1 in 5 people in Canada will experience a mental health problem or illness in any given year.

Pay attention to changes in your thinking, mood, and behaviour.

Anxiety and depression are common experiences and can significantly disrupt one’s life.

For some, anxiety can be helpful in certain situations, but when experienced more often and more intensely than others it becomes a problem. Anxiety can feel overwhelming, unmanageable, and uncomfortable. For some, it is accompanied with significant physical symptoms, such as racing heartbeat, tightness in the chest, fast-paced breathing, restlessness, etc. Worries may keep you up at night or make it impossible to make a decision.

Depression often looks like sadness, crying more than usual, low energy, change in appetite and/or sleep, lack of pleasure, withdrawing from others, decreased concentration, and sometimes hopelessness. Many people struggle both with depression and anxiety.

When we don’t feel well emotionally, our thoughts become more negative and we change our behaviours based on how we feel (e.g. lack of self-care). Therapy can help you learn to understand about what you’re going through, what may help you feel better and what may get in the way of feeling better, and come up with a realistic plan to work towards wellness. Learning coping skills that actually work is important.