Counselling for adults and couples near Wimborne, Dorset.

Please note, due to the current social distancing and isolation measures in place I am currently only offering online and telephone therapy

Do I need counselling?

If you are reading this, you may be asking yourself ‘do I need counselling’?

We all have tough times, and negative emotions are a healthy reaction to the challenges we face. Things can become more serious, and each year as many as 1 in 4 of us experience a mental health problem.

It is common to see if the problem may fix itself. However, when is enough, enough? When is it time to seek professional help?

Anxiety…..it’s very personal and here’s why

It’s natural to experience apprehension and fear when we sense potential danger or threat. It is part of our natural survival mechanism, the fight, flight, freeze, friend, flop effect. However, we all react differently to levels of threat and danger.

For some it could be having to speak in public, for others it may be having to leave the house, because whatever the situation if we feel exposed and our sense of safety is reduced, it is the same surge of adrenaline that heightens our senses in order for us to survive. Anxiety is a very personal thing, something that causes me anxiety may not cause anxiety in you.

Our brain perceives the threat and instantly sends a message to our sympathetic nervous system– we don’t even have to think about it, that is how amazing our brain and body work in sync with each other. This automatically releases the surge of adrenaline we need to prepare us for survival - heart rate increases, shallow breath, gut becomes inactive, energy boost (shaky legs), pupils expand.

However, each time our bodies experience a flood of adrenaline, it needs time to return back to normal levels.

Natural ways to reduce anxiety

8 tips on what you can do to help relieve symptoms of anxiety

Depression – the dark that casts our joy into the shadows

‘’The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it.

It is the fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows’’

(Brenè Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection)

We all get down days - feeling grumpy, narky, irritable and they can last for a few days. Sometimes we know why, sometimes we just don’t, and that is ok, normal and healthy. Even though there is the expectation that life should always be happy and good. Goodness me aren’t we bombarded by those messages? Happiness is everywhere we look - TV, advertising, social media etc.

Natural ways to reduce depression

Some tips on natural ways to reduce depression.

Were you ever taught how to manage anger?

Anger is natural and it is a valid response to many situations, providing it does not hurt you or other people. In fact, it is one of the very first emotions we experience as young babies – yet, it is one of the last that we learn to handle effectively.

Managing anger

Some tips on managing anger....