Therapy Alberta

Therapy Alberta Digital Mental Health Library with former psychologist Carol Korenowski in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Therapy Alberta offers trauma-sensitive virtual psychological services ensuring your safety, convenience, and comfort. With exclusively virtual services through phone or video counselling, any person in Alberta can connect and restore mental, emotional and physical health. Therapy Alberta provides effective, holistic therapy where people can find peace, healing, and a healthy relationship with self and others.

08/26/2026

4.18 When You Feel Ashamed

When you feel ashamed, it’s time to get help.

Feeling ashamed can happen whether you’ve done something you or someone else thinks is bad, or whether you or someone else thinks you are bad.

Shame feels different for everyone, and it might be something you've felt but never named.

Physically: Your body might feel prickly or flushed with a hot flash.
Sometimes you might feel protective, crossing your arms, slouching, or turning away.
You might find waiting for the feeling to pass only makes it heavier.

Mentally: Your mind might feel hooked, spinning in self judgment.
Sometimes you might feel pulled down into a spiral of shame and blame.
You might find the feeling gets louder the longer you stay quiet.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel humiliated, wanting to lash out.
Sometimes you might feel like a failure, like a bad person.
You might find you don't want to seek help or feel you're beyond help.

Socially: Your soul might feel rejected, wanting to hide.
Sometimes you might feel like a perfectionist, trying to avoid criticism.
You might find you can’t hide from your own shame.

Shame in the short term can help you, especially if you've hurt someone.
But when it sticks and stays, it causes harm.

For some, shame is the undercurrent that pulls them under whenever anything goes bad.
Shame has been used so much by so many people, it's become like a second nature.
For some it's a weapon.
For others it's a shield.
Either way, it hurts.

You might find evidence that keeps you stuck, but there are therapists who specialize in helping folks move through shame, no matter what you've done or what you feel.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/24/2026

4.17 When You Feel Violated

When you feel violated, it's time to get help. Therapy is one place that can help.

Feeling violated can come when something happens without consent or awareness.
It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel pain, frozen, or cold.
Sometimes you might feel numb, tingling, or a strange stillness where panic should be.
You might feel tense, flinching, bracing, or out of sync with what's happening.

Mentally: Your mind might feel defensive, reeling or grasping.
Sometimes you might feel lost, wandering, unable to land.
You might feel self-conscious, embarrassed about being seen or heard.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel burning hot rage.
Sometimes you might feel nothing, shut down instead of fired up.
You might feel confusion, second guessing, or unsure of anything right now.

Socially: Your soul might feel exposed, taken advantage of, or used.
Sometimes you might feel absent, or present but not fully there.
You might feel vulnerable, at risk of being harmed again in the same or a different way.

If you feel violated, it's worth talking to someone, no matter how or when it shows up.

For some, feeling violated shows up around s*x or intimacy.
If you feel violated or if you feel pain during s*x,
or if you drift off,
go somewhere else,
stare at the ceiling,
feel bad,
forget what happened,
want to stop but don’t,
say yes when you think no,
or notice your body reacting in ways you don't understand,
it's okay to tell someone what you think or feel.

There are therapists who specialize in s*xual concerns, intimacy concerns, or s*xual trauma.

Therapy can help no matter what you feel.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/23/2026

4.16 When You Feel Inadequate

When you feel inadequate, it's time to get help. Therapy is one place to get help.

Feeling inadequate can happen whenever you feel not enough or less than. It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel constricted or shrinking, taking up less space.
Sometimes you might feel tight, bracing before you've been judged.
You might find you always fall short of the standard you set because it keeps moving.

Mentally: Your mind might feel doubt, doubting your worth, your value, your choices.
Sometimes you might doubt anything will help at all.
You might feel less capable, less valuable, or less deserving than others.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel deflated, like you're performing a version of yourself.
Sometimes you might feel you’re maintaining a version built to be accepted.
You might feel accomplishment never fills you with pride.

Socially: Your soul might feel like an imposter when others perceive you differently than you perceive yourself.
Sometimes success might feel hollow, because of that gap.
You might find that gap never closes, no matter how well someone knows you.

If you feel bad about yourself or talk bad about yourself, and it's a pattern more than just a passing feeling, that's worth talking to someone about.

For some, feeling inadequate comes with low self-esteem, an internal atmosphere of self-doubt and self-criticism.

There are therapists who specialize in helping people who feel inadequate, who feel like an imposter or a fraud, or who have low self-esteem.
They can help you relate to yourself in a new way.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/22/2026

4.15 When You Feel Alone in Your Relationships

When you feel alone, it's time to get help.
Therapy is one place you can get help.

You don't have to be alone to feel alone.
Feeling alone feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel unseen, untethered, with nothing to lean into.
Sometimes you might feel distant even in the same room.
You might feel touch-starved, held without feeling met by the touch itself.

