Episodic and free floating anxiety may feel unnerving. It may manifest itself as anger, irritability or general grumpiness. It can also partner with a numbing depression that feels heavy, slow and disturbing. Thoughts may seem dire and catastrophic; you may feel helpless about the future.

Mood symptoms can be seen in terms of degree or spectrum. To be formally diagnosed with a condition such as depression the symptoms must last a specific length of time and have a pronounced impact on functioning.

We may tend to abbreviate our emotional states by labeling ourselves as depressed when we feel sad, for example. The power of the label depressed can be enough to push us down further into an actual clinical depression if we have a history of this condition.

Having an accurate understanding and assessment of our symptoms, and matching language, will help you manage your mood day-to-day.

This is not meant to minimize pain you are experiencing, but to acknowledge it in a self-compassionate and clear way so you can better manage your symptoms.

There are different kinds of depression depending on the nature of the symptoms.

Generally, depression is composed of a cluster of symptoms that may include: depressed mood (feelings ranging from sadness to despair), loss of interest in activities you normally enjoy (unmotivated), changes in weight or appetite, fatigue and loss of energy, trouble sleeping or oversleeping (including long naps), feeling physically agitated or slowed down, feelings of hopelessness, guilt or worthlessness, recurring thoughts or suicide and death and difficulty with concentration and making decisions.

You may also experience these depressive symptoms with a seasonal pattern. This means you tend to experience depression during seasonal changes and/or during the winter months.

You do not need to have a clinical depression in order to access support. It is recommended you get support as soon as  you notice symptoms so that you can curb your symptoms as early as possible.

Characterized by cycling into and out of the main mood states of mania/hypomania and depression.

The degree and type of changes differentiate mania from the milder form of hypomania.

Symptoms include: pressured speech, racing thoughts, increased energy level and decreased need for sleep, flight of ideas, distractibility, over-inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, increased goal directed activity or agitation, increased risk taking and/ or pleasurable behaviours and activities and hyper-sexuality.  

In mania the same criteria apply however functioning becomes severely limited and hospitalization may be required. Thoughts are incoherent, jumbled and highly distracted, thinking becomes fragmented and can become psychotic, paranoid and/or grandiose delusions and hallucinations can appear and distractibility is all encompassing.  

A psychiatrist needs to diagnose this condition, and medication may be prescribed to assist in managing the symptoms, in addition to therapy.

Intense and/or rapid changes in emotion triggered either internally or externally.

Emotional state usually lasts a few hours to a few days maximum.

Can look like angry outbursts, irritability, deep sadness and despair, overly excited and euphoric, or recurrent depression.

Can include recurrent thoughts of suicide when feeling down, sad, or stressed.

Can involve high levels of anxiety.

Can include intense feelings of shame and self-loathing.

You may see yourself as someone who is highly emotionally sensitive - also known as a super feeler (you can download a PDF on being a Super Feeler here).

Can have difficulty and discomfort maintaining personal and work relationships.

Is not caused by another underlying mental health condition or medical condition.

Trauma can result from a wide variety of stressors and have different levels of impact on our functioning.

Not everyone who experiences a trauma will feel its echo.

Trauma can be cumulative in nature which means it goes on for a period of time.

It can start when we are young such as: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect, witnessing violence, lack of boundaries within our families; abandonment by parents, in foster care or youth justice system, school bullying.

It can happen to adults as well: living with a chronic condition, workplace bullying, dealing with institutions such as insurance companies over time, agencies delegated to deal with workplace injuries and issues, job stress.

It can also occur outside regular society so others have little reference to it such as military service and the exposure to witnessing death and devastation as well as surviving in dangerous situations over extended periods of time.

It also refers to single incident events such as accidents, invasive medical procedures, natural disasters, unexpected loss, birth trauma to name a few.

Trauma can also have an impact from a societal level if you are from a community who can suffer from societal discrimination on a daily basis such as the LGBTQ2+ community, first nations community, people with disabilities.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Acute Stress Disorder.

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (childhood abuse).

Members of the LGBTQS+ community deal with mental health issues within the context of a social and political environment which often perpetuates systemic discrimination, intolerance and insensitivity to their needs.

Symptoms need to be addressed in reference to this context and therapeutic interventions ought be sensitive to the unique needs of each individual within this diverse community.

