Chronic Pain

Many of us have experienced pain at some point or another in our lives and can therefore understand what it means to be in pain and how strong the desire can be for the pain to disappear. For most of us, pain is time-limited and eventually goes away. What happens however, when the pain does not disappear? What happens when day after day, year after year, we are dealing with a screaming pain that is as intense, if not more intense, than the first day it entered our lives?

Chronic pain is a complex interaction between physiological and emotional factors. The Nervous System changes when in pain and can lead to a cycle can develop whereby our emotional state increases the pain experienced and the pain experience itself creates a more negative emotional state.

It might be difficult to believe, however this process occurs at an unconscious level so that the sufferer is unaware of this contribution to their pain cycle. This can leave the sufferer feeling hopeless, as things progressively deteriorate, without a logical explanation.

Chronic Pain sufferers can be assisted through Pain Management Counselling and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).

Depression

Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness accompanied by feelings of helplessness, irritability, low mood, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, and changes in appetite and sleep patterns. It is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders.

Feeling low in mood is a common emotion experienced by many individuals, especially following a traumatic event or loss of job, relationship, or loved one. It is therefore important to distinguish a natural occurrence of a low mood compared to an emergence of a mental disorder.

Depression can become a disorder when it begins to interfere with an individual’s life to a significant extent. A person who is unable to get out of bed in the morning to send the children off to school or to complete household chores, might need intervention as their mood level is interfering significantly with their everyday chores.

Depression is also characterised by persistent negative thoughts that bias a person’s view of life’s events. This pessimistic view of the world has the potential to exacerbate the person’s situation further.

Depression can be treated through a number of modalities including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), counselling, and neurofeedback.

Anxiety & Phobias

Approximately 60% of people suffering depression will also tend to experience anxiety.

As is the case with depression, anxiety is a common emotion experienced by many at various times in their lives. We have all felt the characteristic dry mouth, beating heart or flushed face, when faced with the prospect of standing up in front of a group of people to give a talk.

There are a number of different anxiety disorders each with their own set of symptoms.

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a long-lasting experience of anxiety that is not focussed on any one object or situation. People experiencing GAD often worry about everyday events and find it difficult to just ‘go with the flow’. This is one of the most common anxiety disorders among adults.
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterised by a recurring intrusive thoughts or images (obsessions) and an urge to act on those thoughts or images (compulsions). A person with OCD therefore might obsess about the germs on their hands and as a result, he/she might engage in repeated washing to relieve these intrusive thoughts.
• Social Phobia is an intense fear of social criticism and exclusion. A person with social phobia might have difficulty talking and socialising with other people (interaction) and difficulty speaking, writing, or eating in front of others (performance). Faced with social situations, a person suffering from social phobia will exhibit many physiological anxiety symptoms, such as sweating, blushing, or trembling. Many individuals with social phobia avoid social situations to escape their anxiety.
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs following a trauma that involved the possibility of a life threat, either the individual’s life or someone else’s. PTSD is characterised by repeated flashbacks, avoidance of trauma circumstances (such as the place where the traumatic event occurred), and depression.
• Panic Disorder (PD) is characterised by brief events of intense anxiety that is highly physical in nature. A person with PD might take notice of a physical symptom they are experiencing (e.g.: strong heart beat), and they misinterpret this symptom as representing doom. People with PD often report feeling that their attack signals a heart attack or a loss of consciousness. It is easy to see how attacks can be fear evoking and difficult for the individual to deal with. PD sometimes co-occurs with agoraphobia, an anxiety about being in places where escape is impossible or difficult (often labelled a fear of outside places).
• Specific Phobias are a persistent fear of a clearly defined object or situation. There are a number of common phobias including fear of animals (animal type), fear of storms, heights, water (natural environment type), fear of seeing blood, receiving an injection or medical procedure (blood-injection-injury type), fear of bridges, tunnels, airplanes, driving (situational type), and any other phobias people may experience such as a fear of clowns in children (other).

Treatment for anxiety disorders varies and is specifically tailored to the different types, but often involves Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, relaxation training and neurofeedback.

Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders are characterised by a severe disturbance in eating behaviour. There are two main types of eating disorders; Anorexia Nervosa, characterised by an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted perception of body shape and size, and a refusal to maintain normal body weight; and Bulimia, characterised by eating a large amount of food and then purging (i.e.: vomiting or consuming laxatives/diuretics) to get rid of the food consumed. The eating disorders cause physical and emotional distress and are among the highest disorders implicated in suicides and death.

Eating disorders are treated using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, self-esteem and body issues counselling, family counselling, and neurofeedback.

Work Related Stress and Injury

Stress at work may occurs when the work-place circumstances and interactions with fellow colleagues lead to a strain on the mental and the physical health of the worker. Mental health outcomes often include depression, anxiety, tension, sleep disturbances, and relationship difficulties. Physical health outcomes include headaches and strains that can lead to serious work-place injuries.

Work-place injuries are a common occurrence in many institutions. Support can be provided to injured workers including Pain Management Counselling, and Injury & Rehabilitation Counselling.

Relationship Issues

It can be said that to some extent everyone possesses a wide range of relationship connections, ranging from family relationships, through to romantic relationships and friendships, to work relationships.

At times relationships can become unhealthy so that they create negative emotional outcomes for the individual. This can make home or work life a difficult place to be.

Relationship Counselling hopes to reconnect the individuals in the relationship to achieve a more desirable outcome from their connection.