Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

  WHAT IS TRAUMA? 'Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences' (Karen Onderko).   Emotional and psychological trauma can result from a single event/incident or multiple events/incidents that cause a huge amount of stress in the body and that may compromise our sense of safety or security.   People often think it's only the 'big things' or really 'serious' incidents that cause trauma, however, that's not true. We often experience what we call small 't's' that, if they have specific meaning/significance to us, or occur alongside an accummulation of other small 't's', can result in a traumatic experience.   It's really important to dispel this myth because many people don't seek support because they think or feel that the ...

DEVELOP YOUR ASSERTIVENESS AND SELF-COMPASSION SKILLS     * Are you sick of being taken advantage of at work, by family or in relationships? * Always find putting others before yourself? * Ever feel stressed and exhausted at the end of the week because your are meeting everyone else's need, but no-one meets yours? *Maybe you can't say 'no' and end up doing things or going places you either don't want to go to or have no time for. * Perhaps you don't have a lot of confidence or worry that if you don't go along with what others are doing/saying, they will think badly of you or criticise you. What stops you being more assertive? What stops you having more confidence or feeling more positive about yourself? Not being assertive can led to low self-esteem, lack of confidence, stress, anxiety and difficulties with relationships. We can also often feel drained and taken advantage of when we just go along with others and don't stand up for ourselves or our needs ...