Practical and Compassionate Help.
We all can experience many different problems for many different reasons. Oftentimes mental and emotional issues involve some form of anxiety, depression, trauma or, stress. Here is some brief ideas of how therapy can help and what life may look like on the other side.
Anxiety
It can be an intense fear, or a chronic nagging feeling. Anxiety is something we all face, but when it leads to damaged relationships, problems at work or school, or not even wanting to go outside, then we know its more than just nerves. Its starting to effect our lives and our health.
Treatments
Learn to regulate worry and distress.
Find balance in your daily life.
Practice relaxation techniques
Improve present-moment awareness
Take effective action
Move closer to your values
The other Side
Freedom from overwhelming and disabling distress. Structure and stability for a better night’s sleep. Wisdom to know how to manage tough times. Clarity of mind to make tough decisions.
Depression
Whether it’s a nagging feeling of sadness, or a more crippling bout of fatigue and hopelessness, depression can take over and define our lives. Depression also can be linked to other mental illness making us feel incapable of change. Struggling with depression can feel like playing tug-of-war against a brick wall.
Treatments
How to win tug-a-war against a brick wall? Let go of the rope. Its a simple paradox that can have profound effects. Treating depression can mean learning to recognize the difference between a thought as an idea, versus a command. That way you can get your thoughts (and your mood) to listen to you, and not the other way around.
The other side
Overcoming depression means having an increased sense of self-efficacy. Understanding that pain can be managed through effective coping strategies and through a renewed sense of self-acceptance. You will be more flexible with your mood, and more flexible with your thinking too.
Trauma
Sudden and shocking events, or the result of abusive relationships or dysfunctional homes. Our memory system can get disrupted, and our body can start to react to normal non threatening situations with fear, anger, and aggression. In short, we can become conditioned to think the world is unsafe.
Treatments
Treatment involves a gentle and compassionate process where you learn to increase experiences of safety, self-efficacy, and power. Skills training for managing mood disruptions. Relaxation training for improving peace between body and mind. Helping the body learn to feel safe again.
The other side
Trauma recovery involves a renewed sense of power and safety. It also means knowing that you are more than your pain. Your brain has processed problem memories in a healthy, integrative way, and your mind has room for thoughts more conducive to a gentle sense of peace and satisfaction.
Stress
Modern living requires managing multiple streams of information, balancing a busy schedule and trying to focus through a nearly constant barrage of distractions. Stress is the inevitable result of living and oftentimes trying to avoid it, ironically, makes us feel even more stressed-out.
Treatments
Effective stress management involves looking at the ways in which your body and mind work to alert you to potential problems and dangers. Sometimes these responses are helpful, other times they drain your energy to deal with real problems. Therapy can help you, and your mind, to know the difference.
The other side
The day to day carries on, but you are more effective at doing what matters most to you. Perhaps you’re no longer snapping at coworkers. Perhaps your relationship is richer and more rewarding even with all of the chores, tasks, and emails to do. Managing stress can mean the difference between just getting through the day and looking forward to the next day.