Mark I used to have severe anxiety, so much so that I could hardly go out. When I went shopping or to the gym I used to get all these anxious thoughts about what were people thinking about me, did they think I was ugly? what would people think if I tried to this jacket on? If I went to the gym I always worried about what people were thinking or saying about me. Matthew from counselling online was amazing.
I had never heard about mindfulness before and I had always tried to block out anxious thoughts. Matthew showed me how to use mindfulness to stay grounded when anxiety hit and to allow the anxious thoughts to just be present and to make room for them. It was incredible, I used to be afraid about the anxiety and now I just accept that I will have anxious thoughts and to allow them to come and go. Then we worked on values that really opened my eyes to how I was working in a profession that wasn’t really what I wanted to do and now I have now changed jobs and doing something I love. I cannot thank Matthew and www.counsellingonline.biz enough. I have a new life now.
Jeremy From like my early 20’s I had issues with gambling. It started just from just a small gamble every week on the poker machines. Then after university, my career flourished and I become a senior executive in a bank. All that time my gambling addiction increased and I was at a pub or club every lunchtime and after work and I was spending a ridiculous amount of money and then I began to steal from my partners joint account and my elderly mothers bank accounts.
My life started to spiral out of control. I tried everything from GA to rehab to cognitive behaviour therapy. Everything I tried didn’t work and I just felt really guilty and that guilt made me want to gamble more. Now, I haven’t gambled for over 9 months and I speak to Matthew from www.counsellingonline.biz every week. He has shown me how to ‘surf the urge’ with gambling thoughts so rather than blocking them out I now make room for them and accept them rather than hate these thoughts. Matthew also has shown me how to lead a value driven life and how gambling was not a path in life that was part of my values. What has been amazing is the power of addictive thoughts has totally diminished. I used to dread when the addictive thoughts would arise - now I dont fear them at all or struggle with them. I have my life back now. It is impossible to describe how happy I am now that addictive thoughts do not have power over me anymore.
Helen I was an angry parent, angry with my husband, angry with my children and just angry all the time. I had never been to a counselling session, but just knew something had to change my life was just anger and hurting and feeling really, really lonely. Matthew from counselling online helped me use mindfulness to stay grounded and present in the moment from the first meeting and I felt like i could really address why I was angry.
We looked at what short term benefits I was getting from my anger, but in the long term I was not living a life according to my values and I was just going in circles. Counselling helped me to understand emotions and thoughts and that they are like clouds in the sky and they come and go. I also understood i was avoiding some more difficult thoughts and emotions such as a grief and loss. I can now laugh when I get a thought telling me I need to be angry or bitter - i realise it is just a thought and does not exert power over me. My life now feels completely different and I have so much joy where I once had anger and aggression. Thank you, Matthew and counselling online.
Jade I found it harder and harder to get motivated to train at the gym. I kept hearing voices in my head that i was too old and could never be as fit as i used to be again. These voices became louder over time and started telling me i was worthless. I stopped training and put on weight and became very unhappy. I decided to seek counselling support through www.counsellingonline.biz. Matthew was kind, attentive and most importantly, was a great listener. We started a journey that I am so thankful for. we started work how my mind was not always my friend and sometime it was trying to protect me but that wasnt in my best long term interests. Matthew showed me some tools and strategies to work with when my mind started telling me stories and trying to take me on a path away from who i wanted to be. I now just have monthly sessions, I am back at gym and I have lost weight. Thank you www.counsellingonline.biz
Andrew I'm a lawyer and the stress of weekly billing targets was really getting to me. I was drinking too much and feeling anxious all the time. I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to have time off work as I was going for a promotion so I tried to block the thoughts out and just worked harder. I started to feel like I was free-falling and I was just an empty shell working for no purpose. That is when I started online counselling with www.counsellingonline.biz. It was the best decision I ever made. I just logged on when i came home from work, and Matthew was able to show me how to just connect with the present moment through a simple deep breathing exercise. Matthew then helped clarify why i was working so hard and what my values were. I was able to see that there were other things in life such as health, family and friends that were also important to me and I developed some goals around this and now feel I am back to leading a value driven life. I embrace life and work now and make sure I work towards all my values not just one of them. I still have anxious thoughts but they do not have any hold over me any more and I can move them on and focus on leading a value based life.
Louise Being a vet is stressful enough but I was always feeling anxious about my practice - would there be enough income to cover the bills, would this horrible customer with a drug habit show up again this week for example. I tried everything to block the anxiety, i tried exercise, healthy eating, yoga. I even tried to argue with my mind when anxiety showed up saying I was just being silly and I was doing something I loved so just 'shut up' mind and let me get on with being a vet. It didnt work and my mood became darker. I found www.counsellingonline.biz on the web and thought I would try online counselling. I was seeing a psychologist but she just took notes and I wanted some real strategies and solutions into my anxiety. Matthew has been excellent, he has shown me where anxiety comes from and also that struggling with anxiety just does not work. The more I tried to bury the anxious feelings the more resistant they became. We have worked with me being able to accept some level of anxiety and I have been able to reframe it and see that it doesnt define me and that it even teaches me some things about what I truly value in life. I feel I am now in control over my life again and I cannot thank Matthew from www.counsellingonline.biz enough.
