Live Life in the Moment, Not in your Head
Autumn Burnout: How High Performers Can Achieve Balance
Autumn is a season of change, and is often a time when the pace at work increases following a slower summer period of school holidays. For many high-performing professionals, this transition can lead to a sense of burnout as you transition out of the slower summer days and holiday mode to going back to all hands on deck in the run up to the Christmas period. The pressure to excel and meet year end deadlines, coupled with the change in weather can take its toll on your mental and physical health.
Read more: Autumn Burnout: How High Performers Can Achieve Balance instead of Stress
Why CBT Didn't Work For You Before: A Psychologist Explains
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has gained significant recognition as a scientifically supported talking therapy treatment for anxiety, trauma, and many other mental health conditions. However, the effectiveness of CBT hinges on appropriate specialist training, strong therapeutic skills, and most importantly, the quality of the therapeutic relationship. When done right, CBT can be a fantastic therapy option for individuals seeking to better cope with many forms of anxiety. Let's explore why CBT done right is crucial for achieving positive outcomes.
Read more: Why CBT Hasn't Worked For You: A Psychologist Explains
The Reassurance Trap: The Tricks OCD Plays on Us
You're out driving to work when you drive over a pothole. You feel the bump underneath the car as you drive over it. A moment later, as you continue driving, doubt creeps in and you have the horrifying thought of "what if I ran over someone?". You try to reason with this doubt for a few moments as you continue driving, but the worry grows louder, causing you to wonder if you have run over someone and missed it. You begin to imagine someone lying in the road, and have visions of the police knocking on your door to arrest you hours later. You are now feeling panicky, heart is pounding, palms are sweaty, and you are convinced that you have run someone over and are a horrible person.
You turn the car around and drive back to the scene, getting out of the car to carefully examine the road. Problem solved right? No! Because the more closely you examine the scene, the more you start to doubt your own perceptions. Highly anxious and panicked, you take a video of the road and send it on whats app to your spouse, who quickly reassures you that there is in fact only a pothole there. You breathe a sigh of relief, feeling calmer instantly, and get back in your car to continue driving to work.
If you have ever struggled with trusting your own judgement and felt plagued with doubt and anxiety in these types of situations, read on!
Chasing Dreams Without Burning Out: How Mindfulness Can Help with Anxiety and Stress
The hustle is real. In today's world, ambitious professionals are constantly pushing themselves to achieve bigger, bolder goals. But let's be honest, that relentless drive can take a toll. Anxiety creeps in, the to-do list becomes a monster, and before you know it, burnout is knocking on your door.
What if I told you there's a way to navigate the ambitious path without sacrificing your well-being and burning out? Enter mindfulness. It's not some woo-woo trend, but a powerful science backed practice that can transform how you approach your career and your life.
Read more: Chasing Dreams Without Burning Out: How Mindfulness Can Help with Anxiety and Stress
Do I Really Need a Psychologist for my Anxiety? How to Choose the Right Mental Health Professional
Hypnotherapist. Counsellor. Coach. Psychotherapist. Psychologist. And all the rest with different titles. It can be overwhelming to know who to choose to help you with your anxiety when there is so much choice. What is the difference anyway? And why should you choose a licensed psychologist when they charge higher fees? Therapy is expensive! Maybe a life coach or a parenting ‘expert’ would be better. Who qualifies these people as ‘experts’ anyway? It’s a sea of options, and when you are already feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, it can be even more anxiety inducing to try to sift through to find the right person. Keep reading to find out some top tips and reasons to help you decide!
A Psychologist Explains: How Menopause Can Trigger Anxiety & How CBT Can Help
Let's talk about menopause, a topic that often gets reduced to hot flashes and mood swings. But there's another unwelcome guest at the menopause party: anxiety. It's a sneaky one, showing up as racing heartbeats, intrusive thoughts, and that general feeling of being on edge. And guess what? You're not alone. Anxiety during menopause is incredibly common, but unfortunately not well acknowledged by many doctors. If you’re tired of being fobbed off by your GP about all the ways menopause may be affecting your mental health, then keep reading!
Read more: A Psychologist Explains: How Menopause Can Trigger Anxiety & How CBT Can Help
Future Forecast: Cloudy with a Chance of Panic Attacks
The future. That vast, swirling vortex of possibilities that can feel both exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. For me, it often leans more towards the terrifying. My mind, a master of catastrophic thinking, paints vivid pictures of everything that could go wrong, from blanking out or stumbling through that upcoming presentation at work or being that socially awkward parent at the school gates who can’t blend in with the school mum brigade. Whatever horror movie I am playing out in my head, it’s enough to make me feel paralysed with stress and worry.
Read more: Future Forecast: Cloudy with a Chance of Panic Attacks
Conquering The Couch: How To Make The Most Of Your Therapy Session
Therapy can be an incredibly valuable tool for anyone seeking to improve their mental health, navigate challenging life situations, or simply gain a deeper understanding of themselves. But how do you ensure you're getting the most out of your therapy sessions given the financial and time investment you put in? Keep reading for some tips to guide you on maximising your therapy sessions as a busy, high achieving professional:
Read more: Conquering the Couch: How TO Make The Most Of Your Therapy Session
Coping with Anxiety and the Festive Season
Every year, my children’s school goes manic with Christmas activities in the last two weeks of the term. With separate events for infants and juniors, it feels like I need a full time personal assistant to keep me up to speed. With nativities, Christmas concerts, Christmas lunches, packed lunches, trips to the pantomime, non uniform days, donation days, I feel frazzled in the run up to Christmas, constantly trying to play catch up and not forget a donation or a packed lunch along the way! Then there’s the work and family parties and events- how does one stay sane, never mind ENJOY this time of year? Keep reading to find out my top tips on how I am coping with my anxiety leading up to Christmas.
Staying Busy Won't Make Trauma Go Away
Taking on more projects at work. Booking up your social calendar. Time heals all wounds. Soon this will just be a distant memory. Do you find yourself coping with traumatic experiences by staying busy and distracted? If you’ve been burning yourself out trying to do this, keep reading to find out why time and distraction don’t work when it comes to healing from traumatic experiences.
How Trauma Affects your Health: A Therapist Explains
And then it clicked. Why my successful, career driven, Oxbridge educated client's PTSD symptoms were not impacting on her day to day life. She was ticking all the boxes and acknowledging the presence of current trauma symptoms, all while living life without any apparent distress or impairment to her emotional coping. But suddenly, there it was. She had come to me because her consultant had recommended therapy to help her manage flare ups of her IBD and skin conditions to complement her medical treatment. Now it was all making sense. Perhaps her trauma symptoms were wreaking havoc on her physical health instead. To find out more about how trauma can show up in the body, keep reading...
Read more: How Trauma Affects your Health: A Therapist Explains
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“Emotions were validated and listened to. Having another perspective was really useful for me. Aneesa listened and prompted questions- although uncomfortable- that made me stop and re think and gave me more insight. I hope you realise how much progress I made with your help”
“Of all the different therapy services I have tried through my GP or work, working with Aneesa has singularly been the most beneficial in helping me to recover”
“I am no longer at the mercy of my anxiety and have learnt techniques to control my stress levels at work. I have told all my junior doctor colleagues about the service”
