We all experience anxiety at times and sometimes it’s is difficult to ascertain when anxiety is helpful and when it becomes a psychological problem. In psychology, we know that moderate levels of anxiety can be useful in problem solving and productivity. However, when anxiety gets too strong, we lose our ability to successfully cope with the issues at hand and deplete our stress tolerance capacities and other resources, and feel overwhelmed and sometimes even paralyzed.

Attachment theory speaks about the bond we originally have with our caregivers. This individual relationship then often gets transferred onto other relationships in our lives. For example, when someone tells you: “You’re controlling, just like my father, or you’re always angry like my mother…Often we will find partners with whom we can replicate attachment patterns similar to the ones we know from our childhoods. In some cases, this can become problematic.

We all experience feeling ‘down’ at times, or having the “blues”. However, when these states are ongoing and almost every day, then we might experience depression. When suffering from depression, you may experience changes in your mood, behavior, cognition, sleep patterns, and somatic feelings. For example, your mood might be anxious, sad, depressed, with apathy or inability to function, a feeling of general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, and a loss of interest or pleasure in activities. Your behavior might feel more agitated, with excessive worrying or crying, and you might feel more irritable or restless and socially isolated. Your sleep might be impacted by insomnia or excessive sleeping, restless sleep, or early awakening. You might experience weight changes, either weight loss or weight gain,  and excessive hunger, fatigue, or loss of appetite. Cognitively, you might feel a lack of concentration, slowness inactivity, or even thoughts of suicide.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that develops in some individuals after experiencing a shocking, frightening, or dangerous event. This can encompass both individual and systemic traumas, such as racial, sexual, economic, and political trauma. It is normal to feel fear during and after a traumatic event, as it activates the “fight-or-flight” response, the body's instinctive reaction to protect itself from harm. While most people naturally recover from initial symptoms, some may continue to face challenges and could be diagnosed with PTSD. Those with PTSD might feel stressed or scared, even when no danger is present. We are here to support you in feeling safe as you explore your trauma responses and narratives, both verbally and somatically.