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 disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.

It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened, even when they are not in danger.