Lynn Fick

Traumatic experiences can be caused by one specific event or multiple events over a long period of time. These traumatic events can lead to symptoms that might start to impact your social, emotional, and/or occupational functioning. Symptoms include (but are not limited to) flashbacks, nightmares, difficulty sleeping, hypervigilance, anxiousness, irritability, anger, or avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma. At times, traumatic experiences can lead to other mental health challenges such as suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, or substance abuse.

Having a low self-esteem can impact the way you view yourself, your level of motivation, and what you believe you deserve from others and the world. Low self-esteem symptoms can include negative self-talk, difficulty accepting compliments from others, self-doubt, people-pleasing, difficulty establishing boundaries, and comparing yourself to others.

The grieving process after experiencing a loss can be a difficult journey to go through. For some the additional feelings of guilt, anger, despair, and feeling “stuck” may accompany their feelings of sadness. Furthermore, unresolved issues with the person who died might complicate the grief process. Therapy can provide support while you work through accepting the loss and working through any symptoms you might be experiencing as a result of the loss.

Depression is mood disorder that impairs your social, emotional, and/or occupational functioning. Symptoms include a consistent low mood, sense of hopelessness, sense of worthlessness, suicidal thoughts, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, fatigue, irritability, anger, tearfulness, and/or a loss of pleasure in the things you used to enjoy.

Anxiety disorder is an emotional response of excess worry/fear that negatively impacts your daily functioning. The worry and fear can often feel like an over exaggeration to the presented trigger/situation, but still as though you have no control in managing those worries. Other anxiety symptoms can include overthinking, sweating, heart palpitations, restlessness, sleep disturbances, and other physical symptoms such as headaches and muscle tension.

Stress is a natural response to a pressured situation. Stress can help motivate you to get things done, but it can also become overwhelming and lead to procrastination, burnout, and poor mental health. Stress management can help you identify coping skills that will alleviate symptoms and assist you in handling future stress in a healthier way.

Anger is a normal emotion that might stem from internal distress or a specific incident. Often anger can be a response to disappointment, sadness, feeling wronged, or as a symptom of a mood disorder. Anger can become problematic when you are releasing it in unhealthy ways, such as verbal or physical aggression, blind rage, intention to hurt someone with your words, revenge, or self-harm.

When you are in relationships with others, naturally conflict will arise from time to time and sometimes it might be difficult to find a resolution or way to start moving forward. Relationship or couple therapy is about navigating through the relationship difficulties in a healthy way, to identify and replace unhelpful behaviours, or to resolve hurts and wrongdoings.

Significant life changes can lead to a period of adjustment that might be more difficult for some to cope. These life changes can be stressful and evoke feelings of anxiety and depression. Examples of stressful life events include divorce, relocating to a new environment, challenges at work/school, or recently diagnosed health issues.