anxiety Archives

Sadness is an emotion often defined as a ‘transient emotional state’ which can include feelings such as disappointment, grief, hopelessness and disinterest. Like other emotions, sadness is something we all experience from time to time. but when we experience prolonged or severe sadness that is when it can turn into depression.

Depression differs from sadness in its intensity, frequency, and duration.

Intensity; While the event would make most people sad, you respond with a much deeper level of sadness. It is too intense. Your sadness moves outside the normal range of response. Frequency; Your sadness may not be out of proportion, but it is recurrent. You seem to get over it, and then it comes back. This repetitive cycle becomes a pattern in your life. Duration; Your sadness comes and it stays and stays. The sadness lasts much longer than it does for most other people in similar circumstances.

People with depression do not all experience the same symptoms. How severe, frequent, or how long they last will vary, depending on the individual and circumstances.

Here are common symptoms people with depression experience:

Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
Fatigue and decreased energy, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
Insomnia, early morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
Irritability, restlessness, loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex

If you feel you might be suffering from Depression, mild or otherwise, contact us now to see if talking to a therapist might help you.

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Anxiety will vary from person to person, you may experience nervousness, restlessness, feel tense or a sense of panic or impending doom.

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as a fast heartbeat or sweating. It is a normal human response to be anxious in certain situations, but you may have an anxiety disorder if you feel anxious all or most of the time.

Some symptoms of anxiety include:

difficulty focusing or thinking clearly
insomnia
rapid heart rate, breathing, or hyperventilation
increased or heavy sweating
digestive or gastrointestinal problems, such as gas, constipation, or diarrhea
a strong desire to avoid the things that trigger your anxiety
obsessions about certain ideas
anxiety surrounding a particular life event or experience that has occurred in the past

Get help early. Anxiety, like many other mental health conditions, can be harder to treat if you wait. Speak to a professional, your Doctor or a Licensed Therapist.

Self-care is a crucial part of looking after yourself, as well as those around you.

Practicing self-care can produce positive feelings, which boosts motivation and self-esteem leaving you with increased energy to support yourself as well as your loved ones. Engaging in a self-care routine has been proven to reduce anxiety, stress and depression, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, and more.

Self-care means something different to each of us, but it doesn’t need to be complicated or overly time consuming. We asked our therapists to share their own self-care routines, maybe some of these might work for you:

Victoria
Cup of Tea at night. Glass of wine with my husband while we watch a fun show. Cooking for fun.

Ana
Cooking and creating joy with food is one of my favorite forms of self care.

Auressa
Winding down in the evenings by taking a shower with lavender & vanilla body wash and lotion, doing bed yoga, drinking “well-rested” tea and doing my night time meditation. I also try to do a bentonite clay mask every week to take a mindful pause and care for my skin.

Dahley
Getting into bed by 10pm. No electronics 1 hour before bed. Drink water. Natural light. Workout 4 days a week.

Ariana
I enjoy being mindful of my phone usage, especially in the morning. I like to stretch & release any stagnant energy or emotions trapped within my body. I love finding new songs & listening to old ones that i enjoyed most. I enjoy meditation & travel. Travel resonates most because i truly believe in working to live, not living to work, especially in the time of working from home which has beautiful perks but can exacerbate feelings of stagnancy.

Heather
I keep a daily bullet journal. It is great for me because it serves two purposes. First, as I am not even a little artistic, my friend creates the monthly outline for me. This means that she and I have a standing monthly date so we know that we are going to spend time together which is wonderful self-care for me. Second, it means that I get daily self-care as I take 5-10 minutes to reflect on my day and record the things I for which I am grateful.

Rachel
I enjoy getting into bed early and reading a book. I also enjoy coloring and painting, watching tv shows and movies, and getting my nails done.

Gabrielle
I often use 4-7-8 breathing. Inhaling for a mental count of 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This breathing technique really activates the parasympathetic response and helps reset after encountering a stressor or feeling overwhelmed. I will usually do a set of 10-20 breaths. It really works.

Amy
I rely on humor as much as possible– I especially enjoy taking a few minutes to laugh at funny memes about therapy & therapists.

Judy
A Large Latte! Every evening 1-2 Seinfeld episodes. Fill up pitcher of water with blend of nutritive teas including green tea for caffeine, grounded flax seeds, chia seeds, almond milk and cinnamon, drink throughout the day. Go out with friends once a week for fun

Paul
When times are normal, and covid numbers aren’t as high as they currently, I go for bi-weekly manicure appointments and I go with my mother so it’s also quality time with mom. I also enjoy reading and having virtual visits with friends and family, Prayer is also a big part of my daily life.

Azadeh
Walks, knitting 🧶 , meditation 🧘🏻‍♀️, reading 📚

Zoe
Daily exercise, warm tea in the morning, journaling, reaching out to friends, nourishing food, cooking. No screens before bed.

