notifications we send out determines our happiness?
Social comparison is part of human nature, and social media and technology have made this inescapable. We tend to rank ourselves according to social groups or classes, which can be determined by behaviours or hobbies (constantly posted on social media). Trends and fads can be picked up from following different sites or people online, and we choose to follow specific ones. This means that sometimes we are selecting unrealistic forms of social comparison (such as celebrities), which can cause great stress and anxiety. At times of unemployment or stress, some people may feel hopeless when they see large amounts of success. This feeling of being overwhelmed can lead to a downward spiral into depression. As a result of constant social comparison, we aren’t happy with ourselves and have low self-esteem.
If you haven’t thought of this, take note that people who post excessive happy notes and pictures sometimes do this as a form of insecurity. Even if this is not an insecurity, chances are, they aren’t always as happy as they appear in social media. It’s doubtful they would post a picture of a moment where they felt depressed.
It is important for us to learn to gain a healthier perspective on how we do compare ourselves to others. We must remember our strengths, and ask ourselves if our desires and goals are realistic. We need to be more accepting of what we have and who we are. We need eliminate feelings of anxiety, by creating goals for the future based on our strengths and abilities.

You determine your success, which should not be measured by social comparison. You determine your happiness – not anyone else.

For more information on anxiety counselling or anxiety psychotherapy, click here: https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/anxiety-counselling-etobicoke/

For more information on relationship counselling or relationship therapy, click here: https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/relationship-counselling-etobicoke/

The Benefits of Relaxation for Anxiety

There are various positive benefits of relaxation for anxiety. The ability to relax or to decrease anxiety issues is becoming more and more difficult with modern technology and other disruptions in our life. In order to relax with more awareness or to alleviate feelings of anxiety, please continue reading.

– Deep relaxation can help reduce anxiety. Regular practice of deep relaxation of 20 to 30 minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life. That is, after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, you will tend to feel more relaxed all the time.

– Reduces the frequency and severity of panic attacks

– Increased energy level

– Prevention and/or reduction of migraines, headaches, ulcers, etc

– Decreased muscular tension

– Decrease in heart rate and blood pressure

 

Relaxation Script

Find a quiet comfortable place. Get into a relaxed and comfortable position. Close your eyes.

Think of relaxing every muscle in your body, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.

Focus on your breathing; draw deep, full breaths, let them out slowly, and feel yourself relax as you breathe out.

As you exhale, imagine releasing any remaining tension from your body, mind, or thoughts, letting all your stress and worries go.

With every breath you inhale, feel your body drifting down deeper…down deeper into total relaxation. Now imagine yourself in the midst of a peaceful scene. This could be the beach, the forest, somewhere you’ve been before, or somewhere you imagine.

Imagine your peaceful place as vividly as possible, as if you were really there.

What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? How do you feel?

Feeling relaxed and peaceful in your special place, continue to draw deep full breaths, letting them out slowly – feel yourself relax as you breathe out.

Relaxation techniques can be very helpful for someone with mild to severe feelings of anxiety. It can be helpful to practice these techniques on your own as well as with a therapist, who can guide you through obstacles you may face while attempting the exercises.

Please contact me for help with relaxation for anxiety or anxiety counselling and psychotherapy.

https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/anxiety-counselling-etobicoke/

What is anxiety? What is anxiety counselling?

Anxiety is the feeling we get when our body responds to a frightening or threatening experience. It has been called the fight or flight response. It is simply your body preparing for action either to fight danger or run away from it as fast as possible. At this point, you probably notice different sensations in your body. The purpose of the physical symptoms of anxiety is to prepare your body to cope with threat. To understand what is happening in your body, imagine that you are about to be attacked. As soon as you are aware of the threat, your muscles tense so they are ready for action. Your heard beats faster to carry blood to your muscles and brain, where it is most needed. You breathe faster to provide oxygen that is needed for energy. You sweat to stop your body overheating. Your mouth becomes dry and your stomach may have butterflies. Unfortunately many of the stresses we face cannot be fought or run away from, so the symptoms do not help or make us feel better. In fact they often make us feel worse, especially if we don’t understand them.

What causes anxiety? 
There are many reasons why someone becomes anxious.

– Some people may have an anxious personality and have learned to worry.

– Others may have a series of stressful life events to cope with.

– Others may be under pressure, at school or at home.

What keeps anxiety going?
Thoughts (something awful is going to happen to me) -> Feeling anxious -> Feel bodily symptoms -> Feeling anxious

Anxiety can be very manageable. There are many ways to cope with anxiety when it is often persistent and invasive in your life. As long as you dedicate time to teaching yourself, there are techniques that you are able to learn and use to get past this unbearable feeling.

Please contact me today for an initial consult regarding anxiety counselling or anxiety psychotherapy.

https://www.etobicokepsychotherapy.com/anxiety-counselling-etobicoke/