Dealing with mental health issues doesn’t mean you have some terrible disorder. Many people who have mental health issues consider their signs and symptoms a normal part of life or avoid treatment out of shame or fear. With the help of a professional psychotherapist, a person can begin to live a more fulfilling life and experience emotional well-being resulting in a balanced lifestyle.
What causes mental health issues?
There’s no one single variable that causes mental health issues. It can come from:
- Your biology and genes
- Family history of anxiety and depression
- Learned behaviours in childhood
- Poor communication skills with significant others
- Low self-esteem/lack of confidence
- Losing a loved one
- Death in the family
- Stressful situations like losing your job, money worries or interpersonal relationship problems
- Physical health problems
There are many benefits from seeking psychotherapeutic help. All of the above issues are treatable. So many of my clients go from feeling disillusioned and stuck to finding hope again.
Reactive depression
Unlike clinical depression that is pervasive and has a genetic inheritance. Reactive depression is caused by certain stressful situations. If left unchecked, it can culminate into long periods of feeling low without hope of change. The good news is psychotherapy in Hertfordshire will equip you with the tools and mindset to break free of hopelessness by:
- Challenging those negative thought patterns that feed into sadness
- Making lifestyle changes like better sleep, nutrition and exercise
- Identifying your individual needs and getting them met
- Processing past traumatic experiences that could be playing a role
Reactive depression is treatable! With the right professional psychotherapeutic support, you can get to a better place.
Generalised Anxiety (GAD)
We all have the propensity for anxiety. It’s the mind’s protective alert system should we find ourselves in a dangerous situation. But modern society has become very stressful for many different reasons. As such, our ‘fight flight’ system is on constant alert. Flooding our bodies with the stress hormone called cortisol. If left untreated by a professional psychotherapist, anxiety can take control of your day-to-day life. It can manifest in:
- Constantly thinking “what if…” and expecting the worst
- Having obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviours you can’t control
- Psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, bodily sensations that are otherwise unexplainable
- Panic attacks: shortness of breath, tightness in your chest and dizziness
- Avoidant behaviours of people and places
- Lack of confidence and general vigour for life
- Procrastination/perfectionism
Living with generalised anxiety is draining on a daily basis. It can feel like a loudspeaker drowning everything else out. My integrative psychotherapy approach can help you break free from your anxieties and get them under control.
ADHD
It is generally accepted that ADHD can create interpersonal relationship problems as well as day to day issues such as running a household, organising finances and self-esteem issues to name but a few. If you are neurodivergent or your partner and/or children are neurodivergent. I have had first-hand experience with ADHD, having brought up two older children with ADHD and ADD/ASD. Day to day disorganisation and communication problems can lead to emotional overwhelm that can be better handled with professional psychotherapeutic guidance and support.
Relationship Issues
When relationships are strained, we often feel:
- Conflict, resentment, a lack of trust towards one another and bad communication
- Lonely and misunderstood
- Questioning if you should stay together or break up
Psychotherapy in Hertfordshire gets to the root of those issues. It can help you to identify the root cause of your problems and equip you with the skills to improve how you relate to yourself and others.
Contact me now to make a positive difference to your life!
