Most people know what anxiety feels like, but healthy anxiety passes once the presenting problem is resolved. The kind of anxiety which persists and dominates thoughts is a common response to shocking or distressing experiences, or can develop as a ‘generalised anxiety’ response to feeling out of control in life. The feelings are apprehension and fear, which can feel overwhelming and develop into panic attacks, Physical symptoms of acute anxiety include:

• Difficulty getting to sleep and/or early morning waking

• Speeding up heartbeat and palpitations

• Light-headedness and loss of feeling in the body

• Loss of appetite

• Distractedness and inability to focus and make decisions.

Therapy can help you to explore the causes of your anxiety and also give you skills to better manage your anxiety both in the moment and long term.

Depression is now a term widely used by people to describe a temporary low or sad mood, but clinical depression is a seriously debilitating illness that affects one’s body, mood, behaviour and thoughts. One of the cruellest symptoms of depression is self-criticism and sufferers believing they are being weak and should be able to ‘snap out of it’. Clinical depression is difficult to resolve alone. Physical symptoms of clinical depression, which are often the clear signs that it is time to take the illness seriously, include:

• Difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep and/or early morning waking

• Changes in appretite from normal, either wanting to each much less or overeating

• Mental and physical lethargy

• Withdrawing socially and from loved ones

• Loss of interest in things previously enjoyed

• Turning to alcohol, drugs or other addictive behaviours as a coping mechanism.

Therapy can help you to explore the root causes of your depression and give you skills to help you to start to move forward.

Both individual and couples counselling can help you improve the way you relate to those around you and allow you to break free from old patterns of behaviour that are no longer getting you what you want and need in life. 

Therapy can offer you new ways to look at old problems with others as well as within yourself.

It is normal to feel sad, lost, isolated, angry and confused when a loved one dies or a relationship ends. The loss of a person or of a pet can be devastating and have a major impact on our lives.

Therapy can help you work through and come to terms with your loss. I work as a counsellor  in a hospice part-time, seeing people who are caring for others at the end of their lives or who are struggling with bereavement.

People with low self-esteem tend to feel ‘small’ and ineffectual, often comparing themselves with others and readily seeing fault in themselves in a conflict. They struggle to verbalise how they are feeling or what they want, and lack the self-confidence to act assertively. They may end up feeling overlooked and the victim of others’ behaviour.

Therapy can help you to understand the reasons for your self-esteem struggles and help you to introduce new ways of thinking and behaving that improve your self-esteem and assertiveness.

Sometimes the impact of a one off natural disaster, accident or violent attack can leave a person feeling stressed to the point or losing their sense of security in the world. This is trauma and it can also be caused by the ongoing stress of an emotionally and/or physically abusive relationship or by living with any chronic situation that feels inescapable.

Typical symptoms are feelings of helplessness and fear, an inability to relax and an inability to think clearly, focus and make decisions.

Therapy can help you understand the impact of trauma on your ability to function well and help you to move forward.