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How Online Counseling Can Help You Cope with Anxiety and Depression

Leave a Comment / Therapy / Inner Space Team / November 25, 2023 / benefits of therapy, counselling and therapy, counselling process, managing depression, online counselling, stress management, symptoms of anxiety

Over the recent years, there has been a growing number of people opting for online counselling services. This option has provided many individuals with better access to mental health services. Consulting a counsellor in person can be difficult for many due to issues with travel and lack of professionals in their area. However, due to online counselling, many are now able to consult professionals with just a click of a button. Adding to this, online counselling also serves as a convenient, flexible, and a cost-effective option for many individuals. Anxiety and Depression are two of the most common mental health concerns observed around us. Counselling and Psychotherapy can be a great option for those undergoing these challenges. Online counselling provides individuals facing anxiety or depression, an accessible and convenient option to seek therapy, at an affordable price point. This article aims to explore how online counselling can be an effective tool in managing anxiety or depression. Understanding Anxiety and Depression Understanding Anxiety Anxiety is an uneasy feeling of dread, fear, or worry. It is a highly common experience that every individual has experienced from time-to-time. However, when this unsettling feeling prolongs for too long, it can cause severe distress and discomfort. Anxiety is a feeling, like sadness, happiness, and anger. And every feeling has an impact on both the mind and the body. For example, think about the last instance when you felt really happy. Try to recollect how this feeling of happiness felt in your body. Maybe it feels warm, fuzzy, and light. You can probably imagine how you felt these sensations in your chest, your belly, and in other parts of your body. You would have also had happy and positive thoughts at the time. This shows how every emotion carries a mental and physical manifestation. Similarly, anxiety, as a feeling, carries a physical and mental manifestation. When these uncomfortable feelings go unattended and unprocessed, it lingers in the body and begins to produce symptoms. These are some of the most common symptoms of anxiety. The physical symptoms of anxiety can include palpitations (racing heartbeat,) body pain, lightheadedness, headaches or migraines, and fatigue. Some of the emotional or mental symptoms of anxiety are racing thoughts, excessive worry, irritability, low-self esteem, and inability to focus. Anxiety can often feel overwhelming, and can feel like there is nothing that can make you feel calmer or better. Anxiety can have an impact on your mental health and how you function on a daily basis. For some individuals, anxiety can impact their work-life or interpersonal relationships. To learn more about the symptoms, causes, and steps to manage anxiety, click here. Understanding Depression Depression is a persistent, and prolonged feeling of sadness and hopelessness. Many people misinterpret sadness as depression. While there are a few similarities, depression is a more complex, and often complicated experience for those who go through it. If you are experiencing depression, it is often difficult to communicate how you are feeling. It can make you feel like you are alone in this journey. However, depression is an extremely common concern that can be resolved by seeking professional help. Depression also consists of physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. Physically, it can cause changes in your sleeping and eating patterns. It can cause fatigue, and anxiety in some individuals. Many individuals with depression may also have random aches and pains in their bodies. There are changes that occur in the mental and emotional well-being of an individual undergoing depression. Some of the symptoms are a feeling of hopelessness, emptiness, or numbness. It causes low self-esteem, guilt, and shame. Depression can also impact your ability to focus and manage tasks. Some individuals may have thoughts or engage in suicidal or self-harm behaviours.* Depression can certainly impact multiple areas of life, such as your personal and professional life. It can often cause a negative shift in your interpersonal relationship, and more importantly, the relationship you have with yourself. *If you are feeling actively suicidal or violent or are losing weight, having severe sleep deprivation and no motivation to live, then seeing a psychiatrist and meeting a therapist in-person is recommended. We also suggest you to reach out to a Suicide Helpline Number. Depression can feel heavy and can often weigh you down. With the hopelessness that you feel in depression, you may feel like things can never get better. However, individuals with depression often greatly benefit from seeking professional help. Feeling Low? Counseling can be a great tool for you to manage and overcome depression and lead a happy and balanced life. We are here for you. Book an Appointment Rise Of Online Counseling Online counseling has been attracting increased popularity over the recent years. Many individuals opt for online counseling as it provides them an easy and effective option if they are seeking therapy, wherever they are in the world. Online Counseling, or telecounseling, is a form of therapy that is offered on an online platform. Some examples of the mediums used in telecounseling are: Phone-call, messaging, and most commonly, video calls. Despite its favourability, people have certain myths and misconceptions about Online Counseling. We have attempted to clarify and explain four common myths about online counseling here: Myth 1: Online Counseling is a less effective option for those seeking counselling. This isn’t true. Online Counseling can be just as effective as offline counseling. (Eames, 2023,) states how online counseling is not just effective, but also an affordable option that you can access in the comfort of your home. Online Counseling can be a great option for various concerns, and includes personal and interpersonal ones. People can opt for online counselling if they are experiencing depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and a myriad of other concerns. Myth 2: Online Counseling is not safe as it is conducted online. Safety is one of the hallmarks of a good counselling session. Therefore, online counseling is also a process that keeps your safety a priority. The online counseling platforms are encrypted and secure, and

