Anxietylabrn Psychotherapy

10/26/2023

Karen Young - Hey Sigmund is one of my favorite resources. I really love this post about normalizing anxious feelings and recognizing that avoiding the feeling of anxiety only serves to fuel it. Give it a read! And check out her page and website too...lots of great information for parents, kids and adults.

We have to normalise anxiety. Even when anxiety is extreme and suffocating, we have to normalise the anxiety part of it.

Why? Because the more we pathologise anxiety, the more we fuel anxiety about the anxiety.

The experience of anxiety is normal. The intensity might be extreme and unbearable, but the anxiety is normal.

As long as they are truly safe, the intensity of anxiety will be fuelled by anxiety about the anxiety, and the story (the reason) they put to their anxiety.

We humans instinctively put a story to our feelings to make sense of them. When anxiety hits, we automatically ask, ‘Why do I feel like this?’ The brain will often answer with a story of disaster, ‘Because something bad is about to happen,’ or a story of deficiency, ‘Because there’s something wrong with me.’

But there’s another reason: ‘Because I’m moving outside of what feels comfortable and normal for me.’

Stories of disaster or deficiency drive the brain into bigger distress, which intensifies the physiology of anxiety, which amplifies the need to avoid.

Often this avoidance isn’t about needing to avoid the actual thing (even though it will feel that way). It’s about avoiding the anxiety.

The ‘can’t’ is about the anxiety, not the thing they need to do. This is why we need to make anxiety more be-withable, and change the story they (and we) put to anxiety.

If we present anxiety as something to be avoided, we inadvertently send the message that the (scary but safe) things that trigger anxiety should also be avoided. The problem is that anxiety is unavoidable because it will come with things that are brave, growthful, hard, new, important.

The more we can normalise anxiety, the safer they will feel sharing the space with it, and the more they will be able to move with it - even if it’s just one tiny tiny step at a time, and even if those steps are so slow.

This why I wrote Hey Warrior - to change the shape of anxiety so kids (and we) can share the space with it, and feel stronger with it, rather than avoid it.

Being brave and growing past our edges isn’t about never feeling anxious. It’s about handling the discomfort of anxiety and moving forward with it - and there’s no hurry.♥️

10/26/2023

Free anxiety workshop for youth and parents/caregivers tomorrow night! The kind folks at Knox Church are putting on a series of talks to support youth in our community. This workshop focuses on how anxiety works in our brains and bodies and how we can use that information to inform effective strategies to manage this often-misunderstood feeling. I guarantee you will gain some new and useful information whether you struggle with anxiety, care for someone who does or if you just have a curious mind and an interest in mental health. You can contact me at jchreptyk@anxietylabrn.com with any questions.

10/13/2023

Anxiety can be a disruptive force for youth as they navigate school, friends and the complicated job of growing up. But it does not have to be. Learn how anxiety works plus some powerful tools that can keep this often-misunderstood emotion in check. Essential learning for youth and the families/caregivers that support them.
Contact Jennifer at jchreptyk@anxietylabrn.com with any questions.

10/02/2023

Avoidance is a big part of anxiety. While it makes sense that we don't want to do the thing that makes us feel really uncomfortable, the relief is short lived and only makes our anxiety stronger. Exposure Therapy (or put more simply, doing the scary thing on purpose, with a plan, and lots of support) is essential to recovering from anxiety. Want to learn more? Set up a free consult at anxietylabrn.janeapp.com. Or shoot me an email at jchreptyk@anxietylabrn.com

09/15/2023

The physical discomfort that comes with anxiety is real. It is not imagined or an excuse made up to get out of a situation. These changes in our bodies are actually meant to be helpful. Understanding why our bodies feel the way they do when we are anxious is an important part of managing this often misunderstood feeling.

09/15/2023

Lyn Lyons is awesome. Her podcast Flusterclux is an amazing resource for parents of anxious kids and teens. I am sharing this particular episode today because, with kids back to school, parents might be struggling with separation anxiety in their young (and not so young) children. I highly recommend listening to a series of episodes from June 2022 called "The 7 Essential Anxiety Disruptors for Families" to get a great overview of Lyn's approach to anxiety. Informative, relevant AND funny. Her book "Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents" is another useful resource that all parents of anxious kids should read.

In this Flusterclux In Session episode, Lynn talks with a mom whose six year-old daughter struggles with separation anxiety: going to bed for the night, …

09/11/2023

For parents interested in SPACE
(Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood
Emotions), a caregiver focused treatment that helps
reduce symptoms of anxiety and OCD in children and
teens, a short (but powerful) movie. Click here to watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoMyqockXV4
Book a free consult
to discuss if SPACE could be a good fit for you at
anxietylabrn.janeapp.com or email
jchreptyk@anxietylabrn.com.

09/05/2023

Anxiety tells us that something bad is sure to happen and that, when it does, we won’t be able to handle it. Not all of our thoughts are facts, but anxiety has a way of convincing us by making us FEEL like a situation is dangerous. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) can help break anxiety’s hold on us. By learning how to recognize anxious thinking patterns, challenge them and shift our perspective we can change how we feel.

Learn more by booking a free consult at anxietylabrn.janeapp.com

08/24/2023

Are you a parent or caregiver to an anxious kid or teen who is not ready to participate in therapy? SPACE, created at Yale University by Dr. Eli Lebovitz, is an evidence based, parent focused treatment for childhood anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Beyond providing support and education for parents, SPACE focuses on reducing family accommodations (changes that parents make in their own behaviour to reduce their child’s anxiety). Most parents of anxious kids will know exactly what I’m talking about: constant reassurance, planning your life around your child’s fears, hours spent doing anxiety’s bidding. All parents of anxious kids do it because it usually leads to less distress in the moment BUT, ultimately, accommodation leads to more intense symptoms in the long term. To learn more book a free consult at anxietylabrn.janeapp.com or email me at jchreptyk@anxietylabrn.com!

08/18/2023

It's been awhile since I have posted on this page. I'm excited for a fresh start this fall, meeting new clients AND working on my own anxiety around posting on social media. Stay tuned!

04/03/2023

I'm so excited to present this workshop with the Kincardine Family Health Team! Parenting an anxious child/teen can be challenging. I'll help you understand what is happening when anxiety takes hold and teach you skills that can help you and your child manage it. Two evening sessions, April 12th and 19th. Lots of time for questions! And, thanks to the Kincardine FHT, it is FREE!!!!! See below for sign up details.