Living Fully

We all worry sometimes. But when does worry become anxiety, and how can you tell the difference? In this episode, social worker Carmen Sadoway talks about how anxiety works, why it can feel so intense, and how it often connects to uncertainty, change, and the urge to prepare for every possible outcome.

You’ll learn to recognize the physical signs of anxiety, panic attacks, explore both helpful and unhelpful coping strategies, and discover simple ways to approach anxiety with more compassion. 

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

This episode originally aired February 6, 2024. 

Beyond allowing us to pay the bills, the way we make our living can fill us with purpose and can be a part of our identity. But it’s not uncommon for our work life to bring up feelings of worry and anxiety. The pressures of longer hours, inflexible schedules, and demanding workloads can contribute to increased stress, creating a delicate balance between professional fulfilment and emotional well-being.  

On this episode of Living Fully, registered social worker Kelsey Bradley talks about the relationship between work and anxiety, unravelling its sources and offering valuable insights on how you can navigate these challenges. We explore various aspects of workplace anxiety, from distinguishing between regular everyday stress and prolonged anxiety, to addressing performance-based anxiety and imposter syndrome.  

Download a copy of seven activities you can try for easing workplace anxiety.

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

Is it okay to laugh when things feel hard?

In this episode of Living Fully, we talk to psychologist Joel Zimmerman about humour and laughter as a coping strategy. He explains how laughter affects stress hormones, why it can calm your nervous system, and how it helps break up all-or-nothing thinking.

You’ll also hear about the balance between levity and sensitivity, how family and culture shape our comfort with humor, and how laughter can help us shift perspective.

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

What if your worth isn’t measured by your productivity? So many of us move through life chasing the next milestone — the next promotion, the next goal, the next improvement — believing that if we just achieve a little more, we’ll finally feel like enough. But that constant striving often comes at a cost.

In this conversation, we talk with registered psychologist, Lisa McIsaac about how perfectionism and productivity culture shape the way we see ourselves. Larn how the drive to always perform can fuel burnout, anxiety, dissatisfaction, and tension in relationships — and why the bar for “enough” keeps moving no matter how much you accomplish.

Lisa shares practical ways to begin shifting your mindset, including:

• How to recognize when your self-worth is tied to achievement
• Where perfectionistic patterns often begin
• Why progress matters more than perfection
• Simple ways to celebrate what you’ve done instead of focusing on what you haven’t
• How to practice rest and self-compassion without feeling guilty

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

If money worries are keeping you up at night, you’re not alone. Counsellors Joel Zimmerman and Long Zhou talk about how financial stress shows up emotionally, physically, and in our relationships—think irritability, isolation, avoidance, and that “I can’t keep up” feeling. They dig into why money triggers a survival response, and share practical shifts that can help better cope.

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

Good mental health isn’t the absence of pain. It’s how we respond to it.

In this episode we’re joined by Claire Masikewich, who shares her experience navigating her daughter Sloan’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and relapse — and how her family continues to cope through uncertainty, grief, and fear.

Claire speaks candidly about the early shock of diagnosis, the ongoing emotional toll, and the practical routines that help her get through the hardest days — from movement and gratitude to asking for help and leaning on community. 

Counsellor Ashley Enzie from Calgary Counselling Centre adds clinical insight throughout the conversation, helping listeners understand:

• why grief isn’t limited to death
• how resilience is built 
• why compassion and community matter so much during prolonged stress
• how to hold pain without minimizing it or forcing positivity

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

Loneliness is more common than we think, but it doesn’t always look the way we expect. You can be surrounded by people, busy at work, active on social media – and still feel deeply alone.

In this episode of Living Fully, we talk with counsellor Rasha Taha from Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta about loneliness in a real, relatable way. They explore what loneliness is, why it shows up at different points in our lives, and how we can begin to feel more connected again.

Drawing on both clinical experience and everyday examples, they talk about the difference between being alone and feeling lonely and how social media can create a “fake” sense of connection. They also share practical, low-pressure ideas for starting where you are – with the people, places, and routines already in your life.

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

The holidays can be meaningful and memorable—but they can also be exhausting. Between family expectations, packed calendars, gift exchanges, and tighter budgets, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

In this episode, counsellor Denis Shushkin shares practical strategies for managing holiday stress and maintaining healthy relationships.

Denis shares how to:

• Set boundaries with family around gatherings, conversations, and routines
• Talk about money and gift-giving when finances are tight
• Figure out how to blend or re-imagine traditions when you’re sharing the holidays with a partner and extended family
• Protect your time and be realistic about how much you can take on
• Talk to kids about changes in a way that keeps the season warm, steady, and reassuring

If the holidays tend to leave you drained, this conversation provide tools to help you navigate the season with ease. 

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

For many men, identity is tied to being strong, steady, and responsible for providing to their family. But those expectations aren’t always healthy or realistic. In this episode of Living Fully, we talk to counsellors Sarah Rosenfeld and Joel Zimmerman about how identity, masculinity, and mental health intersect. They discuss the ways pressure shows up in daily life, why some coping strategies stop working over time, and how small shifts in perspective can make a big difference. It’s about redefining strength, recognizing when it’s time for support, and seeing that reaching out can be one of the healthiest choices you make.

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.

Breakups are a common reason people reach out for counselling. In this episode, counsellor Rasha Taha joins Katherine to discuss what make breakups so painful. They talk about what healthy grieving looks like, how to rebuild confidence and self-worth, and the small daily habits that can help you recover and feel like yourself again. 

"Living Fully" is not a substitute or alternative for professional care or treatment. 

Calgary Counselling Centre and Counselling Alberta provide effective counselling for anyone in Alberta with no wait list and no financial barriers.

For help across Canada and the United States, call 211. If you are outside Canada and the U.S., seek help from your general medical practitioner.