The Mystery of Misery

At least one person in six in countries such as Britain or the United States will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some time in their lives; some studies suggest figures as high as one in four. These figures include people suffering a vast range of crippling experiences—depression, anorexia, phobia, panic attacks and the like. 

But what matters more than these figures are the complicated feelings going on in you. Are there therapies which can really change the way you feel? There is no such thing is certainty, but the probability is that counselling will help. 

All talking therapies including counselling share a very important element—they give the sufferer a chance to talk about her own experiences. At last someone else might be able to hear what is going inside your head! But there’s a problem …

Do you or your counsellor understand what many experience as very complex feelings? 

Sometimes the process of counselling can be like a murder mystery. Both counsellor and client follow up clues in your past, connections between what’s happening in the present and what happened in the past. The client usually takes the role of Sherlock and the counsellor will follow a train of thought like Watson, asking the client if she can shed light the features of her life that she finds most puzzling and difficult. Mostly there’s no murder but there is lots of mystery, clues, hints, red herrings and sub-plots. Counselling can help you find a path through the labyrinth of your suffering. Occasionally, like murder mysteries, it can be not just challenging, painful and difficult but also fun!