What We Can Help With

About one in five adults will suffer from depression at some stage in their lives. There’s no one way of experiencing depression. Some people become intensely depressed for a relatively short period; others may be mildly depressed for a long time, even years.  Depression can be very debilitating and is recognised as the leading cause of disability in the world.  Depression may be triggered by a life event such as a bereavement, relationship problem or illness or it may appear to come out of the blue with no apparent cause. Symptoms of depression vary between individuals, but the defining feature is the presence of sad, empty or irritable mood, accompanied by other changes that significantly affect an individual’s ability to function normally.

Anxiety is a normal, if unpleasant, part of life, and it can affect people in different ways and at different times. There are several anxiety disorders that differ from one another in the types or situations that induce fear, anxiety or avoidance and associated anxious thoughts.  Some of the more common anxiety disorders are listed and described below:

Generalised anxiety disorder ((GAD): is the feeling of being anxious about almost everything and anything for no real apparent reason. Often, people affected by GAD will feel overly worried about a wide range of things relating to a variety of topics including health, money, work, school and relationships. GAD is therefore a condition leaves people feeling anxious about a multitude of things rather than any one specific thing.

Panic Disorder:  about 5% of the adult population will experience a panic attack at some point.  A panic attack is an overwhelming and acute sense of anxiety. They don’t always happen as a result of something happening around you – sometimes a panic attack will happen for, seemingly, no reason. During a panic attack, carrying on with normal tasks, such as driving or having a conversation are almost impossible. Panic disorder is when these attacks happen more often, and you find you are worrying about having another panic attack or it stops you from doing certain thing panic attack is an overwhelming and acute sense of anxiety.

Specific Phobia: a phobia is an irrational fear of an object/situation that would not normally trouble most people. As the name suggests, specific phobias are phobias that are about specific objects or situations. They can be quite distinct in nature and easily identified. For example, fear of spiders, fear of thunderstorms or fear of heights. Any phobia may produce a state of panic when the sufferer is confronted with the phobic object/situation.

There are two parts of this disorder to consider. The first is obsessions. These are repetitive, obtrusive, unwanted thoughts that are experienced and result in unreasonable fears and compulsions. Secondly, the compulsive element. These are rituals carried out in response to fears generated by obsessions.

The characteristic OCD condition is that of compulsive hand washing in response to an irrational fear of germs/contamination. In addition to the more classic forms of OCD there are several more specific variations including compulsive hoarding, compulsive skin picking (Excoriation) and compulsive hair pulling (Trichotillomania).

Those who experience an OCD disorder feel less anxious once they have carried out a compulsion. It is possible to experience obsessive thoughts only and not have the desire to carry out a compulsion. Examples of compulsions are excessive cleaning, counting, checking, measuring, and repeating tasks or actions.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder which may develop following exposure to events that involve actual or threatened death, or serious injury. The event may be witnessed rather than directly experienced, and even learning about it may be enough if the persons involved are family members or close friends.

Those living with PTSD may experience flashbacks, panic attacks and heightened awareness.

Complex PTSD can arise after exposure to a traumatising event that is of an extreme or prolonged nature and from which escape is difficult or impossible. The disorder is characterised by the core symptoms of PTSD as well as the development of persistent and pervasive impairments in affective, self and relational functioning, including difficulties in emotion regulation, beliefs about oneself as diminished, defeated and worthless, and difficulties in sustaining relationships.

Stress is a word that is often used to describe the feelings that people experience when the believe that they cannot cope with the demands made of them. Stress can be looked at in terms of external and internal stressors. External stressors are sources of stress that we are aware of around us, these can include traumas, life experiences or simply daily hassles. Internal stressors are the sources of stress that are inside us and are often the most common sources of stress. They are the thoughts and feelings that pop into your head and cause you to feel unease, these can include unrealistic expectations, uncertainties and low self- esteem. The term “Burnout” refers to…

An adjustment disorder is essentially a response to a stressful event such as divorce, illness
or problems at work and can involve a wide range of symptoms including depression and anxiety. Adjustment disorder is typically a short-term disorder, but it can persist in the presence of ongoing stress.

Coping with grief and loss can be very difficult. Bereavement refers specifically to the process of recovering from the death of a loved one, whilst grief is a reaction to any form of loss. Both encompass a range of feelings from deep sadness to anger. The process of adapting to a significant loss can vary from one person to another, depending on his or her background, beliefs, relationship to what was lost, and other factors.

Sleep problems are normal and usually temporary. They can result from stress or other outside factors. But if sleep problems are a regular occurrence and interfere with your daily life, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders and sleep disturbances comprise a broad range of problems, including sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, insomnia, jet-lag syndrome, and disturbed biological and circadian rhythms. Sleep disorders cause more than just sleepiness. The lack of quality sleep can have a negative impact on your energy, emotional balance, and health.

Whether in our personal or professional lives, we are all likely to experience difficulties in our relationships. Misunderstandings and disagreements can escalate into persistent feelings of tension and discontentment.

Sexual problems are common and can be highly disruptive and upsetting. Many of these problems are psychological rather than medical although symptoms can manifest physically. Problems can involve infidelity, pornography addiction, sexual avoidance or loss of sexual desire, anorgasmia (an inability to orgasm), painful intercourse (for example vaginismus), and erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. Some sexual difficulties can emerge in response to traumas such as sexual assault or rape, for many these problems emerge seemingly without cause.

Anger is an unavoidable and sometimes necessary part of life – it’s part of being human. However, excessive anger can harm your emotional, mental and physical health. Intense, frequent anger, experienced inwardly and/or expressed outwardly, is linked with poorer physical health such as heart disease. It can lead to poor decision-making, chronic risk-taking, addictions, and social isolation.

Eating disorders are a group of conditions characterised by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical health and emotional wellbeing. There are several different types of eating disorder: Binge Eating Disorder is characterised by overeating and people feel their eating is out of control and will feel disgusted, depressed, or guilty having overeaten. Compulsive Overeating: involves overeating food beyond a standard dietary requirement at various times throughout the day and evening. Overeating for long periods of time can lead to excessive weight gain and high levels of stress. Bulimia Nervosa is characterised by cycles of bingeing (overeating) and purging (ridding the body of the excess food usually by vomiting or laxatives) or by compensatory over-exercising. Anorexia Nervosa is characterised by an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat and a disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape. Weight is kept as low as possible, by strictly controlling and limiting food intake. what they eat. Orthorexia is an obsession with a “pure” diet, where it interferes with a person’s life and this typically becomes a way of life filled with chronic concern for the quality of food being consumed.