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Understanding Anxiety Disorders and How To Manage Them

Leave a Comment / Anxiety / Parvathi / July 27, 2023 / anxiety disorder, managing emotions, mental health, negative emotions, self help, symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety is a common emotion that many of us are familiar with. We may all experience it on certain occasions that may be stressful. This is why not all anxiety is an anxiety disorder. However, when anxiety builds up over time, and is ignored, it can manifest in different ways. There are some common ways how unprocessed anxiety manifests in our lives, and these are known as anxiety disorders. Anxiety Disorders can cause a great deal of stress while carrying out daily activities. Normally, anxiety is a helpful emotion that warns us when we are under threat. But when we experience excessive anxiety, it starts to take control over different parts of our life negatively. The key to managing your anxiety disorders is to understand them. In this article, we look through the different anxiety disorders, and ways you can manage them. Managing anxiety is essential to help you overcome anxiety disorders and lead a well-balanced and peaceful life. When Is An Anxiety Disorder Diagnosed? “Feeling anxious” is considered to be an anxiety disorder when your anxiety starts affecting your daily life. With Anxiety Disorders, anxiety takes the center stage of your life. You may spend most of your time managing or worrying about certain symptoms coming back. For anxiety to be considered a disorder it must be so much that it impacts your social and work life. With anxiety disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, you may worry about your intrusive thoughts. This may lead you to engage in compulsive behaviors. On the other hand with Panic Disorder, you may begin to worry if a panic attack may occur again. You may also begin to avoid public spaces due to your fear of getting a panic attack. This fear of public spaces is known as Agoraphobia. Excessive anxiety can manifest in multiple forms. Therefore, there are different types of Anxiety Disorders. Types of Anxiety Disorders The core feature of all anxiety disorders is unresolved anxiety. This anxiety can be overwhelming and deep-rooted, and we may be unable to process or sit with it. Therefore, our mind and body bring out various symptoms to distract us from the anxiety. These symptoms over time, turn into Anxiety Disorders. They are of the following types: Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD involves extreme fear or worry in almost every aspect of life. You may also experience certain bodily symptoms such as tiredness, muscle pain or stiffness, and a change in sleep and eating patterns. Social Anxiety Disorder: In this disorder, you may avoid social situations, or you may find social settings overwhelming. You may avoid speaking in public, socializing with people, or avoid eating in public. Panic Disorder: Panic Disorder involves repeated panic attacks. A panic attack is a sudden onset of extreme fear and distress in the mind and the body. It causes sweating, palpitations, chest heaviness, rapid breathing, and a fear of losing control or dying. It can be an extremely frightening experience, and it may make you worried about having another panic attack. Agoraphobia: Agoraphobia is a fear of being in public spaces. It is a fear of not being able to escape, or not receiving help. It could happen on its own, or as a result of a panic disorder. Agoraphobia with a panic disorder may cause you to worry about having another panic attack in public, and not receiving help. This can make you avoid getting out of your home, or you may only leave with a companion. Phobia: Phobias are fear of specific things, situations, or people. A fear is called a phobia when what you fear isn’t usually harmful. Some common examples of phobia are the phobia of blood, certain animals, insects, water, and flying. Separation Anxiety: This is the intense fear of being separated from a close one. If you experience separation anxiety, you may try to stay as close as you can with the close one. You may also worry if you may lose them, and may have nightmares of losing them. Thus, anxiety shows up in various forms which are broadly termed as “Anxiety Disorders.” To treat anxiety disorders, you will have to address the deeply rooted anxiety within you. It is only then you may find relief from the symptoms of anxiety. Medication for Anxiety Disorders: Is It Necessary? Whether medication is necessary for anxiety disorders or not depends upon the severity of the symptoms and the extent of dysfunction these symptoms bring to your life. Sometimes, you may deal with severe anxiety which may produce extreme symptoms. If these symptoms disturb multiple areas of your life, then medications become necessary. Medications help to treat and manage the symptoms of various anxiety disorders. Medications like benzodiazepines, for example, can help with the rapid heartbeat and anxiety during panic attacks. However, treating anxiety has a lot to do with regulating the nervous system. Medications only help the symptoms of the anxiety disorder and may be very necessary to manage the difficulty for a while. However, the deep rooted issues leading to the anxiety disorders can only be worked through by therapy and regular relaxation, meditation and other self-management practices. Are your anxieties holding you back? Counseling can be a great tool for you to manage and overcome your anxiety and lead a happy, stress-free life. We are here for you. Book an Appointment Counseling And Therapy For Anxiety Disorders At Inner Space, we believe that treating anxiety requires a multi-dimensional approach. Therefore, our therapists help you observe the underlying patterns of negative thoughts and beliefs, and regulate your nervous system and body through relaxation and somatic therapies. Learning to handle anxiety requires learning to process fears and sit with difficult emotions. These practices are crucial to overcoming anxiety and taking charge of your life again. A good and qualified therapist can help you stay with fear and process it. Therefore it is important to find the right therapist to help you through an anxiety disorder. Going for counseling can