An eating disorder has serious medical, physical and relational consequences and requires medical monitoring and a team approach, including a dietitian, a therapist, physician and possibly psychiatrist. If you are unsure about your symptoms we can assist you in an initial assessment and make the appropriate referrals if necessary.

Disordered eating can share symptoms with regular eating disorders however they are not as severe or frequent and are far more common. These behaviours can include:

• Yo-yo dieting cycle: losing weight, gaining it back, losing it again
• Compulsive overeating
• Negative relationship with food that impacts thoughts, feelings and behaviours causing distress
• Issues with body image
• Struggles with weight management after weight loss
• Struggles with weight loss

There are various kinds of anxiety disorders including: generalized and social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and specific phobias. For specific information about these disorders and self-help resources please visit the Anxiety BC website here.

Anxiety can be experienced in different ways and to different degrees.

The base emotional state of anxiety is fear which is hardwired into our brains to ignite our fight/flight/freeze survival response. Our bodies go through changes that help us fight or run from a danger.

Anxiety is normal, adaptive and important state designed to keep us safe.

It is a problem when it becomes excessive, persistent, feels uncontrollable and is experienced as intrusive and hinders our ability to function normally. This may happen when we experience the symptoms of anxiety without a real threat being present.

With anxiety, our survival responses can be triggered when we imagine a threat or perceive a situation as threatening when it is, in fact, safe. It can also happen out of the blue, like with a panic attack, when there appears to have no cause.

Feelings of fear can range from worry or nervousness, as in generalized anxiety, to the feeling of sheer terror in a panic attack.

Anxiety has specific physical symptoms which include:

• skipping, racing, pounding heart
• sweating
• sensations of choking
• shortness of breath
• nausea, stomach and bowel issues
• dizziness, light headedness
• tingling, numbness, feeling cold and clammy
• chest pain and discomfort
• things around you seem strange or unfamiliar or you feel detached from your body

If you did not know these were symptoms of anxiety you may experience even more distress.

Everyone has his or her own experience of grief and loss; it can be loud, quiet, sharp, soft, expansive, suffocating, visible, invisible, lonely, or crowded.

It can bring families together or freeze members in isolation, be complicated or straightforward. Grief affects each person uniquely.

It is a universal experience that has touched everyone’s life in some way and one of the most difficult processes for us to endure and find our way through.

A sense of grief and loss can occur in any situation and depends upon your own personal perspective and response. It is diverse in shape and form and can include: death, job loss, retirement, loss of mobility, loss of good mental health, loss of a functioning family, the expectation that a child is born without challenges, loss of friendship, loss of joy in your work life and any experience where you personally feel that sense of loss regardless of what society deems appropriate.

Stress is a spectrum condition which can lead to burnout. It can be hard to tell where normal stress stops and more excessive and chronic stress begins which eventually can manifest into burnout.

Stress will normally resolve in the short term whereas if it persists and is chronic the symptoms will progressively get worse in intensity and influence your life, sometimes leading to burnout.

Stress symptoms include:

• Physical indicators such as: low energy level, headaches, upset stomach and bowel issues, aches, pains and muscle tensions and insomnia.
• Emotional indicators such as: increase in intensity and frequency of strong emotions, increase in anxiety, feeling emotionally drained and overwhelmed, low mood, feeling hopeless, mood swings, agitation.
• Mental indicators such as: decrease in focus, concentration and ability to organize your day, racing thoughts, increase in worrying, increase in forgetfulness

Burnout symptoms include:

• Physical indicators: physical exhaustion, muscle tension, increased heart rate, rapid heartbeat, insomnia.
• Emotional indicators: flattening out of emotions, no motivation, profound hopelessness and helplessness, overwhelmed and unable to meet demands of daily life, loss of sex drive and function, frequent crying spells, increased irritability and frustration, panic attacks, social withdrawal, increased guilt.
• Mental indicators: trouble learning new information, unable to make decisions, increased sense of worry and guilt, overwhelming and consistently intrusive thoughts, weight gain or loss, increased drug and alcohol use to cope.

Sometimes it is hard to pinpoint exactly why you want to go to therapy. Sometimes your issue does not fit into a predetermined box.

You are welcome to connect with us and discuss your unique needs to see if we can assist you. If we are not a good fit we will try make an appropriate referral to other community resources.