Mentally: Your mind might feel unheard, conversations that never quite land.
Sometimes you might feel disbelief, that something so close now feels so far away.
You might feel misunderstood or unimportant, like you're not being listened to.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel unconsidered, abandoned, or invisible.
Sometimes you might feel an ache, longing for closeness that used to come easily.
You might feel unworthy and blame yourself.

Socially: Your soul might feel unsafe, pulling back rather than risking a reach.
Sometimes you might feel yourself bracing rather than resting beside someone.
You might feel unloved, even when you hear the words being said.

Feeling alone is reason enough to ask for help.
You can feel alone single, dating, partnered, married or after a relationship.
You can feel alone when you’re fighting or when everything seems fine.

Connection isn’t just closeness.

If you feel alone in your relationships, it's okay to name that struggle.
It doesn't mean you or your people are doing anything wrong.

There are therapists who specialize in helping folks with relationship concerns.
You can come in for any type of relationship.

Therapy can help with your relationships whether you come in individually or together.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/22/2026

4.14 When You Feel Unsupported

When you feel unsupported, it's time to get help.
Therapy is one place to get help.

Feeling unsupported can happen whenever you lack help, no matter how much help you're receiving. It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel weighted down, heavy or dense.
Sometimes you might feel weak and unable to endure or armored from enduring so much.
You might feel like your body's carrying strain that was never meant to be carried solo.

Mentally: Your mind might feel hazy, or dull, unable to think past what's in front of you.
Sometimes you might feel small or shrinking.
You might feel insignificant, like your need doesn't matter.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel abandoned or rejected by help that didn’t come.
Sometimes you might feel embarrassed for needing help so much.
You might feel disappointed, in yourself or in others.

Socially: Your soul might feel isolated, cut off from friends, family, or community.
Sometimes you might feel doubt, pulling back rather than asking again.
You might feel disrespected, like what you're doing isn't seen as worth supporting.

Feeling unsupported doesn't need to be measured against anything.
Needing more support than you're receiving is reason enough to ask for help.

For some, feeling unsupported shows up across the parenting journey.
Many parents feel isolated and unsupported even when others are nearby.
Sometimes offers of support feel empty, conditional, insufficient or unfulfilled.
Lacking a village is not a personal failing.

There are therapists who specialize in supporting parents at every stage.
Therapy can help you build your natural support system too.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/21/2026

4.13 When You Feel Hurt

When you feel hurt, it's time to get help. And only you know when your hurt needs help.

Everyone feels pain differently.

Physically: Your body might feel sore or tender to touch or pressure.
Sometimes you might feel a dull ache, present but hard to pinpoint.
You might hurt so much you feel numb to your own pain.

Mentally: Your mind might feel sensitive, replaying, returning, reminded and hurt again.
Sometimes you might dwell and sometimes you might just stop everything.
You might feel you have to push through, like you're not allowed to still be hurt.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel raw, exposed, like a wound that hasn't closed.
Sometimes you might feel a quieter sting, small but persistent.
You might feel you have to prove your pain is real, or you might minimize it.

Socially: Your soul might feel protective.
Sometimes you might pull people toward you, and sometimes you might pull away.
You might feel attacked, or you might feel invisible.

For some, hurt comes from chronic pain, illness, old injury, an experience, a relationship, or something that's hard to name at all.
Hurt can be physical, mental, emotional and social.

Pain can be unpredictable, confusing, and uncontrollable.
It doesn't have to be constant or severe to get help, it just has to be there.

If your pain gets in the way of your life, it’s worth talking about.

There are therapists who specialize in pain and chronic pain and every kind of hurt.

Therapy can help alongside any medical care you're receiving.
It can even help you seek, navigate, or advocate for medical care.

Therapy can help you heal: body, mind, heart and soul.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/20/2026

4.12 When You Feel On Edge

When you feel on edge, it's time to get help.
Therapy is one place that can help.

Feeling on edge can happen anytime your nervous system braces for danger.
It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel jumpy, easily startled.
Sometimes you might feel coiled or sometimes you might collapse.
You might feel like your body won’t let you relax.

Mentally: Your mind might feel alert, scanning, watching for something to go wrong.
Sometimes you might feel hyper focused.
You might feel it’s hard to focus because your attention is somewhere else.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel reactive, quick to fear.
Sometimes you might feel irritable and so quick to anger it surprises you.
You might feel like you're overreacting, without a clear line back to what caused it.

Socially: Your soul might feel braced, ready for something to shift suddenly.
Sometimes you might snap at people or animals in ways that you regret.
You might feel confused by your reactions, or you might hate the way you act.

For some, feeling on edge can happen after a motor vehicle accident or another trauma.
There are therapists who specialize in MVA therapy, and in Alberta, insurance can cover therapy for up to two years after an accident.

