Everyone has feelings of anxiety or stress at some point in their life, but for some, these worries or fears are more constant and can negatively affect their daily lives.

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Here are some of the key psychological, physical, and social indicators of anxiety:

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• Irrational and excessive fear unable to control worrying

• Trouble relaxing

• Difficulty managing daily tasks

• Anxious thoughts, predictions, or beliefs

• Avoidance of feared situations or stimuli

• Easily annoyed or irritable

• Feeling overwhelmed regularly

• Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge

• Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen

• Feeling down or depressed (depression is often linked to bouts of anxiety - after all, experiencing any number of these symptoms for a duration of time can naturally lead to symptoms of depression)

• Being fidgety or restless

• Heart palpitations or accelerated heart rate

• Difficulty breathing

• Difficulty sleeping/feeling fatigued

• Muscle tension and aches

• Upset stomach (stomach pain, constipation, or other GI distress)

• Excessive sweating/flushed appearance

• Easily startled or on edge

• Difficulty swallowing or tightness in the throat (choking)

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Here are some ways therapy can help people with anxiety: 

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• Understand how your specific form of anxiety present is impacting your daily life, and learn your unique early alert cues

• Explore how negative thoughts contribute to anxiety and learn to challenge and replace these with alternative thoughts

• Examine how you behave and react in anxiety triggering situations

• Learn relaxation skills, mindfulness and being present as tools to work through anxiety

• Create an anxiety management toolkit based on what works best for you to cope with any future possible stressors