Anxiety is a normal human experience, such as feeling anxious about an upcoming event that has the potential to end unfavourably. Having the experience of anxiety does not mean that you have an anxiety disorder, rather, anxiety disorders are generally diagnosed when anxiety is ongoing, when it doesn’t seem to match the situation, and when it is creating difficulty in your day-to-day life. It can include worrying thoughts or body sensations that tend to be future-oriented. Anxiety could include symptoms such as shortness of breath and racing heart rate, or it could present such as “what if” worry thoughts. There are a number of great free resources available to help you cope with anxiety including the Anxiety Canada website and MindShift App with interactive tools. If you are questioning if you may have an anxiety disorder, it is always a good idea to talk with a medical professional about this concern.

Traumatic experiences are those that are deeply painful or distressing and overwhelms your ability to cope. They can be isolated incidents or ongoing situation that occur over time. Sometimes trauma is referenced as “big T” and “little t” trauma. Big T trauma could be events such as those commonly seen in people diagnosed with PTSD such as being severely injured or witnessing a serious accident, an assault or near death experience. Little t traumas could be events such as the loss of a pet, a divorce or end of a relationship, or the loss of a job. It is important to note however, that the type of trauma is not proportional to the severity of your response. Some people can experience severe injuries and experience minimal psychological repercussions, and likewise, someone may experience an event commonly part of the human experience and have significant difficulties with recovery.

Everyone experiences stress and it is not necessarily a “bad” thing.  The definition of stress is to “exert pressure or tension”. As humans, we experience both physical and mental stress that varies depending on the circumstances. Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist and researcher, encourages us to Make Stress Your Friend in her popular Ted Talk. Stressful events can also be rewarding, such as moving, planning a wedding, or starting at a new school. Stress also places demands on us which can help to achieve our goals. Being under too much pressure or for too long can wear us out and have negative results if we have difficulty keeping up or coping. Sometimes it is useful to change what remains in our control in a stressful situation, sometimes we need to change how we cope with stress, and perhaps most commonly a combination of both.