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Anxiety
We offer online counselling for clients all throughout Alberta.
THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDERS IN SHERWOOD PARK
Are you tossing and turning all night long? Or just can’t quiet your mind enough to fall asleep? You’re so exhausted but can’t seem to get enough rest.
It feels like your life is all about avoiding what’s making you anxious. But it’s never enough.
Perhaps you’re worrying about every little thing. Everyone keeps telling you to “get over it” but you just can’t.
You might be having anxiety or panic attacks, which are likely some the scariest experiences of your life. Maybe you went to the hospital because you thought you might be dying.
These are all forms of anxiety and we can absolutely help you to get back on track using treatments that really work.
Click here to book an appointment with one of our therapists using online booking.
What is Anxiety and What are the Signs of Anxiety Disorders?
You might be wondering what’s going on in your body. Anxiety happens when your body begins to respond to a safe, ordinary situation as if it were a threat.
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Anxiety is felt and expressed in a variety of ways. Not all anxiety fits into a specific category, but there are a number of anxiety disorders that we see regularly in treatment.
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For example, you might be worrying about everything under the sun and have great difficulty relaxing and feeling at peace. When you worry a lot, often your muscles are tense and you can’t sleep well at night. This worry-type anxiety is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
We Treat Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety, and More
Another form of anxiety tends to manifest as panic attacks (also known as anxiety attacks), which are intense, frightening experiences where you feel out of control. Panic attacks involve a huge surge of fear along with symptoms like pounding heart, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain, a choking feeling, nausea, dizziness, chills or hot flashes, tingling, a feeling like things are not real, a fear of dying and fear that you are “going crazy.” If you begin to have panic attacks on a regular basis, you might have Panic Disorder. We can help you to learn to cope with panic attacks and to even stop them from coming back.
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Anxiety can also take the form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), where thoughts that just don’t make sense that keep popping into your mind (obsessions). Then in order to try to stop these thoughts, you do certain activities (compulsions). The problem with OCD is that the compulsions only help stop the thoughts temporarily. The best treatment for OCD is a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy called Exposure and Response Prevention (EX-RP), which we offer at Ward & Associates.
The form of anxiety called Social Anxiety Disorder (formerly Social Phobia) looks like intense feelings of being shy and awkward in social situations. It’s common in unfamiliar social settings, when you’re being watched or when you’re performing in front of others.
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Finally, maybe your anxiety is related to one specific thing, like heights, needles, flying, public speaking or spiders. This is called Specific Phobia. The good news…this type responds very quickly to exposure-based treatments.
If your anxiety doesn’t fit neatly into any of these categories, that’s fine too. The treatments for anxiety all have similar components and they can be mix-and-matched according to what you are specifically experiencing. Check out our blog post on managing anxiety here.
We are Trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety and Other Treatments
At Ward & Associates Psychological Services, we’re experts in the treatment of anxiety. We can teach you coping strategies that truly work to help you not only in the short term but for the rest of your life.
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We are trained in exposure therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). These treatments are highly effective at treating anxiety.
We specialize in the treatment of all anxiety disorders. We’ll help you understand why you’re feeling the way you’re feeling and guide you through a treatment process that will help you to get better.
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If you’re interested in booking an appointment to treat your anxiety, we’d love to help you out.
Your Next Steps for Anxiety Therapy near Edmonton
If you are struggling with any form of anxiety, contact us and we’d be happy to help you through this difficult time. Our therapists will ask you questions to get to know what’s really going on for you. Next, they’ll outline a plan for how to reduce your anxiety and increase your ability to cope. They’ll work with you to get you back on track and living a life that you love. We offer an online anxiety group and you are welcome to reach out to us and see when we're running it next.
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We’re happy to work with you in person at our clinic in Sherwood Park or online if that is more convenient for you. Call or email our office and we will get things arranged right away.