Confused about numerous anxiety disorders? This is not surprising because there is a great deal of overlap between them. There is also a lot of misinformation going around about what characterizes each disorder.

A panic attack is an abrupt surge of fear or acute discomfort. It includes severe physical symptoms that escalate very quickly (usually within a few minutes).

Social anxiety (also known as Social Phobia) is a misunderstood condition. People often confuse it with being introverted or shy. But introverts are not by definition socially anxious.

You did everything right. You researched, you asked your doctor for a recommendation, and you went to a counsellor with the goal of finally getting rid of your anxiety.

We often underestimate how difficult it really is to get rid of anxiety. The fact is -- we are all evolutionarily predisposed to be anxious.

Thoughts are not facts. And they are not threats. They are just, - well, - thoughts.

One of the most common presenting problems that patients come to my office with is anxiety.

Let's say you bought a fancy new car and installed a sophisticated alarm system to protect it from thieves. 
The alarm was quite an expense and you take great pride in it. The only problem is that it goes off when the neighborhood kids play too close to it. 

When we feel threatened, our attention is focused on the perceived threat. 

In the previous article, (Anxiety Part 3), we talked about three components of anxiety: Thoughts, Physical Sensations, and Behaviors

Remember The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book by Frank Baum? If you do, you must recall how everybody was scared of Wizard of Oz the terrible. 

Well, maybe not really the best friend. But definitely, something that we better learn to at least tolerate or, preferably, embrace.

In this part of the series of articles we discover together and walk through several helpful strategies on how to conquer worry.