Anxiety and Depression

Recognizing the signs

Anxiety

Anxiety becomes a health problem when worry stops being occasional and starts taking over. Common signs include persistent or excessive worry that is hard to control, restlessness or feeling on edge, irritability, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and disturbed sleep. Anxiety also speaks through the body: a racing heart, tight chest, shortness of breath, or digestive discomfort, often without any physical disease to explain them.

Depression

Depression is not the same thing as ordinary sadness. Typical signs include a persistently low mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy, fatigue and low energy, changes in sleep or appetite, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, and withdrawal from family, friends, or work. Symptoms that persist most of the day, nearly every day, for more than two weeks deserve a professional assessment.

The mind-body connection

Mental and physical health are inseparable. Anxiety and depression can amplify pain, disturb sleep, drain energy, and slow recovery from physical conditions, and living with persistent pain or illness can in turn wear down mood. This two-way relationship is central to how we work: the same clinic that treats your chronic pain or stress-related symptoms also cares for the anxiety or low mood that often travels with them.

How we treat anxiety and depression

Psychiatric care

Our psychiatrist, Dr. Abbas Alameddine, provides thorough diagnostic evaluations for mood and anxiety disorders, in adults as well as adolescents. Treatment is personalized and evidence-based: when medication is appropriate, it is prescribed and monitored carefully, explained clearly, and reviewed at each follow-up. Online psychiatric consultations are available via secure video call for assessment, medication management, and follow-ups.

Psychotherapy

Our clinical psychologist, Rodolphe Rizk, offers structured psychotherapy for anxiety, depression, stress, and emotional difficulties, combining cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with psychodynamic and systemic approaches. Therapy gives you practical tools to change unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, and a confidential space to understand what is driving them.

Caring for the body too

Recovery is supported by the rest of the clinic when it is relevant: regular physical activity is one of the best-documented supports for mood, and our supervised training and Pilates sessions make it accessible at any level. Nutrition support can help with energy, sleep, and appetite changes that often accompany anxiety and depression.

When to seek help urgently

If you have thoughts of harming yourself, or you are worried that someone close to you might, do not wait for an appointment: seek urgent medical care immediately or go to the nearest emergency department. For everything else, reaching out early, even just to talk through what you are experiencing, is always the right move.