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Mind the Gap
Counselling & Psychotherapy
Lorna Wright
COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY
Trusted | Professional | Personal
Hello ,
Maybe you are reading this as you are looking for support or maybe because you want to understand more about how you are feeling or maybe you don't know what you need. There can be countless reasons we don't feel 'ourselves'.
Something out of our control may happen and challenge our beliefs about the world, others or ourselves . We might become overwhelmed and loose our sense of self. We may notice patterns of behaviour which are becoming unhelpful, or recognise we regularly feel low, disconnected or anxious. Sometimes there can be an obvious trigger point, a difficult past, a loss or death, a relationship breakdown, dramatic change to circumstance , maybe a health scare , accident or a financial crisis. Sometimes not. Either way something doesn’t ‘feel’ right .
Mental Health
Mental health affects our emotions, thoughts and feeling and so it affects our ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, our social connections, and even our understanding of the world around us , not to mention our physical health. When we are in good health 'mentally' we find it easy to think & make decisions, relate to others , to form and maintain good relationships, to feel and express different emotions and to cope with change and uncertainty.
However it is rarely as well understood as our physical health and can easily take a back seat, but just as physically things come along which affect us, the same is true mentally, though it can be harder to recognise or acknowledge
Physical symptoms are difficult to ignore. We seek help and in some cases with the right treatment it will resolve very quickly, in others the condition may be longer term and require us to find ways to adapt or manage the condition.
Mental health is no different.
Why 'Mind the Gap' ? What has that got to do with Mental health ?
In my experience there is often a 'gap' between what is going on inside and what appears to be the case from the outside .Sometimes a 'gap' develops to protect us - often the case if we live with a traumatic past . Sometimes there's a gap between who we think we are and who we think others want us to be . At work , maybe you appear to be something you feel you aren't ( Imposter syndrome) In essence it can be anything which gets in the way of us being or knowing our authentic self.
Whatever our own particular situation - the 'gap' can widen and affect our mental health . We rely on strategies we have developed which have served us well , until we no longer can. Life does not discriminate. It can affect us all no matter our age, gender, sexuality, success, financial security, material wealth, social standing, job security, relationship status .
Prolonged Stress, unexpected , emotional and difficult situations force the issue and stretch our 'gap' taking us into unchartered waters where we can feel lost ( even though we don't show it) until it becomes too difficult to live with and it affects our mental health. Mental health affects our physical health and so our mood, energy ,appetite, behaviour , sleep, stress and anxiety levels change.
If any of this sounds familiar counselling can help. It can help to connect us back to our selves , bridging the gap between what our mind fears and what it is possible to hope for.