If you feel on edge and it's not from an accident, there are therapists who specialize in trauma responses and PTSD.

It's natural to feel shaken, fearful and on edge after trauma, but sometimes it doesn’t ease if your body hasn't reestablished a sense of safety in the world.
If your reactions don't fade, or if they interfere with your sleep, work, relationships or activities, therapy can help.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/19/2026

4.11 When You Feel Stuck

When you feel stuck, it's time to get help. Therapy is one place that can help.

Feeling stuck can happen whenever nothing changes or nothing gets better.

Physically: Your body might feel tight, sick, or restless with nowhere to go.
Sometimes you might feel like you’re in shock.
You might feel like effort isn't landing the way it's supposed to.

Mentally: Your mind might feel gridlocked, tired, or worn down.
Sometimes you might feel embarrassed to even talk about what you're experiencing.
You might feel there's an answer you're just not finding.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel frustrated or discouraged.
Sometimes you might feel numb to hope after enough attempts that didn't land.
You might feel grief for a normal you used to have, or one you never had at all.

Socially: Your soul might feel unseen, especially if you look fine but feel terrible.
Sometimes you might feel jealous watching others move forward while you stay in place.
You might feel like a burden.

For some, feeling stuck comes with health concerns or chronic illness.
Especially when it is unresolved or unexplained.
Trying everything and still not feeling better is frustrating.

You can talk to someone no matter how long you've felt this way.

There are therapists who specialize in health and chronic illness concerns who understand the physical, mental, emotional and social costs of ongoing medical care and the lifestyle change that symptoms demand.

If your health isn't improving, or is getting worse, therapy can help alongside any medical care you're receiving.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/16/2026

4.10 When You Feel Hollow

When you feel hollow, it's time to get help. Therapy is one place that can help.

Hollow can happen anytime there's an emptiness inside, whether something used to fill that space and is gone, or nothing was ever there to begin with. It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel heavy or like a black hole, like nothing can fill the void.
Sometimes you might feel a quiet that isn't peaceful.
Your body might be carrying more than it can hold.

Mentally: Your mind might feel distant or blank, like something's missing.
Sometimes you might feel foggy, or it’s hard to think.
You might worry needing help means you're not handling things well.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel like it's sinking, like you’re falling.
Sometimes you might feel an emptiness so vast you could get lost inside it.
You might feel like you yearn for someone or something to fill that space.

Socially: Your soul might feel isolated, withdrawn, drawing inward.
Sometimes you might feel others don’t understand you.
You might feel like it's too late, that it's been too long.

For some, hollow is a sign of grief.
Grief can be losing someone or something, or even a version of yourself.

Some people move through grief with just the people already around them.
Many need more structured support and care to move through it.
There are therapists who specialize in grief and loss.

Grief or feeling hollow doesn't have to be constant, extreme, or unbearable. If it's interfering with your relationships, your routine, your safety or your health, that's reason enough to get help.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

08/15/2026

4.9 When You Feel Guilty

When you feel guilty, it's time to get help.
Therapy is one place that can help.

Guilt can happen anytime you do something you label as bad, or even just think about it.
Anytime you do something you regret or break your own rule. It feels different for everyone.

Physically: Your body might feel knotted or tense or sick.
Sometimes you might feel restless and find it hard to sit still with yourself.
You might carry a discomfort you can't quite name.

Mentally: Your mind might feel judgmental, keeping a tally of good and bad.
Sometimes you might feel self-critical and stuck in a loop.
You might worry a therapist will judge you too.

Emotionally: Your heart might feel heavy or weighed down.
Sometimes you might feel like you can't move through it.
You might feel consumed by the guilt itself, by trying to avoid it, or by trying to make it right.

Socially: Your soul might feel like hiding, avoiding people, places, and things.
Sometimes you might keep secrets or hide what you do.
You might try to correct it, just to feel okay again.

For some, guilt shows up a lot around food.
Sometimes it's the food itself, types or qualities labeled as bad.
Sometimes it's the eating, times or quantities that feel wrong.
It can be fleeting, or it can linger around every meal.

Guilt can shape what, when or how much you feel safe eating.
For some, it can become disordered eating.

There are therapists who specialize in food and body concerns.
Therapy can help you change your relationship with your body, with food, or with guilt.

Guilt doesn't have to be extreme or constant to be worth talking about.

Not in crisis, but ready to look for support in Alberta?

Find a therapist: psychologytoday.com/ca
Meet our community: therapyalberta.ca

If you or someone you love is in crisis, or at risk of harm, please get help now:

Su***de Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988, 24/7
Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, 24/7
Health Link: Call 811
211 Alberta: Call 211

Please note this is educational content, not therapy. If you need support, please reach out to a mental health professional.

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