Counselling for Anxiety Disorders

Are you living with persistent feelings of anxiety which affect many aspects of your life? Therapy can help you develop important coping skills and learn new ways to reduce feelings of anxiety. Learn more about our team of psychologists by clicking below, or give us a call at4 403-254-8744. We can recommend a qualified psychologist who is best suited for your individual needs.

What is an Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is a natural and often lifesaving part of being human. We experience anxiety when we perceive a threat, allowing us to make the decision to either fight, flee or freeze. In most cases, anxiety protects us by triggering a physical response that allows our bodies to perform optimally in the face of danger, including rapid breathing, increased heart rate, increased adrenaline, heightened senses, restlessness, and an urge to run or hide.

Anxiety disorders are different than regular anxiety because the physiological signs of fear are triggered even though there is no life-threatening danger present. For example, to someone with an anxiety disorder, giving a presentation in front of an audience triggers the same fear response as if they are facing a dangerous predator. People with anxiety constantly have to choose to fight, meaning to push through the anxiety and face their fears in order to function in society, or flee, which presents itself as staying at home and avoiding their fears. Either way, anxiety can be very difficult and draining to live with.

  • Generalized Anxiety

    A person with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is overcome with a persistent and deep fear that the worst possible outcome will happen.

  • Social Anxiety

    People living with social anxiety fear that others are constantly judging them which may lead to avoidance of social gatherings, fear of meeting new people, difficulty attending events and more.

  • Panic Disorder

    A person with a panic disorder may frequently experience panic attacks that are unexpected and unprompted, causing them to feel as if they are in real danger.

  • Performance Anxiety

    People with performance anxiety tend to feel extreme fear and worry when taking tests, leading meetings, presenting projects or participating in sports.

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

    Obsessive compulsive disorder involves having intrusive and unwanted fears, such as germs, that are soothed by engaging in compulsive behaviour, such as cleaning.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, also known as GAD, is a condition characterized by a constant and exaggerated feeling of tension and worry about life situations and the anticipation of disaster. People with generalized anxiety find it difficult to control their worries about money, health, family, work, and other issues even though they often recognize that the degree of anxiety they are experiencing is usually unwarranted.

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

  • Feeling nervous, irritable, or on edge.

  • Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom.

  • Experiencing an increased heart rate.

  • Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), sweating, and/or trembling.

  • Feeling weak or tired.

  • Difficulty concentrating.

  • Having trouble sleeping.

  • Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems.

Social Anxiety Disorder

It is normal to feel nervous or shy in new social situations such as meeting new people or giving a presentation, but social anxiety is more than simply being shy or briefly nervous. It is an anxiety disorder which is characterized by an overwhelming sense of nervousness, fear and self-consciousness in social situations due to the deep fear of being embarrassed or negatively judged by others. Social anxiety can either be limited to a few situations, such as public speaking or giving presentations, or can be more severe and cause a person to experience severe anxiety in all social situations.

Signs of Social Anxiety

  • worrying intensely about social situations

  • worrying for days or weeks before an event

  • avoiding social situations or trying to blend into the background if you must attend

  • worrying about embarrassing yourself in a social situation

  • worrying that other people will notice you are stressed or nervous

  • needing alcohol to face a social situation

  • missing school or work because of anxiety

Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety is a deep fear of being unable to perform a specific task. People who suffer from performance anxiety may experience stress about an upcoming performance, test, or presentation for weeks before the event, fearing that failure would result in humiliation or rejection.

Children may experience performance anxiety when presenting in front of their class or before an exam due to fear that they might embarrass themselves in front of their peers and teachers, or that they could disappoint their parents.

Stage Fright

Anxiety around public presentations or performances is often referred to as stage fright. Although most people experience some degree of stage fright before going in front of a crowd, in some cases, the anxiety can be so severe that it may prevent the person from performing at all. Performance anxiety does not indicate a lack of skill, instead it is a fear of making a mistake that would make the individual feel judged or embarrassed.

Symptoms of performance anxiety are:

  • Sweating profusely, mostly on the forehead and hands.

  • Nausea and stomach pains.

  • Heart palpitations and heavy breathing.

  • Shaking and pacing.

  • Refusing to perform.

Panic Disorder

A panic attack is characterized by an overwhelming sense of fear that is paired with an intense physical reaction even when there is no real danger present. People who have experienced a panic attack often describe it as feeling like they’re suffocating or having a heart attack. Panic attacks are not life threatening, but it can feel that way to the person who is experiencing them.

It is common for a person to experience one or two panic attacks over their lifetime, especially during stressful times. However, the panic usually subsides when the stress and anxiety is gone. People with a panic disorder tend to experience panic attacks quite often, sometimes even monthly or weekly, even when there is nothing to be stressed or anxious about. In those with a panic disorder, panic attacks can be suddenly triggered by mundane problems such as having a small argument with a spouse or expecting guests but dinner isn’t ready on time

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive compulsive disorder, also known as OCD, is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by unwanted, intrusive and reoccurring thoughts that trigger anxiety known as obsessions, and the specific behaviours meant to reduce that anxiety, known as compulsions.

 Although, OCD does not have any official subtypes and can be unique to different people, psychologists and researchers observed that most people with OCD focus on one of the following categories.

Different Categories of OCD

  • Contamination & Cleaning

    This category includes people who have obsessive thoughts around contamination, germs and dirt; and, the compulsion to clean in order to rid themselves of these obsessive thoughts.

  • Symmetry and Order

    People in this category experience obsessive thoughts around symmetry and order, and will spend time organizing their environment by arranging, counting, and ordering items to reduce anxiety caused by asymmetry or messes.

  • Taboo Thoughts or Impulses

    A person may have unwanted and intrusive thoughts of committing violence against themselves or others. They may use mental rituals such as prayer, counting or word repetition to relieve the anxiety caused by their thoughts.

  • Hoarding

    Hoarding disorder is characterized by the obsessive collecting of items paired with a persistent difficulty to discard or part with them even if they are no longer useable or of value such as old newspapers or broken plates.

  • Superstitions & Religion

    Another form of OCD is characterized by obsessions surrounding religious beliefs or superstitions and the compulsive behaviours such as prayer, counting, or self-harm that relieve the fear that something bad will happen.

  • Worrying and Checking

    An individual may experience excessive worrying about forgetting something that may be dangerous. The compulsion may be ensuring doors are locked, stove is off, or the credit cards are accounted for.