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On “Phobia”: What It Really Is

Leave a Comment / Anxiety / Inner Space Team / May 11, 2017 / fears and phobias, managing anxiety, stress management, symptoms of anxiety

Most of us use the ‘word’ phobia rather casually. We often hear such exclamations as, “I really hate Maths… I think I have a phobia of numbers!” or “I don’t socialize much- It’s like I have social phobia!” But what really is a phobia, and how is it different from the more generic, everyday fear we experience? Psychologists would describe a phobia as a type of anxiety disorder where one has an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. Someone with a phobia will experience distress so intense, that they will go to any lengths to avoid the source of the fear. On the other hand, fear, in the generic sense of the the word, is a survival mechanism hardwired into our brains, that helps us react to danger and protect ourselves from harm. Unlike phobias, fear is a normal part of our daily lives and does not usually debilitate an individual. Phobias may be specific, that is, involving particular objects, like spiders, dogs or needles, or they may be linked to certain events or circumstances, such as social situations. Some common phobias (with their fancy names) include: Social phobia – fear of being in places with a lot of people Agoraphobia – fear of being somewhere with no support, away from home, open spaces Claustrophobia – fear of being in constricted, confined spaces Aerophobia – fear of flying Arachnophobia – fear of spiders Living with a phobia can be an extremely challenging task. When faced with the object of their phobia, a person may experience tremendous feelings of dread, sweating, shortness of breath, trembling and nausea. Some may even experience a fear of dying, or a sense of unreality. Further, one may end up missing out on opportunities in life, simply to avoid the unpleasantness of anxiety. What Happens To Someone With A Phobia? There are two ways in which a person with a phobia may react to the source of their fear. This also helps differentiate a phobia from a generic, less severe fear. Experience Severe and Incapacitating Distress and Anxiety Take glossophobia, for example. Glossophobia is the extreme fear of public speaking, or of speaking in general. This extends beyond the classroom fear that had us all praying that the teacher wouldn’t pick on us to answer that trigonometry problem. A person with glossophobia would panic at the mere thought of communication with even a small group of people. Granted, a person with “normal” stage fright would also experience some anxiety before making a boardroom presentation, for example, but they would be able to deliver despite this fear. In contrast, one with glossophobia could experience symptoms like hyperventilation, trembling, sweating, and stammering. Needless to say, such an emotional state would not allow for a very effective conference-room presentation, and could be extremely embarrassing for the individual dealing with the phobia. Engage in Avoidant Behaviours, and Evade the Feared Object Completely: If you have glossophobia, you might entirely refrain from voicing your groundbreaking new sales idea during the board meeting, in order to avoid the crushing anxiety of speaking up in a group. You may also completely avoid situations that focus group attention on you. Imagine the stress of having to plan your daily routine around trying to avoid speaking up in public. So much as buying that local train ticket to office and back becomes a terrifying task. Even if a feared object does not appear in your life, you might spend a significant amount