COUNSELLING
Finding Your Next Steps
Meeting Life's Difficulties
Whether life has changed unexpectedly or problems have a accumulated to a point that's no longer tolerable, very often we don't know how best to meet these difficulties, to find a way forward.
Family and friends can be tremendously supportive when the going gets tough though mostly they can take us only so far.
That's where counselling might come in for us.
​
When We Can't Find the Answers
If you're feeling confused, overwhelmed, lost or conflicted and are finding it impossible to find your way forward right now, please take a few moments to read on.
When we lose our sense of who we are, we can lose our ability to accurately judge and value situations, assert our needs, thus our capacity to create the life we want can become compromised. At such times we can feel stuck, frustrated, hopeless.
When we feel we should have the answers yet can't find them, this in turn can leave us feeling as if we're lacking or as if we've failed in some way. Neither way of looking at ourselves is the truth of the matter, and aren't remotely useful. Indeed, such harsh perspectives on ourself might only add to our struggle.
So, can I put it this way? If you'd broken a bone, small or large, would you attempt to set it and nurture it back to health yourself? Would you entrust the process to well-meaning family or friends?
What to Expect from Counselling
Counselling provides the opportunity to talk as freely as you're able about what is troubling you. It is a safe, warm and non-judgemental space in which you'll feel supported to explore your difficulties, at your own pace, taking the directional cues you feel you need to at any given time. Within your exploration, a sense of clarity can emerge, providing the answers and understanding that are needed to clear the way (back) to a life that is authentic and meaningful to you, and in which you gain a deeper sense of value in yourself.
The Importance of Our Mental Health
I believe that the quality of our individual mental health is, right there along with the quality of our physical health, directly connected to the very quality of our life experience, and when the quality of either is compromised we not only open ourselves to difficulties but also begin to relinquish our inherent potential for creating the life we would choose for ourself.
When we're lost to ourselves and struggling, a paradox often presents itself in that it becomes difficult to justify coming to counselling if we're feeling little value or validation in ourself.
At such a time, I can only encourage you to take the time to consider how you would like your life to look, who you'd like to be as a person and how you'd like to influence those close to you.
As a counsellor, holding out for the possibilities you might come to hold for yourself as a unique and meaningful individual in the world is simply inherent in the way I work.
"You have to do this yourself, but you don't have to do it on your own. Anon