Now and then, we all need a little help to get through the stresses and strains that life throws our way. Time and again we face disappointments, conflicts and losses, and we may feel confused or stressed in the midst of a transition in life, even a positive one like marriage or childbirth.

Often people manage to get over such awkward times with nothing more than a friend’s support or some timeout for distancing and reflecting. At other times you may feel that the events and your own emotions, thoughts and reactions are too intricate even for you to sort out, and you may seek professional psychological help in getting things back on track again.

Yet at other times, you may feel that things get such a hold of you, that you deem yourself helpless in navigating your way out of your emotional turmoil. People tell you to ‘snap out of it’, but you are just unable to shake it away. It is at these times that you are most vulnerable to experience full blown depression, rather than just transient low mood.

The following questions might aid you to determine whether you are suffering from depression or a depressive mood:

• Have you had intense feelings of sadness?
• Have you been caught up in endless negative thoughts about yourself, the world and the future?
• Do you feel more vulnerable than usual?
• Do you tend to overly criticize yourself or put yourself down?
• Are you brooding over all those “bad” things that you have done in life?
• Do you feel weak, unable to cope? And then – do you blame yourself for your weaknesses?
• Does the world seem unsafe, dangerous or strange?
• Have you had the experience of not ‘feeling at home’ in the world?
• Are you experiencing frightening loneliness, but yet unable to reach out for your closest family and friends?
• Are you unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

The following questions might aid you to determine whether you are suffering from anxiety or anxious mood:

• Have you been unable to stop worrying about things?
• Irritable or just unable to relax?
• Are you worried about your health even after your doctor gave you the “all clear’’?
• Have you been experiencing “strange“ physical sensations such as muscle tension, hot or cold sweats, heart racing, shortness of breath, numbness or tingling of your limbs and dizziness?
• Are you worried about your worries? Fearing that you are “going crazy”?
• Have you been trying to stay away from situations that may trigger your anxiety – such as going outside, working, catching up with your friends or family?

If you have answered positively to all or some of these questions, then it would be essential for you to seek professional counselling.    

As a mental health clinician and counsellor I help my clients work through a range of conditions, from a mild depressive, anxious or worried mood to a full blown depressive and anxiety disorders. Through a collaborative work, we aim to alleviate your depressed or anxious mood and the negative thoughts, so you can regain your motivation and ability to enjoy your life again. Overall, treatment is designed to restore your previous levels of functioning and to get back to your “familiar” sense of self and well-being.

I work from a private clinic so you can feel comfortable and at ease within a personal and confidential environment.

Please look at the information provided in this website and contact me. I can help.