of time worrying about facing it. How unpleasant it must be to go through a fearful mental countdown, for a whole month, unto the day your train pass expires, just because you dread that ticket window so much. What often makes dealing with a phobia still more challenging, is a misplaced attitude towards it. It is hardly comforting to be told, “Get over it, dude, it’s just a bit of stage fright” or “Everyone feels nervous, it’s normal”. This would only make someone dealing with a phobia embarrassed and hesitant to address the issue. So, How Do You Deal With A Phobia? “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” -Nathaniel Branden In order to get over a phobia, it is important to first acknowledge and accept your fears. No matter how out-of-control your fears seem, know that it is well within your reach to control, if not completely overcome your phobia, with the help of adequate support and curative measures. Stay tuned for our next post that will talk about managing and overcoming a phobia. Do let us know what you think about fears and phobias, what your experiences have been like here Are your anxieties holding you back? Counseling can be a great tool for you to manage and overcome your anxiety and lead a happy, stress-free life. We are here for you. Book an Appointment Frequently Asked Questions Do I have to live with phobia all my life? Phobias can manifest differently in different people. Some people may notice their symptoms have gone completely, while some may continue to experience the symptoms in varying intensity. However, with early intervention and having healthy coping skills can help ease out the intensity of the fear. Can I prevent Phobias? Phobias cannot be prevented. But, it can be managed with early intervention, counseling, lifestyle changes, and having healthy coping skills in place. Do I have to consume medications if I have Phobias? While medications do help in managing certain symptoms of the phobias, many people do not require them. They can manage their symptoms without medication by going for therapy, using self-help and stress management strategies, and having a healthy lifestyle. About the Author This article was written by Suneha Sethi, Content Developer Intern at Inner Space. This post was consulted & approved by professional therapists practicing online therapy and counseling. Ask a Therapist If you are interested to know more about phobias and other mental health topics, ‘Ask A Therapist’ is a platform

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WHAT IS ANXIETY?

2 Comments / Anxiety / Inner Space Team / November 17, 2011 / causes of anxiety, managing anxiety, mental health, symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety can be described as a state where one experiences symptoms that are bodily, emotional, behavioural and cognitive (involving thought and mental processes). Tension, worry, nervousness and apprehension are some of the words commonly used to describe anxiety.

We have all experienced anxiety, be it in the form of nervousness before going up on stage, tension for exam, apprehension about a decision, worry for our kids or stress for an office presentation. Anxiety can range from being mildly discomforting to severely debilitating and if not dealt with properly can manifest as disorders that negatively affect your daily lives.

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symptoms of anxiety

How Online Counseling Can Help You Cope with Anxiety and Depression

Understanding Anxiety Disorders and How To Manage Them

On “Phobia”: What It Really Is

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

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