Latest articles on counselling and therapy

With the excitement of Christmas and the New Year dwindling, you can find your depression creeping back up on you again. January only brings the reality of work and life, making it harder to overcome the negative thoughts that dominate your mind and make daily life a struggle. You may feel like there is nothing you can do but go along with the ride that leaves you exhausted and drained of positive emotions. But you are wrong. By seeking counselling for depression, you can open up about your...

Anxiety and depression and the quest for happiness Posted on social media alongside a picture of a smiling person, possibly at the top of a mountain or surfing at the beach, you might come across the phrase 'living my best life!', possibly accompanied by a hashtag. You'll probably find yourself searching your inner photo album to see if YOUR life qualifies for such a hashtag. The thought is terrifying - what if you're NOT living your best life?! For some people, the sense of not being able to...

This hauntingly beautiful song by the Pogues has been my favourite Christmas song ever since I first heard it. I love it for many reasons, including its engagement of the darker side of Christmas and the pain and sorrow many people feel at this time of year. The song begins on “Christmas Eve, in the drunk-tank”. A man is under arrest (presumably for being drunk and disorderly). An older man says he won’t see another Christmas and sings “The Rare old Mountain Dew”....

Suicide is more commonplace at Christmas - that seems like a true statement. In fact, it isn't. Christmas does magnify loneliness, but thankfully there are many services offering crisis-care at Christmas that aren't there at other times of the year. So while people may feel lower at Christmas, they have somewhere to turn. This begs the question - why aren't those services there throughout the year? Well, some are - the Samaritans for example - but we tend not to see the problems around us when...

"November has tied me to an old dead tree... get word to April to rescue me," sang Tom Waits on his 1993 song, "November". Perhaps you can empathise. If so, you're not alone. Many feel low at this time of year. Days are shorter, darker, colder. Summer is long gone but spring seems lightyears away. Christmas may feel far off, for those who enjoy it, or perhaps it is already uncomfortably close. The shops are full of it, the days are ticking by and you are filled with a sense of dread at the...

The NHS (NHS.uk) recommends and prescribes exercise as a treatment for depression and anxiety, as the evidence grows for its effectiveness in the treatment of these conditions. People who exercise regularly (30 minutes of rigorous – heart rate increasing – exercise, three times per week is the recommended minimum) tend to not just be fitter and healthier but happier than similar groups of people who don’t exercise. I attend an outdoor fitness class and running and exercising...

We live in a consumerist society and constantly have to make decisions around budgeting and where to best direct our money. Coming up to Christmas can be an especially stressful time where many can feel obliged to take part in exchanging gifts with friends or co-workers as well as family members. Those of us that are also parents have the additional pressure of having to negotiate the demands of children that are often whipped into a frenzy by ever-increasing adverts for new and expensive...

Oh to feel chilled and not anxious, exhausted and overwhelmed. When the nights draw in and we turn our attention to the festive season feelings are mixed. We all wish for a relaxing end of the year when family and friends gather together and there is goodwill for all. The reality can be somewhat different.  The end of the year marks a significant point in our lives. It's a reflective moment when we look back on the previous year and look forward to the year ahead. Many of us do a mental...

It's at this time of year that many people can experience an unexplained drop in mood, energy and optimism. We don't really know if it's to do with falling light levels and the harsher weather but it seems likely that, as animals, we are deeply connected to these seasonal changes and what they mean. As the coming winter reminds us, on a deeply primitive level, of our vulnerability to elemental forces, unconscious anxieties about our own mortality are inevitably triggered, with questions about...