Anxiety and stress are part of everyday life, however, anxiety can persist and begin to interfere with an individual’s everyday functioning. Different types of anxiety disorders can include excessive worrying, social anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, compulsions and post-traumatic anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety can include:
- Sweating
- Rapid heartbeat
- Shallow breathing
- Feeling faint
- Difficulty concentrating
- Worrying about worrying
- Avoidance of activities
- Chest pains
Depresssion
Depression is a relatively common experience that involves an experience of low mood. This experience is different from an everyday experience of low mood as it is more severe, lasts for a period of two weeks or more and interferes with an individual’s ability to function. Symptoms of depression can include:
- A decrease in motivation
- Increased irritability
- Anger
- Difficulty in controlling emotions
- Low self-esteem
- Lower energy levels
- Reduced sex drive
- Reduced capacity to experience pleasure
- Difficulty concentrating and remembering
- Change in sleep patterns
Low Self Esteem
Self esteem is the way that a person appraises her or himself. A person with healthy self-esteem is said to think that they are okay as a person whereas a person with low self-esteem may feel that they are inferior to others. Low self-esteem can affect individuals in a variety of ways including social relationships, coping with life stress, sense of life satisfaction and career paths. A person with low self-esteem may experience the following:
- Lack of social confidence
- Difficulty communicating
- Using negative “I” statements
- Constant apologizing
- Accepting negative outcomes
- Feelings that I am not liked
- Feelings that my opinion won’t be valued
- Feeling my opinion is not valuable
- Difficulty in accepting new challenges
- Lack of happiness in everyday life
Grief and Loss
Grief is a normal response to loss. Individuals may experience grief after the loss of a loved one, a relationship break up, losing a job, death of a pet, loss of a friendship, loss of health or other life change. The pathway of healing for each individual will be different depending upon factors such as their life experience, personality, recent stressors, culture and the nature of the loss. Different feelings in the grieving process may include:
- Shock
- Feelings of Numbness
- Loss of Motivation
- Denial
- Anger
- Sense of Hopelessness
- Difficulty seeing hope in the future
- Depression
Relationship Difficulties
Individual’s can feel that they are struggling to cope or develop in their relationships. Barriers such as family values, expectations, intimacy, finances and life change are some of the issues which may impact upon an individual’s level of relational satisfaction. Some of the difficulties which individuals or couples may seek support to address their relational barriers can include:
- Communication Difficulties
- Family Issues
- Life Stress
- Financial Difficulties
- Intimacy
- Issues of Trust
- Life Change
- Difference in Values
Anger Management
Anger is an emotion which is normal when an individual feels she/he is under threat in some way. For most individual’s feelings of anger subside and they can control their experience of anger. For others the emotion of anger can become problematic and impact upon daily living, social functioning and relationships. Individuals experiencing anger management issues may experience the following symptoms:
- Difficulty controlling temper
- History of social difficulties
- Feelings of tension
- Low tolerance to stress
- Difficulty resolving conflict
- Difficulty with emotions
- History of feeling put down or treated unfairly
Gambling
Many individuals are able to take part in activities involving risk and potential reward. Some individuals may develop a gambling problem where they become addicted to the experience of gambling. Such individuals can then become unable to control that experience. Symptoms of individuals who have a gambling problem may include:
- Loss of money
- Using large percentage of income for gambling
- Intense focus on the need for the gambling activity
- Financial stress
- Difficulty paying bills
- Relationship stress
- Denial
- Irritability
- Fluctuating Feelings of Highs and Lows
- Social Withdrawal
