Perfectionism and The Fawn Response to Stress and Trauma
The fawn response to stress and trauma involves a strong desire to please others, seek approval, and avoid conflict.
Find out how fawn responses connect with perfectionism, and get 6 tips on handling difficult situations with more flexibility.
Fear the Unknown? 5 Tips for Tolerating Uncertainty
Uncertainty can be super uncomfortable. Especially for people who deal with anxiety or perfectionism.
Keep reading for 5 tips on learning to tolerate uncertainty
Social Anxiety: What it Is and How to Cope With It
Getting nervous leading up to social events
Trying to plan out full conversations ahead of time
Going back over recent interactions in your mind to make sure you didn’t say anything rude or embarrassing
Asking your friends or family members about how you came across at the party last night
These can be signs of social anxiety in action.
Keep reading to learn more about social anxiety and get 2 key strategies for overcoming it.
Six Attributes of Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is a powerful antidote to the self-criticism that often comes with perfectionism.
Key to self compassion is being able to identify and meet your own needs at a given time. And staying flexible, since these needs can change over time, even from day to day.
In this article, I explore two domains and six attributes of self-compassion.
Which ways are going well for you? And what areas would you like to improve?
10 Strategies for Working Through Relationship Anxiety
Do you worry about your relationship with your partner, even when things seem perfectly fine?
Like questioning whether they're the right person for you? Fearing they’re going to betray you in some way? Or overanalyzing every single conversation and text?
It's normal to have fears or doubts about your relationships sometimes, even in the healthiest partnerships. But relationship anxiety takes these fears to another level.
Learn what relationship anxiety is and get tips for working through it.
Are You Sure? Seeking Reassurance to Cope with Anxiety
People who experience anxiety often seek reassurance from themselves and others.
Are we okay?
Can we really make it on time?
Are you sure the door was locked?
Let me just Google these symptoms to make sure it’s nothing serious
But seeking reassurance can trap us in a vicious cycle, giving us short-term relief but feeding into anxiety over time.
In this article, I dive into reassurance-seeking behaviours, so you can recognize when they’re happening, why they’re a problem, and what to do instead.
5 Tips for Taming Driving Anxiety
Feeling overwhelmed when you get behind the wheel?
Driving is a huge source of anxiety for many people.
Driving anxiety can range from mild nervousness to intense panic, occurring before, during, or after driving.
In this article, I offer 5 concrete tips for getting more comfortable on the road.
Anxious about Conflict? How to Have Difficult Conversations
Conflict can be uncomfortable. Perhaps you notice your heart racing or your palms sweating at just the THOUGHT of confronting an issue you’re dealing with at home or work.
In this article, I explore why conflict can be so challenging and offer tips on how to get more comfortable addressing problems as they happen.
Feeling Tired but Wired? 7 Tips for Improving Sleep with Anxiety
Getting good quality sleep is crucial for our mental and physical health.
Unfortunately, many people who experience anxiety and perfectionism have problems sleeping. These problems can include taking a long time to fall asleep, waking up during the night, having frequent vivid dreams, or feeling less-than-rested in the morning.
Keep reading for 7 tips on reclaiming sleep from anxiety.
Sick with Worry: Health Anxiety
Health anxiety involves having overwhelming fears about your physical health despite experiencing few if any concrete symptoms.
While many people worry about their health sometimes, with health anxiety, these worries are frequent, persistent, and distressing.
Worried & Withdrawn: The Relationship between Anxiety & Depression
Anxiety and depression are an unfortunately common duo. Research suggests that around 50% of people who experience depression also experience anxiety.
In this article, I explore the links between anxiety and depression and discuss how counselling can help.
Maternal Mental Health: Post-Partum Anxiety
Welcoming a new baby into the world is often a time of joy and excitement. It can also be a time of significant stress and anxiety.
It’s understandable to worry after having a baby. Parenting comes with a lot of responsibility! And there are more messages than ever about how moms “should” best care for their children. It can be overwhelming to know what to do and who to trust.
For some women, these normal fears and worries develop into something more serious.
Book Review: “The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Recovering from Trauma and PTSD”
Looking for resources on how to overcome difficult events from your past? In their guide to recovering from trauma and PTSD, Lee and James highlight the negative effects of self-blame after trauma and emphasize the role of self-compassion in promoting healing.
Is Anxiety an Issue? 5 Things to Consider
Everyone has some level of stress or anxiety in their lives. It’s normal to feel worried at times, especially when you’re faced with tough situations - like financial problems, relationship issues, or a global pandemic!
But fear and worry can go beyond that helpful range and have negative impacts on our day-to-day life. If you’re wondering whether anxiety is an issue in your life, here are five things to consider.