Carmen Cares Counselling

31/10/2025

On Anxiety

Anxiety is your body’s alarm system — but sometimes the volume is too high.
Anxiety isn’t weakness — it’s your nervous system working overtime to protect you. The problem is when the alarm rings too loudly or too often. Therapy teaches skills to lower the volume: grounding exercises, reframing thoughts, and calming the body. The goal isn’t to silence anxiety completely, but to live with it in a way that no longer controls you.

“He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.” — Seneca

22/10/2025

People pleasing can trigger an autoimmune condition by causing chronic psychological stress, which leads to inflammation and immune system dysregulation.

To elaborate, chronic people-pleasing creates long-term psychological stress through a consistent pattern behavior:

📑Emotional repression: Repressing emotions like anger, frustration, and sadness to keep others happy increases internal stress.

📑Neglect of self: Prioritizing others’ needs over your own well-being leads to burnout, exhaustion, and chronic anxiety.

📑Lack of boundaries: The inability to say “no” or set limits leads to overcommitment and resentment.

📑Fear of rejection: A constant need for external validation and the anxiety of disappointing others adds to the persistent psychological pressure.

This chronic state of stress disrupts the immune system’s delicate balance through several physiological pathways:

📑Hormonal imbalance: The body’s fight or flight response releases high levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. While acute boosts can be helpful, chronic elevation impairs the immune system’s regulation.

📑Inflammation: Prolonged stress leads to a state of chronic inflammation. This happens when the immune system’s response to cortisol becomes blunted, leaving fewer anti-inflammatory effects to balance the inflammatory responses.

📑Immune dysfunction: Over time, the immune system becomes dysregulated and “confused”. Instead of fighting external threats, it begins to attack the body’s own healthy tissues, which is the hallmark of an autoimmune disease.

SOURCE: https://www.mssupportfoundation.org/chronic-stress-and-autoimmune-diseases/

See also PMID: 32983091

21/10/2025

Emotions are the body’s instant reactions; feelings are the mind’s reflection of those reactions.

Emotions happen to us — feelings are how we understand them.

06/10/2025

Boundaries 🙂

“Saying no is not rejection. It’s protection.”
Boundaries are not walls to shut people out but fences that protect energy, time, and dignity. Without them, resentment builds; with them, relationships grow from respect. Therapy often helps uncover where boundaries are missing and teaches how to set them with clarity and kindness. Each “no” creates space for a deeper “yes” to the things that truly matter.

“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” — Brené Brown

03/10/2025

SELF - COMPASSION 😊

“Talk to yourself as you would to a friend who is struggling.”

We often extend kindness to others while being our own harshest critics. Self-compassion isn’t indulgence — it’s a skill that fosters resilience. In therapy, many discover the power of replacing inner judgment with gentle encouragement. If a friend wouldn’t deserve cruel words, neither do you. Treat yourself as someone worth protecting, because you are.

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.” — Marcus Aurelius

19/07/2022

https://theoverwhelmedbrain.com/triggers/

Emotional triggers cause pain for both the person having them, and others around them. Relationships can get ruined. Learn to release your emotional triggers

24/06/2022

19/06/2022

Pay no attention to toxic words. What people say is often a reflection of themselves, not you. Distant yourself from these people, and you'll be better off.

18/04/2022

20/03/2022

“It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings.” ~Dale Carnegie
We’ve all felt like we’re drowning in mud.
You feel stuck, worthless, and confused.
You want to move. You should. You have to. But you can’t.
And then it evolves into anxiety, fear, and overwhelm.
But what if _ just what if _being stuck ISN'T THE PROBLEM, but HOW WE PERCEIVE IT?

19/03/2022

"You're going to pay a price for every bloody thing you do and everything you don't do. You don't get to choose to not pay a price. You get to choose which poison you're going to take. That's it."

Jordan B. Peterson