When to Consider Professional Help

Stress & Anxiety

Stress

Everyone experiences stress, like feeling frantic when there is too much to do. Stress becomes a serious problem when people feel frazzled most of the time and they cannot enjoy life. For example, if they are frequently too worried, or lose sleep over their problems.

Anxiety

Anxiety is similar to stress, but it is more severe and complex.  The dictionary definition of anxiety is "distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune."

Anxiety can have deeper causes, such as unresolved personal issues.   Anxiety can range from feeling a constant unease to overwhelming terror.  Some people with anxiety experience panic attacks where they feel physical sensations such as rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, shaking, sweating, and lightheadedness. They have gone to the emergency room and have been told, "There is nothing wrong with you physically".  This is a relief on one hand, but it often leaves the panic attack sufferer even more confused.  Panic attacks are quite common, and counselling can give you the tools to help you cope with them and find the underlying causes. 

Depression

Everyone has days that they feel down. It is common to feel sad, especially if something bad happens or after experiencing a loss. Often, people can cheer themselves up, possibly with help from friends and family.  For people who cannot work through their loss, sadness can lead to depression. You may have depression if you have lost hope, have difficulty accomplishing daily tasks, do not feel joy or satisfaction, or feel "dead" inside (the world looks grey).  Counselling and Therapy can help people understand their depression and give them tools to overcome it.

People who feel in danger of suicide should contact the Emergency Mental Health team

Self Esteem

Most people sometimes experience self-doubt and wonder, “Am I good enough?” or feel embarrassed or not as good about themselves when they do not succeed at things they try to do. When people feel this way nearly all the time, they feel they are “useless”, do not like themselves overall, and cannot feel pride even when they succeed. Then low self-esteem robs them of the full enjoyment of life and is a more serious problem. People with low self-esteem take setbacks harder than people who do not because they blame themselves. People with chronic low self-esteem can make major improvements in their lives through counselling.

Family and relationship issues

Couples: Most people have times when they do not get on with their partners or other members of their families. Often, they work out their differences by themselves. If you and your partner are constantly arguing or continually unhappy, this is a bigger problem. Counselling could help.

Relationship break-ups: Very few people find relationship break-ups easy. Most people lose self-confidence and wonder if they will ever find anyone else. However, if you are not recovering from the break-up as you feel you should. then seeing a counsellor could help.

Parenting issues: Many parents have bad patches with their kids. However, it is detrimental to your family if you cannot enjoy their company, are frequently angry with them, or cannot control your outbursts. Counselling can help you improve your relationship with your children. 

Career and life goals

Many people find it hard to set and achieve career and life goals. Career counselling can help if you want more direction, motivation and confidence to meet your goals.  Many people working long hours or under work conditions that make it very difficult to achieve their work goals can suffer from Burnout.  Counselling can help people identify, address and recover from Burnout.

Postnatal depression

Most mothers find looking after babies and small children tiring, and they have days where it can be frustrating. Many new mums find it hard to get used to this new role, particularly if they had a lifestyle change from full-time work (8/5) to full-time parenting (24/7).  However, you may have post-natal depression if you regularly feel overwhelmed, your self-esteem has dropped, or worry excessively.

Healthy weight counselling

People commonly worry about their weight. However, if you are medically overweight and overeat for emotional reasons, then counselling can help. Healthy Weight Counselling uses a holistic approach to weight loss and helps people identify triggers for overeating and how to use more effective ways to cope with the triggers.