Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

  We all need someone to talk to sometimes.... don't we?   Talking to others about our problems, concerns, thoughts, feelings or about whatever is going on for us in life can be tricky at times. It can be hard to open up and have time to focus on ourselves. However, your mental and emotional health is sooooooo important and deserves the same care as your physical health.   Sometimes we all need someone to talk to - about the big and the smaller things in life.   Perhaps you need a listening ear and someone to talk to about life's struggles and stresses. Or perhaps you experience low mood, depression, anxiety, problems with food/eating, OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, self-harm etc. and other mental health issues.   Or perhaps you need some support with increasing confidence, self-esteem, relationship issues, assertiveness, stress and more.   Whatever the case may be, our experienced and qualified psychotherapists and counsellors can offer support and a listening ear through psyc

Do you know that it's Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 and the focus this year is on anxiety? If you're curious to know more about Generalised Anxiety, in particular read on....................... What is Generalised Anxiety Disorder? We all experience anxious periods now and again. Some anxiety, worry and/or nervousness is ‘normal’ and can even act as a motivator sometimes (e.g. deadlines at work). However, when we begin experiencing excessive, continuous and/or distressing levels of constant anxiety worry and/or nervousness, it is possible that we may be experiencing a condition called Generalised Anxiety Disorder or GAD. What distinguishes GAD from ‘normal’ everyday levels of anxiety or worry? Well, individual’s experiencing problematic, and often severe, anxiety can experience high levels of stress, nervousness and anxiety and worry about a wide range of things over a long period of time. Anxiety symptoms can be persistent, continuous, and pervasive and affect many areas o

'The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change''.   Do we really want to change our thoughts, behaviours, actions, feelings, habits, way of life? Do we feel ready for change and progress?   Change is a big deal and important when seeking help, support, psychotherapy or counselling. Sometime we really want things to change, but don't know how this can be possible. We may also feel that we are faced with barriers, obstacles or limitations.   Do you want to change but feel there are obstacles? How can we overcome these? What support can we get to help with this? What are the reasons for wanting to change? How can we bring about change?   Someone asked us recently what 'recovery' was. Recovery involves change and making progress, but it looks different to everyone. It's a tricky question to answer because what 'recovery' means to one person might mean something else to another. And, of course, what recovery means to us can

SELF-HELP ACTIVITY FOR YOU TO TRY   Reducing Worry and Anxiety with a ‘Worry Script’   Many people spend hours each day trying to avoid worrying about things that upset them. People distract themselves by watching TV, focusing on a new worry to avoid thinking about an old one, or even self-medicating with drinking, drugs, or over/under-eating. None of these things help reduce worrying.   In fact, most people find that the harder they try and avoid the thoughts that make them anxious, the worse they get. Trying to push something out of your mind is a little like trying to push a beach ball under water: it takes a lot of work to keep it down, and the minute you let it go, it pops right back up again.   Rather than putting all of your energy into avoiding upsetting thoughts and images, you can instead face your fears, and writing worry scripts is one way to help you do this.   By writing a worry script about your biggest worry, you will be facing your negative thoughts and upsetting feeli