Anxiety Counselling in Kelowna: Signs of Anxiety and How Therapy Can Help
Anxiety can look different for everyone. For some people, it feels like constant worrying and overthinking. For others, it shows up physically—a racing heart, tight chest, upset stomach, difficulty sleeping, or even panic attacks.
You may find yourself Googling things like “Why am I anxious for no reason?”, “How do I stop overthinking?”, “Why can't I shut my brain off?”, or “Do I need therapy for anxiety?”
If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Anxiety is common, and it is also treatable. Anxiety disorders can interfere with work, school, relationships and everyday activities, but effective treatments are available.
At Lakeside Clinical Counselling in Kelowna, BC, our therapists work with adults, teens and children experiencing anxiety, stress, worry and related concerns.
What Does Anxiety Feel Like?
Everyone experiences anxiety sometimes. Feeling nervous before an important meeting, worrying about your child, or feeling stressed when life becomes overwhelming doesn't necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder.
The difference is often how intense the anxiety becomes, how long it lasts and how much it interferes with your life.
Common signs of anxiety can include:
Constant worrying or overthinking
Feeling like you can't turn your brain off
Racing thoughts
Feeling restless or on edge
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Trouble falling or staying asleep
Racing or pounding heart
Shortness of breath
Tightness in your chest
Sweating or shaking
Nausea or stomach problems
Dizziness
Feeling that something bad is going to happen
Avoiding people, places or situations
Panic attacks
Anxiety can affect your thoughts, emotions, behaviour and body. Physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, shortness of breath, sweating, shaking, nausea, dizziness and chest tightness can occur with acute anxiety.
Why Am I Anxious for No Reason?
This is a question many people ask.
Sometimes there is an obvious reason for anxiety—a stressful job, relationship difficulties, financial worries, parenting stress, school, health concerns or a major life transition.
Other times, there doesn't seem to be one clear cause.
You might wake up feeling anxious. Your heart might suddenly start racing. Or your mind may immediately begin looking for something to worry about.
Anxiety can be influenced by many factors, including past experiences, current stress, patterns of thinking and behaviour, and other aspects of physical and mental health.
You don't need to know exactly why you're anxious before coming to counselling. Figuring that out can be part of the work you do with your therapist.
Why Do I Overthink Everything?
Overthinking and anxiety often go together.
Your mind might repeatedly ask:
What if something goes wrong?
What if I made the wrong decision?
What if they're upset with me?
What if I embarrass myself?
What if something happens to my kids?
You may replay conversations, prepare for situations that haven't happened, seek reassurance from other people or spend hours trying to make the “right” decision.
These behaviours can feel like problem-solving, but they don't always leave you feeling more certain. Sometimes they simply create another question to answer.
Counselling can help you recognize these patterns and learn different ways of responding to anxious thoughts.
Can Anxiety Cause Physical Symptoms?
Yes. Anxiety isn't just something that happens in your thoughts.
It can have very real physical symptoms.
People experiencing anxiety may notice their heart pounding, difficulty catching their breath, sweating, shaking, nausea, dizziness, chest discomfort, numbness or tingling.
Because some symptoms of anxiety can also have physical causes, new, severe or unexplained physical symptoms shouldn't automatically be assumed to be anxiety. A healthcare provider can help assess symptoms when needed.
What Is a Panic Attack?
Panic can feel frightening, particularly when it seems to happen suddenly.
During intense anxiety or panic, someone may experience a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking or other strong physical sensations. They may fear that they are losing control or that something terrible is happening.
Some people then begin worrying about having another panic attack and start avoiding places or situations where they fear one could happen.
Therapy can help people understand the cycle of anxiety and panic and develop strategies for responding differently to it.
What Are the Different Types of Anxiety?
Anxiety isn't one single condition.
Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobias, separation anxiety disorder and selective mutism.
You don't need to know which category fits you before contacting a counsellor.
You can simply say:
“I've been feeling anxious and I want some help.”
That's enough to start.
When Should I See a Therapist for Anxiety?
There isn't a certain level of anxiety you have to reach before you're “allowed” to ask for help.
Consider speaking with a counsellor when anxiety is starting to affect your:
Sleep
Relationships
Parenting
Work or school
Social life
Confidence
Ability to relax
Decision-making
Daily routines
Overall quality of life
When anxiety becomes excessive, causes significant distress or interferes with daily functioning, professional support can be particularly important.
You also don't have to wait until anxiety becomes severe. Counselling can be useful when you first notice that worry, avoidance or stress is taking up more space in your life than you'd like.
How Does Therapy Help With Anxiety?
Good anxiety counselling isn't simply someone telling you to “stop worrying.”
Therapy can help you understand what is driving your anxiety, recognize patterns that may be keeping it going, develop practical coping strategies and gradually become more comfortable with thoughts, emotions or situations that currently feel overwhelming.
One commonly used treatment is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
CBT looks at connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and helps people develop different ways of responding to anxiety. CAMH identifies CBT as the psychotherapy with the strongest evidence base and a first-line psychological treatment for anxiety disorders.
Your counsellor may also use other approaches depending on your needs, preferences and goals.
Can Therapy Help Me Stop Overthinking?
The goal doesn't necessarily have to be eliminating every anxious thought.
Our brains think. They worry. They predict.
Therapy can instead help you become better at noticing anxious thoughts without automatically treating every thought as something that requires your attention or action.
Over time, you may become better able to recognize:
“That's an anxious thought. I don't have to solve it right now.”
That can be an important shift for someone who has spent years trying to think their way out of anxiety.
Anxiety in Children and Teens
Anxiety doesn't always look like obvious worrying in children and teenagers.
It may show up as stomach aches, difficulty sleeping, irritability, avoiding school, reassurance seeking, fear of making mistakes, difficulty separating from a parent or avoiding social situations.
CAMH notes that anxiety in young people can include physical symptoms such as stomach aches, a racing heart and shortness of breath, as well as behaviours such as refusing school or avoiding social interaction.
Counselling can provide children and teens with an age-appropriate space to understand what they're feeling and develop strategies for managing anxiety.
Finding an Anxiety Therapist in Kelowna, BC
If anxiety, worrying or overthinking is getting in the way of your life, support is available.
Lakeside Clinical Counselling offers counselling in Kelowna, BC, with therapists supporting adults, teens, children, couples and families.
You don't need to have everything figured out before reaching out.
Tell us what's been happening, what you're hoping to change, and what you're looking for in a therapist. We'll help with the next step.