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Do you feel anxious, emotionally empty or that your emotions are overwhelming you?
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Have you lost the feeling that you know who you really are?
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Is it difficult to be kind to yourself?
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Perhaps you have the feeling of not being 'enough' or are you struggling to find enjoyment in life?
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Do you hate to let anyone down or say 'yes' even when you are already completely overwhelmed?
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Can you say how you really feel in your relationships or do you go along with what others want and then feel resentful?
Have you ever wondered why you feel this way and wish it was different?
If you are thinking "that's just like me" then I can help you.
I work with people who have Childhood Emotional Neglect or CEN (but often are not aware of it) the symptoms of which are as follows:
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Feeling empty or disconnected
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Feel highly anxious and/or depressed
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Have a fear of abandonment
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Feel everyone is cross or upset with you
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Can't ask for help
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Have difficulty trusting
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Struggle with perfectionism
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Blame or shame yourself
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Like to please everyone (but in doing so can feel resentful)
CEN is often about what we 'didn't' get and the symptoms are more easily recognised than the cause. If this is you then I can help.
Anxiety is our body telling us there is something wrong, but we often want to push it down or away instead of paying attention to it. Pushing it away makes it louder so we get in to a cycle of painful feelings and our nervous system becomes dysregulated. Sometimes the 'something wrong' isn't obvious to us, which makes it even harder to understand ourselves and can lead to hating not just the feeling but ourselves at the same time.
Emotional difficulties can be caused by situations or changes in our life that are happening now but often they are also related to our childhood experiences. We can get stuck in emotional patterns of behaviour without realising it therefore looking back at significant relationships in our lives can often illuminate why we feel or behave as we do in the here and now. It may have taken a long journey to get to where you are now in life, therefore it is necessary to unravel it all slowly, with someone you can build a trusting relationship with and that's where I come in.
Counselling with me takes place in a private, confidential and safe space where we can explore your feelings, your thoughts and your experiences together. I will encourage you to take time to be patient and compassionate with yourself. As we work together, you will begin to feel more able to cope and, with counselling support, you will find the strength and courage to move forward to a better place. We can consider and deal with any dilemmas and decisions you face as well as help you to notice and understand any patterns that keep occuring in your life, this can lead to you being able to decide if you'd like to change things for the better and how to go about it. You can feel whole again and the ground under your feet will feel stable at last.
With counselling to support you through difficult times, you can regain your confidence, you can make any changes or progress that you want to and you will begin to see new perspectives for your future.