Let me say it again – you are not responsible for someone else’s mental health. To be clear, I am not talking about abuse. If you are verbally, physically, mentally or emotionally abusive, then you ARE responsible. If you are …
Tag: mental health
Mental Illness: Adapting to Unhealthy Situations
Knowing that mental illness results from normal adaptations to unhealthy situations became clear to me when I read “The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog” by Dr Bruce Perry. Trigger warning for this book – it does contain harrowing …
When we have ‘too much empathy, it is usually a boundary issue, not an empathy issue’. It is the result of a high level of emotional enmeshment.
I hear a lot of people in my clinic feel that they are too empathetic. They can feel the other person’s discomfort or pain and just want it to go away. This is the result of a high level of …
Psychotherapy Helps you Get to the Root of your Pain
There is so much that our parents didn’t know about life and were simply unable to teach us. Therapy provides a space to learn tools to help with the mini trauma’s life throws at us. When we have experienced trauma …
Where to start when you can’t afford therapy
Therapy can be expensive. But I have always thought of it as a vital part of my own self-care. At times I have gone without some things in order to prioritise my mental health, and it has always paid off. …
The Fear of Being Stigmatised Stops People Getting the Help They Need
There is still a stigma attached to seeing a therapist. Really? In the year 2020? Yes! There is still a negative stigma that says: Can’t you cope? What is wrong with you? Real men don’t see therapists Therapy is for …
Some Gentle Reminders
Let me say it again – you are not responsible for someone else’s mental health. To be clear, I am not talking about abuse. If you are verbally, physically, mentally or emotionally abusive, then you ARE responsible. If you are …
Why Is Emotional Intell (EQ) So Important?
IQ counts for a lot, but research shows that people with a high IQ are NOT the most fulfilled or the most successful. Maybe you know people who are really smart, but struggle socially and in intimate relationships? IQ will …
A Suicide Attempt Is Not ‘Attention Seeking Behaviour’
It can be confronting to sit and hold space for someone who is feeling suicidal. We have to manage our own feelings as well as hold space for their feelings. Before I had training in suicide prevention, I thought that …
Causes of Suicide
I read this week about 29 survivors who had all attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. ALL of them regretted their decision to jump AS SOON AS THEY JUMPED. In another article, Dr. Freedenthal found that of …