Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Anmore, BC.

Heightened stress or anxiety is so common in our society that sometimes we fear that without the adrenaline rushing through our bodies, we would suffer from extreme boredom or worse, fall into a deep, dark depression. Unfortunately, the stress response that protects us in times of extreme danger actually harms us when left to run rampant. Finding safe, healthy ways to ‘self-soothe’ will increase physical health & also free you to enjoy your life more fully. Since we have absolutely no power to control anyone but ourselves & nothing but the present moment, decreasing our ‘stress response’ frees up energy that can be put into significant relationships & activities that bring life to us.

My therapy approach for anxiety and stress counseling is a combined and integrated way to provide various therapeutic techniques and skills. It addresses the complex nature of these mental health challenges. To provide comfort, I quote Biblical scriptures for God’s healing touch. It is important to explore what is the source for anxiety and stress. Looking back past experiences helps clients to reduce anxiety attacks. Re-difining purposes and the existence of relationships, it is a way to solve complicated problems. It is to search for empowerment in their daily lives. I offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy ,Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Solution Focused Brief Therapy.

I support individuals tunderstand and cope with anxiety. The underlying purpose of anxiety is to keep an individual safe and away from harm. Due to complex mechanisms that influence the nervous system, individuals develop stress responses that can be adaptive strategies in the moment but become maladaptive over time, no longer serving one’s best interest. There may be many triggers that can generate overwhelming levels of anxiety in an individual that can difficult to cope with. I use CBT to help clients rewire their nervous system, reframe their belief system, recognize negative automatic thoughts and their generation stemming from critical incidents in childhood.

Are you living your life constantly feeling on-edge? Are you a worrier who can't seem to turn it off? Does anxiety or stress keep you from being fully present for your family? As an anxiety and stress specialist, I know rough this can be. But there is hope. Together, we can deploy powerful techniques to get you feeling calm, relaxed, and emotionally thriving, so you can effectively deal with life challenges. Imagine: going about your day feeling excited rather than worried, confident rather than stressed, and focused rather than scattered. If you’re ready to stop worrying and start living, reach out.

Anxiety and stress keep us out of connection to ourselves. Anxiety often helps protect you from other feelings that are too seemingly to distressing to bear. But then it came seem to overtake everything else in your life. If you would like to start to understand your anxiety and who you are underneath it, please reach out. A combination of approaches tailored to you can help you connect to yourself and lift the anxiety.

Anxiety and stress are among the most common concerns that people seek counselling for. Sometimes people find themselves in anxiety-provoking circumstances for which immediate, short-term counselling interventions are appropriate and effective (for example, preparing for a performance or exam). Others may find that their anxiety is chronic and invades almost every aspect of their life. In this case, I offer a counselling perspective that considers deeper issues that might be feeding the anxiety. Whether you experience anxiety as situational or chronic, it is possible to learn how to tame your anxiety and enjoy greater peace, confidence, and a sense of calm in your life.

Anxiety as a result of stress is one of, if not the major contributing factor to poor health in most areas of people lives. If you have ever been tense before an exam or a visit to the dentist, you have a felt anxiety. Increased heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, dry mouth, & a sense of dread are common. Changing this involves cognitive & behavioural approaches. Cognitive change is understanding how thoughts contribute to symptoms and how to change thought patterns to reduce the intensity of your anxiety. And behavioral changes involve using techniques to reduce or stop any undesired behaviors that are a result of the anxiety you have been experiencing.

Do you suffer from Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, or another form of anxiety? I use a combination of approaches to support your efforts to reduce your distress, creating relief and hope. My therapeutic approach includes using the tools of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, a highly effective clinically proven short term approach, along with Mindfulness Therapy and Relaxation techniques. I also work to provide a warm, intuitive environment where you will feel safe to explore and process the roots of your pain as you learn new skills that can bring a sense of safety, relaxation and well being to your life.

Anxiety can create fears, threat safety, clients need to recognise their stress levels, their coping skills, and how their respond to stress. My treatment plan involves searching ways to help clients talk through strategies for comprehending and coping with anxiety. Understanding how they regulate their emotions when faced with stress and discovering the underlying issues behind the anxiety, is vital to the healing process.

Anxiety and stress impact our sleep, physical health, and our ability to be fully present in our lives. Stress acts as a ‘check engine’ light to let us know something in our environment needs to be addressed. We cannot eliminate stress without attending to our stressors. Some people find a moderate amount of anxiety gives them the umph they need to get things done. Ultimately, we want to feel good in our bodies, and be fully present, without the shadow of worry at every turn. What are these emotions trying to tell us? Getting to their roots gives us the information we need to make healthy adjustments in our lives, so the ‘check engine’ lights can turn back off.

The world keeps pushing harder and faster. Are you having a hard time keeping up? Are you exhausted at the end of the day? And does your mind just keep on racing? Chronic stress can deplete your natural defenses, which may lead to long term physical and mental health problems. Stop trying to just survive. Phone 604-468-7300 now and let me help you thrive again. I help individuals with stress, anxiety, panic attacks, trauma, and so much more.

Anxiety has a purpose - once you understand it you can benefit from it. The feeling of anxiety is giving you information about who you are and what you need to do to be yourself. In counselling, you can learn how to process anxiety instead of fearing it. You can learn concrete skills to work through anxiety; You can learn from the emotions and in the process find a more colourful and rich, positive experience of life.

