"Sometimes, the hardest part of the journey is simply believing you're worthy of the trip."

It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that influences how our brain works. It appears to be associated with low levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and have a genetic component. For you and me, that simply means that the part of the brain that helps us to plan and do things, to focus and pay attention, to listen and remember, and to regulate our emotions does not work the same way other people’s brains work. It is frustrating and can lead us to feeling incompetent, stupid, and a low self-esteem. Often alcohol and drugs are used to help us to manage the symptoms and to feel better.

We cannot change our brains, however we can learn how to enhance our strengths and work with our brain to make our lives easier and our relationships better.

It is closely linked to your body’s stress response or ‘fight or flight system. It is your brain responding to a possible threat and unfortunately for some people, there is a heightened activity in the emotional processing center in the brain and these intense emotions do not go away completely when there is no threat. Anxiety can feel like an ongoing worry, unease, and a feeling like something bad may happen. Often anxiety also includes physical feelings such as upset stomach, unable to focus, racing heart, restlessness, and inability to sleep.

We know that everyone has some level of anxiety and worry from time to time, however when it is happening regularly and your worry is about things that are likely never to happen then it is important to talk to someone. We can work on strategies to manage your thoughts, increase your belief in yourself and create strategies to manage stress this will result in being better able to manage your life and feel more joy.

Not being able to sleep is caused by many things and may be occasional or ongoing. You feel tired however when you go to bed you are unable to go to sleep. Sometimes it takes a long time to fall asleep and at other times you wake up in the night and can’t get back to sleep. Sleep is vital to our overall wellbeing so addressing this in therapy may be helpful. We can look at making some changes that may help you to sleep better and feel rested and ready to tackle your day.

These are often thought to be the same thing. Guilt is that feeling that you messed up and need to correct it and not do it again – sometimes people call it your conscience. Guilt is about the thing you did while shame is where we turn that bad feeling inwards and it becomes about who we are. Shame is a strong and destructive belief we have that something is wrong with us and that we are not worthy. Shame often starts as negative messages from others, that over time we begin to believe to be true. Working together we can challenge some of the shame filled beliefs that you may hold and begin to see your true worth and purpose.

Have you heard about these – these are those things that happen to us, in our families or elsewhere while growing up. The events shape us and have been shown to play a role in the development of many health and mental health issues as we get older. They have been linked to things such as anxiety, promiscuity, substance abuse, weight issues, asthma, and diabetes in adulthood. Together we can talk about the messages that you carry from growing up in the way that you did and by changing these messages we can gain further control of our lives and live the life we choose.

When your use of alcohol and drugs begins to interfere with your life and makes you feel isolated, hopeless and start to believe that you cannot manage without it, it becomes a problem. Substance use “hijacks” the pleasure center of the brain so that your brain tells you that you need it even when it is creating problems in your health, your relationships, your work and your overall feeling of wellbeing. Together we can look at the role substances play in your life and what you can do to gain control over substance use and be healthier on all levels.

Any type of loss, no matter the size or the type can knock you off your feet and fill you with immense feeling. Learning about grief and loss and how it impacts you, can be valuable – there is no time frame and they are no “stages”.
Grief is like the ocean, it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” – Vicki Harrison 
I can provide a place for you to learn to tell your story and feel supported.