about Depression & Anxiety
There are many different types of depression but common to each of them is a persistent low mood, which affects day to day life. In it's mildest form it can give you a sense of being "down", making you feel tired and lethargic, and a feeling that life lacks a sense of meaning or purpose. It can steal your confidence and self-esteem, cause your emotions to become less stable, and lead you to become isolated from your family and friends. In its more severe forms, depression can make you begin to feel hopeless, that you cannot take any joy in life and like the experience will never end.
Anxiety is a condition in which we feel in a constant state of worry, fear or tension, often about what may happen in the future. A certain amount of anxiety in our lives is in fact a very natural biological response to danger or threat, which is often referred to as our Fight or Flight response. This is the mechanism that increases our heart rate, pumps more blood to our muscles, makes our breathing become shallow, and focusses our attention on what we perceive as the immediate threat. Anxiety becomes a mental health concern when it begins to interfere with your ability to live your life to it's full potential such as being able to enter public spaces, being able to engage with people, or being able to focus on something free of recurring negative thoughts.
The truth is, not all cases of depression and anxiety are biological where chemicals in the brain get out of balance, nor are they genetically inherited and this is where I can help you. The belief in biological and genetic causes of depression and anxiety are somewhat outdated disempowering understandings. It's also not necessary to analyse your childhood or recent past in order to create change through coaching. Think of it this way. If you're driving somewhere and you get lost, you don't need to understand why or how you got lost. Instead you need to understand where you are, plan a new route towards your destination and then set out in the right direction.
There are many ways in which I help improve your mental wellbeing through coaching such as making lifestyle changes, addressing unhelpful thought patterns and beliefs, removing negative self-talk, developing an understanding of what your core values are, and helping you live a life in which you pursue fulfilling goals in alignment with your own core values. In doing so, you'll not only overcome your symptoms, but you'll be creating the kind of life that keeps you feeling a sense of purpose, meaning and wellbeing for the long term.