We all have anxiety and stress! It is a matter of how we manage this challenge in our daily lives. Often the anxiety and stress overwhelm us to the point of feeling hopeless! But there certainly is hope and with some consistent therapy and support one can be feeling significantly better after only a few sessions. Once we dissect the overwhelming feelings we begin to understand the underlying issues at the root cause. While medication is an option, quite often it is not necessary as psychotherapy is effective.

In our modern society, we are constantly surrounded by stressors: work, relationship, past hurts, guilt and shame, illness, abuse, etc.. I use various counselling methods to help you become aware of these anxieties and fears, and then teach ways to reduce their control over your life. Clients routinely experience improved self-image, a renewed sense of hope and purpose, and a greater sense of personal freedom.

Anxiety and stress are common complaints in our busy world with many demands and little time. How does a person cope? I have found that anxiety and stress occur when we are not living in the NOW. We may be obsessing about the past or worrying about the future. Using mindfulness, I can help you to access the present moment, the only place where peace can be found.

We all have worries, yet everyone's approach to those worries varies. My strategy is to understand your past and how it affects you before developing a therapeutic plan. I am interested in your story, strengths and abilities and often that's overlooked. Having a fresh set of eyes to look at the problem objectively can be helpful and change your relationship with anxiety and stress in a positive way.

Symptoms of stress and anxiety can originate from many different sources, including issues related to addiction, the effects of addiction, infidelity, difficult childhoods, dysfunctional families of origin, and the impact of past hurts and coping patterns. By offering a setting that is based on trust, empathy, and collaboration, counselling can provide you with a safe and supportive space to explore your thoughts and emotions while creating a deeper, more authentic understanding of who you are, what you need, and the dynamics that you are navigating. It is possible to thrive and be well no matter what you have been through, and counselling can help with this.

In therapy sessions clients will benefit from exploring the causes and contributing factors underlying the feelings of anxiety they are experiencing. Clients will identify stressors in their lives and identify how these stressors are effecting their emotional and physical well-being. They will learn strategies and skills to more effectively manage stress and anxiety, and learn to change their emotional reactions to stressful situations. It is my hope that clients will discover the capabilities that exist within themselves to create the peace and calm they wish to attain in their lives.

In my professional and personal experience I have found that problems with anxiety, stress, depression, and anger issues are often overlapping. Many people feel mixed emotions of fear, worry, pressure, frustration, guilt, shame and low self worth. Unfortunately we have a tendency to doubt our abilities and our value which can quickly become a 'self fulfilling prophecy' and cause us to judge ourselves harshly, and/or isolate from others. This can become a cycle but it can often be broken by speaking openly with a professional who is competent, kind and encouraging. I am diligent in helping clients identify the false core beliefs and establish new beliefs that empower them again.

We are far more primitive in our reactions than we like to think, and fear, stress, or anxiety, can go from an adaptive warning to a very non adaptive over reaction, arresting our ability to function. I have worked extensively in this area, in giving workshops and as a trainer for other counsellors, focusing first on understanding the body's reaction and then developing skills to over-ride the anxiety response. Using a mindfulness approach, staying connected with our needs, and focusing on resiliency, anxiety can be tamed.

Anxiety and stress can often times be something that we need to distract ourselves from, however when this is the only approach for too long we can find it coming back stronger. My hope is that we can find ways to face these issues with an increasing sense of control and confidence, so that each time it will be a good experience that leads to more desire to do it again.

Real Solutions to Real Challenges. Stress is necessary for survival and provides opportunity for growth. However, it can aslo result in anxiety and even panic with accompaning physical symptoms. Unproductive coping mechanisms may kick in that have become entrenched and difficult to break. In more severe cases Obsessive-Complusive Behaviors may surface to distract us from the anxieties. These obsessive-compulsive behaviors may become debilitating and incredibly frustrating. Martin helps clients deminish their anieties by cognitive restructuring, relaxation training, and overcoming avoidance. Avoidance only provides short-term relief, at the cost significantly damaging our self-esteem

Exhausted? Worried all the time? Stress and Anxiety issues can effect all facets of our life. Counselling can provide clients with a safe environment to explore the issues creating the stress and anxiety in their life. Learn techniques to minimize stress and to cope with the major stress life throws at us. Counselling can provide support and assistance to take control of our anxiety and to move forward in a more positive fashion. Call to discuss how counselling can help you.

Life is like a bathtub, except there are usually lots of drains and not enough taps to fill it up - so we live in a state of not having being able to fill up fast enough which causes anxiety and stress. Sometimes there are physiological reasons for anxiety and stress, and those need to be addressed medically. I will help you identify if that could be your case. But if it is or isn't, counselling can help you identify and explore those drains and taps and help you plug up some drains and create more taps. The goal is to help you live out of fullness rather than emptiness.

Anxiety and stress can impact many aspects of our life. It is important to recognize the root of anxiety and stress in our everyday life and to be able to help our recovery. One of the most effective psychotherapies that we use to treat anxiety is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Depending on the source of anxiety, we also draw on other modalities such as Emotion Focused Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and other approaches. Using these approaches, we help you find your source of anxiety, identify your triggers for anxiety, find your faulty thought patterns and replace them with correct ones, and recognize your unhealthy coping mechanisms and replace them with healthy ones.