Tag archive: counselling

Health Anxiety is characterised by a preoccupation with having a drastic and serious illness. It can be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. People who suffer with it believe they are or will at some point experience a serious life threatening or debilitating condition. They tend to find little or no reassurance from doctors, believing…

Anger When we think of anger we often think of raised voices and aggressive behaviour. There are however different styles of anger, therefore different ways in which we experience and communicate our anger. If we don’t understand our anger or communicate and deal with it appropriately we will either explode or implode. Neither can be…

“Guilt is what I feel when I think about the consequences of what I’ve done. Shame is what I feel when others think about the consequences of what I’ve done.” Darren Magee The Power of Shame Shame is a very powerful and at the same time an uncomfortable emotion. It is something we experience when…

Deep at our very core is a need to feel significant to someone. When we feel significant to someone who is significant to us there’s no feeling like it. Our heart skips a beat when we see the other person. We fantasize about them, we can’t take our eyes off them. We are fixated on…

Learned Behaviour Learned behaviour is often a result to an external stimulus. For example a child may learn that they will get burnt if they touch something hot. Therefore they learn to avoid touching hot things. As the child grows they learn new things and new behaviours. For instance adults generally don’t be on their…

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is often associated with physical causes like circulatory problems. However there are also emotional and psychological problems associated with the condition. The dysfunction can not only cause emotional distress, but emotional factors can contribute to the dysfunction when the penis is capable of erection. The fear of ‘failing’ leads to an embarrassment…

Following on from last time here are some more defence mechanisms. Undoing Undoing is an attempt at taking back a thought, feeling or behaviour that is hurtful or unacceptable. An example would be offending someone then pouring out lots of flattery and praise in the hope of undoing the original offence. Intellectualization Intellectualization occurs when…

In the different areas of psychology there are what are referred to as defence mechanisms. These are ways in which we defend ourselves against unpleasant thoughts and feelings. Most defence mechanisms are automatic. They are instinctive. We act in a way that we often don’t know what we’re doing. There is nothing wrong with defence…

The Power of Empathy The power of empathy is often overlooked. We can all look at someone with a bruise and recognise that they’ve hurt themselves. Empathy is that ability to see the bruise and say, ‘wow that looks sore’. Empathy is what we feel from others when they show they understand, acknowledge and share…