Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder described as being fearful of public or open spaces which may be difficult or embarrassing to escape or get away from. A person with agoraphobia will often distance themselves from situations such as crowds, large social interactions, marketplaces, shopping centres, trains, planes etc. Essentially a person with agoraphobia will try to not leave a place in which they perceive to be safe such as their home, and will try to avoid any place they perceive to be dangerous to them, or difficult to escape from. Though busy or crowded places may be...
Sleep Hygiene
Sleep is very important for maintaining general health and wellbeing. Here is a list of tips to improve your sleep. Morning Plan • Routine is important. Get out of bed around the same time every day, weekends included, and once awake don’t ‘snooze’ for an extra 10 minutes. • Have something important or meaningful to get up for. Day Plan • Exercise but only during the day, avoid exercising in the late evening. • Avoid taking naps, particularly late in the afternoon or after work in the evening. • Maintain a healthy balance between stress and relaxation in your...
Stress Management & Relaxation
Everyone experiences stress in their lives. However for some, stress levels can become damaging when left for prolonged periods of time and not addressed. In order to regain some balance to your busy life, there are some exercises which can be used to help you restore a healthy equilibrium. A four step system moving through progressive muscle relaxation, slow breathing, calming meditation and finally relaxing imagery can be helpful to reduce stress levels and begin feeling more centered again. The following techniques can also be performed individually to help you find some inner...
Relationship Counselling
Relationship counselling is not just about trying to fix your relationship, but rather it is a process of looking to better the relationship. When couples arrive to therapy looking for their psychologist to fix their partner, psychological intervention generally has little value. However, if couples arrive to therapy with open minds and a strong desire to make their relationship whole, loving, kind and passionate again, then psychological intervention can go a long way. Not all psychologists offer relationship counselling/marriage counselling. At Strategic Psychology we can provide both...
Managing Depression – 3 Simple Tips
With depression becoming more common, it is important to know what you can do if you notice yourself beginning to feel unusually down. Here are three simple tips for managing depression more effectively: 1. Socialise Getting out of the house and being in the company of others can be extremely difficult when feeling depressed. It might be particularly hard to put on a happy face when you are really feeling down on the inside. Nonetheless, research shows that for most people socialising is an almost essential ingredient in feeling better. Socialising gives us a chance to focus on...
What is Bipolar?
Some people self diagnose themselves with having bipolar disorder. It is believed that bipolar is characterised by having highs and lows in mood whereby one moment a person is experiencing a happy and high feeling and the next moment they are feeling quite down and depressed. Although the name bipolar suggests having shifts between high and low moods, bipolar is actually a little more complex. There are two types of bipolar: Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Bipolar I usually refers to a person who experiences at least one episode of mania in their lifetime while also having depressive episodes. ...