Archive November 2018

Considering Moving Back Home?

The Independent newspaper reports here that young adults considering moving back home to live with their parents are likely to suffer from depression. The page refers to recent research that looks at the reasons a person might make this move. Furthermore, an investigation into lesser known information such as the affect on mental health has been carried out. As a counsellor I know how critical it is for a young person to transition into an independent adult. A successful early adulthood relies on this independence. Major signs of success come from financial, social and residential security.

Therefore, if these parts of a person’s life come under scrutiny or fail altogether, the results could be overwhelming. Potential examples are the loss of a job, breakdown of a significant relationship or loss of accommodation. Considering these in greater detail reveals that the individual may or may not have been able to influence the outcome. In other words, it may be that the loss of a job is due to redundancy. Alternatively, behaviour at work may not have been acceptable. People deal with different events in their own personal way. Our upbringing can heavily influence these reactions. 

The Importance of Being Independent as a Young Adult

Either way, at this key stage of developing independence, the expectations on a young person are very high. Young adults desire to be accepted by society, which goes some way to explain why this type of life event can have such a large impact. Nevertheless, I find that young adults are incredibly resilient and determined. Counselling can provide the opportunity to reconnect with these attributes. Importantly, it can be a time in which the young adult can feel what it is like to exist without the pressure and expectations of society. Learning to feel like this in sessions is the first step towards being able to apply these sensations to life outside the counselling room.

If you are or know someone struggling in this way or considering moving back home, please get in touch for a free consultation.

Counselling Social Anxiety and Awareness

Social anxiety is a serious condition that I am passionate about helping clients to manage. The news and society frequently pay no regard. My experience counselling social anxiety has shown that the talking therapies can be very successful. Counselling aims to raise awareness of oneself and empower the client to choose change. Awareness is so important to us as human beings. Without it, we can find ourselves meandering through life wondering why we don’t seem to have much control. However, once we are able to start noticing how we are feeling or checking that what we are about to do/say is what we want – then we have choice.

Choose Change

With choice, we can choose a different course of action. In the case of social anxiety this can take time. Generally, I find that clients need to build up to choosing change at their own pace. They need to feel sufficiently fed up with living within the constraints of social anxiety that change becomes the favourable option.

At this stage of counselling, there will be great trust in the relationship with the counsellor. It will be feeling safe enough to discuss things that have not felt possible until now. The openness and ease of sharing these parts of one’s life is where the understanding and potential change lies. This is the time, as hard as it may feel, to become fully committed. Supported by your counsellor, you have the opportunity to explore unreached parts of yourself. The opportunity to break free and become the person you would like to be. 

Read More in My Article on the Counselling Directory Website

My article, published on the Counselling Directory website can be read here. In it, I discuss counselling social anxiety in more detail with the hope that more people may be inspired to conquer this major mental health condition.

Please contact me directly if you would like to discuss any aspect of counselling social anxiety.