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Stress is an emotion which can often be accepted as a 'given' in a person's life and many endure it because they feel they have to and it is somehow part of their existence. This need not be the case.
It is important to understand the different types of stress and the way in which they are affecting you. A healthy adrenalin rush? or paralysed with fear and despair?. Understanding your stress limitations is crucial to preventing you from being consumed by it.
Perhaps you are encountering problems in your work, health, relationships, sex life or are struggling financially; whatever the reason, addressing it and owning it is the first step to beating it.
Many struggle alone with stress which very often serves to exacerbate it. Sharing your concerns and learning ways in which to manage your problems can help you to gain persepective and think beyond the feelings that overwhelm you.
When we consider the term 'addiction', gambling addiction is perhaps the last addiction that may come to mind.
Whilst the impact of a gambling addiction may not always be as rapid or obvious as other better known addictions, the scars it can leave behind may be equally devastating.
In today's society, with the accessibility to online gambling increasing all the time, the problem is escalating and it is not only the gambler who is suffering. I work not only with the gamblers themselves but with the 'affected others'; the friends, the family of the gambling client who are living with the daily consequences of the destructive behaviour. Often these people are the forgotten ones but this doesn't need to be the case.
Gambling affects not only the gambler, the ripples can extend much further.
How we define ourselves sexually can have a major impact on our lives in lots of different ways and for some, to deny who we feel we really are, can have distressing consequences.
Whatever your sexual orientation may be, it is important that it is met with acceptance and tolerance; be it by ourselves or others. Very often we find this is not always achievable.
I will work with you in a non-judgmental and safe way to explore your feelings towards your sexuality and what it means for you. My aim is to help you to arrive at a place where self-acceptance and confidence can enable you to embrace the person you are and the person you want to be.
Relationships play a crucial and fundamental part in determining our happiness and fulfillment.
Perhaps the role you assume in relationships is influenced too strongly by negative experiences from the past which you find you are unable to move on from. Maybe you feel you cannot function in a healthy and mututally loving relationship due to mistrust or fear.
For most, our relationships define who we are and an unhealthy relationship can leave us feeling negative about ourselves and powerless to change.
Together we can work to identify what brings you to hold onto particular unhelpful feelings and subsequently allow them to infiltrate your relationships.
Depression comes in many guises. It may by characterised by an all-encompassing low mood, low self-steem or a loss of interest in activities or day to day living which would normally give you pleasure. There will be varying degrees to which you may find yourself impacted by depression and the extent to which it is impinging upon different areas of your everyday funtioning.
You may experience problematic changes in your sleeping and eating habits, work or school life functioning, sexual functioning, relationships and general health. Depression can become a vicious circle. It may be extremely difficult to find motivation to do anything and this can in itself lead you back to feeling more depressed or seeking to withdraw. One of the keys to beating depression is to take steps to break this cycle.
Therapy can help to free you from the overwhelming sense of feeling 'stuck' and hopeless. Feeling heard, understood and supported can provide you with a framework in which you can begin to face up to what is happening to you and give you the impetus to challenge your depression.