Billie
it is so important for me that I take quiet time and time to move my body. I do at least 20 minutes of yoga, 4 times a week, I have tea before bed every work-night, and I protect my Sundays for rest and laziness, or for whatever I say I want to do.

Gabriella
Salsa dancing classes 1x/week, exercise 3x/week, music during my daily commute, nail salon visit 1x/month.

Cynthia
Daily prayer. Getting out of the house. Stretching. Getting enough sleep. Reading something interesting or enjoyable.

Darlene
Having a mental health day to relax, taking a personal care and self pampering time for yourself. Facial, manicure, pedicure, sauna, these things can be done in the comfort of your own home. Relax with a nice cup of tea or wine and most importantly prayer for our family, loved ones, friends and ourselves.

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We all go through periods of low energy or feeling tired, multiple days of feeling overly tired is not uncommon, but most people can tell when their fatigue feels like something more serious. If that’s the case, or your fatigue gets worse or lasts longer than a week or two, it’s time to get some help.

Psychological causes of tiredness are much more common than physical causes:

Stress
The strains of daily life can feel like they are wearing you out, remember that even positive events, such as moving house or getting married, can cause exhausting stress.

Emotional shock
A bereavement, redundancy or a relationship break-up can make you feel tired and exhausted. Getting professional help to make this grief or shock can help you understand and manage your mental responses.

Depression
If you feel continued sadness and you wake up tired, you may have depression. Sadness is an expected human feeling, but if the sadness extends past 2 to 3 weeks, they it maybe be something more serious. Keep a diary, monitor your feelings. And get help if your sadness persists.

Anxiety
Anxiety can be exhausting! and a perfectly normal human emotion. But if you have regular, excessive feelings of anxiety, you may have Generalised Anxiety Disorder. GAD characterized chronic, exaggerated worry and tension that is more severe than the normal anxiety most people experience. As well as feeling worried and irritable, people with GAD often feel tired.

If you think your tiredness may be a result of one of the above, and you’d like to talk to a professional, contact us now – we will match you with the right therapist for you.

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It’s totally normal to feel stressed or anxious from time to time, but there’s lots of things you can do to manage your anxiety.

Remember: there’s a difference between feeling stressed every now and then, and experiencing ongoing anxiety. If the stress or anxiety is starting to take a toll, consider talking to a mental health professional.

1. Talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling
Just talking to someone about how you feel can take a weight off your shoulders. Make sure you trust the person, then work out what you want to say to them. We’ve got four more steps for talking to someone you trust here.

2. Focus on the present
Have you ever noticed that feeling stressed or anxious often coincides with dwelling on the past or worrying about the future? Simply focusing your mind on the present moment can help you feel a little more relaxed. You might be surprised to know there’s lots of ways to do this, even if you don’t like meditating. Here’s five simple ways to be more mindful.

3. Take some time out
A fully packed schedule would make a lot of people feel stressed. Make sure you fit in at least one thing you enjoy each day, whether it’s a hobby, a Netflix show, or a chat with a friend. It can also help if you schedule the enjoyable activity into your day, so that you don’t feel guilty about not doing something else.

4. Monitor your thoughts
Sometimes we don’t even know what’s making us stressed or anxious. Writing down your thoughts can help you figure out what the cause is. Once you’ve done that, you can work on challenging and changing your negative thoughts. You can use a diary to do this, or an app such as Mindshift.

5. Challenge your thoughts
If your head is full of negative thoughts, of course you’re going to feel stressed or anxious. But even though our thoughts feel true, it doesn’t mean they reflect what’s really happening. Try writing down what you’re thinking, then adding facts that support or disprove each thought. You might be surprised by how many of your thoughts are exaggerated or aren’t reality. Read more about how to challenge negative thoughts here.

6. Move more, eat well, sleep
It’s pretty well known that exercise lowers stress, reduces anxiety and improves mood. And the good news is: you don’t need to run a marathon to get the benefits. It takes just 30 minutes of exercise a day to make a difference. We’ve got some tips on how to exercise when you’re not feeling motivated.

7. Face your fears
If you always avoid situations that make you anxious, this might be stopping you from doing things you want or need to do. It sounds weird, but facing the things that make you anxious can reduce your anxiety.

It’s best to do this with the help of a professional, though, so that it doesn’t get too full-on for you. If you’d like to speak to a experienced, qualified and friendly Counselor – click here

Article by reachout.com

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Focused Articles

Depression or Sadness?

Depression differs from sadness in its intensity, frequency, and duration.

anxiety

Our therapists share their Self-care routines

Self-care is a crucial part of looking after yourself, as well as those around you.

Self-care means something different to each of us, but it doesn’t need to be complicated or overly time consuming. We asked our therapists to share their own self-care routines, maybe some of these might work for you:

why am i always so tired?

managing your anxiety

It’s totally normal to feel stressed or anxious from time to time, but there’s lots of things you can do to manage your anxiety.

IN AN EMERGENCY

BCS Counseling Group is NOT an emergency or 24 hour service.

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