Everyday Challenges
Work Related Challenges, Relationship Issues, Managing Change, Assertiveness, Empowerment, Expatriation, Communication Breakdown, Midlife Crisis.
By identifying some of the issues which might be troubling you, you can begin to build a more secure, comfortable way of life. Some of the things I can help you to manage are:
Relationship issues
Relationships are a very meaningful part of our lives, and can bring us a great deal of happiness and fulfilment. Strong connections with our loved ones, friends and work colleagues allow us to be at our healthiest and most productive and, for many, these relationships offer an important source of advice, guidance, love and support.
Fulfilling and supportive relationships do not come automatically. These require good social skills and a great deal of time and energy to nurture and making them long lasting. When meaningful relationships break down, people can feel lonely, disappointed and unsure of what to do. In some cases our relationships may not be fulfilling our expectations, which can impact our happiness and life satisfaction. On the other hand, some people may crave close friendships and/or romantic relationships but find them very difficult to come by.
Whatever the relationship issue, there is help available in the form of relationship counselling. In this setting, a therapist will work with individuals in order to explore their needs and wants from their relationships, while offering support and advice to help them get these back on track.
Identity crisis
Identity could be defined as parts of an individual’s self composed by multiple roles which are associat
ed to meanings, expectations and behaviors. Throughout our life we assume some roles naturally, whilst others are imposed on us by circumstances as well as by the societal environment we live in.
As we grow up, mature and take upon ourselves more responsibilities, life presents us with challenges that require that we make ‘adjustments’ to those meanings and expectations. Usually, most of the changes occur gradually and therefore their impact is easy to internalize. There are times, however, when these changes occur, or need to be made, more drastically than we would have expected or desired, challenging important aspects of who we are. The natural tendency is to rebel, especially at the beginning of the process of finding our new sense of self as a mature person.
However, sometimes you may feel that you are stuck in the change and adaptation process, not being able to evolve. If this situation persists, it can often trigger emotional crises and internal conflicts that may lead to anxiety, depression or other psychological and, eventually, physical health problems.
Life Transitions
We all start experiencing changes from the very moment we are born. These may come at a slower or faster pace depending at what stage of development we are, and their impact on our life ranges from imperceptible to mild and, at times, to more significant. We refer to this constant succession of changes as ‘life transitions’. Some changes may simply be gradual and/or take place as a result of our own desire to do so, like for example the relationships with parents, children, partners, friends or experiences at work, which in most cases we are able to control and eventually cope better with.
There are, of course, those unexpected situations that forces us into undesired transitions as a consequence of traumatic experiences such as a loss of a loved one, been let go from work, or suffering a serious accident. Among the most difficult, and long lasting transitions is aging, whose process is not only difficult to accept and cope with, but is also inevitable.
