Do you constantly worry about doing or saying something wrong? Do you feel on edge or like you are walking on egg shells? Is this fear leading to anxiety that manifests in physical illness?
Have you begun to isolate yourself from others and feel as if you are alone?
These can be symptoms of abuse.
Do you feel nervous, anxious or on edge? Do you find it hard to relax and are becoming easily annoyed or inexplicably irritable? Do you worry a lot or feel afraid as if something awful is about to happen?
Are you finding it hard to find motivation or energy throughout the day?
These can be symptoms of depression.
Do you often feel helpless or out of control? Do you sense impending danger, panic or even doom? Do you worry or fear what others will say or thing of you?
Are these emotions manifesting physically in the form of sweating, quickened heart rate and hyperventilating (shortness of breath)?
These can be symptoms of anxiety.
Do you experience unexplained anger, irritability or restlessness? Do you feel overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused? Do you struggle with memory or concentration?
Are these emotions manifesting in physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and stomach problems
These can be symptoms of stress.
Do you feel unworthy of praise or even love? Do you struggle with confidence? Does the fear of failure hold you back? Are you always looking for other people’s approval?
These can mean that you are suffering from low self-esteem.
Do you find it hard to express emotions? Do you become irritated or agitated easily? Do you suffer from short outbursts of unexplained aggression? Are you feeling that your emotions control you?
These can mean that you are suffering from a issues with anger.
Do you struggle to focus or concentrate? Do you suffer with a lack of energy leading to isolation? Do you experience depressive thoughts or find yourself often angry with little explanation as to why? Are you struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one?
Grief can be a crippling experience for some of us and our inexperience in dealing with the presenting emotions can often be the root cause of a lot of other issues.
Do you feel controlled emotionally or physically by your partner? Have you lost your own identity as a result of your relationship? Are you second guessing your decisions? Do you find yourself withdrawing from situations for fear of reprisal?
Do you feel you maybe the victim of an abusive or toxic relationship?
Are you struggling with addiction of any sort? Is your addiction beginning to control your life? Do you fear the process of walking away from your addiction?
Are you worried what may happen if it continues?
Whilst growing up many of us never have the proper tools or guidance to deal with difficult emotions. We never learn to understand our sadness, our anger and we weren’t taught how to calm our anxiety or soothe our frustration. Instead, we learn to distract and avoid, to tune out unpleasant feelings with numbing and sometimes even destructive behaviour.
But no matter what habits we developed when younger, in our adult lives Mindfulness can help us cultivate the skills of self-soothing. Through meditation we learn how to calm our emotions and settle our nervous system - we develop self-acceptance and compassion. We learn to tenderly sit with whatever emotion arises rather than run from it.
These tools allow us to care for our own hurt, rather than seeking discomfort, distraction or destruction. Give yourself time to breathe.
It is enough to be taken care of by yourself.
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