Counselling Twickenham

27/02/2023

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/reducing-anxiety-how-to-feel-safe?

How to be Safe

This article is about the small adjustments you can make everyday to reduce a constant flow of stress and anxiety. It's one thing learning to be alert and responsive to problems; and quite another learning how to find safety in a world of overwhelming stimulation. Put aside time everyday to decompress, rest and revitalise. "Heal thyself..."

Gregori Savva explains the concept of the singularity of focus and how it can help reduce anxiety.

17/04/2020

The current pandemic we are all experiencing will be provoking different emotional and survival responses for different people. Fear and anxiety are natural responses at a time like this, but fighting your anxiety may only send you into further turmoil. It is helpful to be able to let go of your fears and discharge your stress hormones, at least some of the time. It is possible to find a balance between the ebb and flow of your fears and the more restorative moments of quiet, stillness and peace. Not perfect calm, but a moment to pause and to breathe.

For this, you will need to find a uniquely personal way to deal with your anxieties, and take ownership of how you experiment and adapt to a way that suits you. Address your body, not just the mind, and you may start to regulate the unconscious triggers that affect you.

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/i-need-to-feel-safe

The current pandemic we are all experiencing will be provoking different emotional...

03/04/2020

Right now, the world really is in a state of alarm. It’s not all in your head, but you do have some choice over how you respond to the crisis. Proportionately, or otherwise.
You may feel like you’re spinning out of control – with hair-trigger emotions, body-checking for symptoms, or erratic trains of thought. You may also swing from hyper-alert states, to emotional paralysis. The more your thoughts obsess over events, the more impulsive your behaviours become.
You may feel completely mad, but you are not alone. Whatever people tell you; however calm they may look on the outside, they are going through their own process of anxiety, or distress. Some are better at hiding it than others, even from themselves. Some genuinely are more equipped to cope, but they are still going through it...

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/trapped-inside-my-head

Right now, the world really is in a state of alarm. It’s not all in your head,...

08/03/2020

This is my new article on how anxiety, depression and traumas can lead you to feeling cut off from your emotions - or dissociative states.

Being cut off from your emotions can have a devastating impact on your personal life...

23/01/2020

Driving me crazy

When you are confused, distressed, and driven to distraction, it's easy to imagine there's no way out. And although there's no such thing as crazy, it is often an immediate way of characterising how you feel. Anxiety and depression can be overwhelming. It can feel like a very desperate and lonely place to be.

When you are confused, distressed, and driven to distraction, it's easy to imagine...

14/09/2019

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/vulnerability-is-not-a-weakness

Counsellors often meet people in private practice in a state of crisis. They may come for help with anxiety, grief, or because they are struggling in broken relationships, and even while they are reaching out most people experience some doubt as to whether counselling will help.

I decided to write this article to help people like yourself: to reassure you that you do not have to have all the answers, and that weakness isn’t the same thing as vulnerability.

As human beings, we are all fragile creatures, beset with anxieties and self-doubts. Even if your family and friends don’t show it, they have their moments of crisis, and so do counsellors.

Counsellors often meet people in private practice in a state of crisis. They may come for help with anxiety, grief, or because they are struggling in broken relationships, and even while they are reac...

29/07/2019

We’ve all been there. In that moment of blind panic - your heart pounding; shortness of breath; intense and overwhelming feelings of fear for no apparent reason, quickly followed by an endless cycle of ruminating thoughts and catastrophic worrying. Then, avoiding everything at all costs - fighting only with yourself.

But is it normal? And is there something you can do about it?

The short answer is yes, but it’s a learning process and you have to remain engaged throughout. Continuous practice is vital, even when you’re not anxious. Learning to self-regulate emotions on 'training-day' is always better than haphazard interventions on 'match-day'.

We’ve all been there. In that moment of blind panic - your heart pounding; shortness of breath; intense and overwhelming feelings of fear for no apparent reason, quickly followed by an endless c...

29/07/2019

We’ve all been there. In that moment of blind panic - your heart pounding; shortness of breath; intense and overwhelming feelings of fear for no apparent reason, quickly followed by an endless cycle of ruminating thoughts and catastrophic worrying. Then, avoiding everything at all costs - fighting only with yourself.

But is it normal? And is there something you can do about it?

The short answer is yes, but it’s a learning process and you have to remain engaged throughout. Continuous practice is vital, even when you’re not anxious. Learning to self-regulate emotions on 'training-day' is always better than haphazard interventions on 'match-day'.

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/blind-panic-and-anxiety-spikes

29/07/2019

We’ve all been there. In that moment of blind panic - your heart pounding; shortness of breath; intense and overwhelming feelings of fear for no apparent reason, quickly followed by an endless cycle of ruminating thoughts and catastrophic worrying. Then, avoiding everything at all costs - fighting only with yourself.

But is it normal? And is there something you can do about it?

The short answer is yes, but it’s a learning process and you have to remain engaged throughout. Continuous practice is vital, even when you’re not anxious. Learning to self-regulate emotions on 'training-day' is always better than haphazard interventions on 'match-day'.

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/blind-panic-and-anxiety-spikes

04/01/2019

Fear… we all feel it. A sudden startle in response to a perceived threat, a shortness of breath and chest constriction as your heart quickens pace. An unshakeable feeling of dread, then excessive worrying triggered by an unstoppable train of thoughts. Or occasionally, even a full-blown panic attack.
Fear is the biology of survival. It’s the primitive brain’s internal alarm system - alerting us to danger and triggering a ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response. While your amygdala sounds the alarm in your brain, a cascade of stress hormones like cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenalin are released into the body. This causes massive changes to your metabolic rate – as your heart-rate, breathing and blood sugar levels go up, priming you for action.

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/fear-1