Who I can help
Although occupational therapy can cover lots of areas of health and wellbeing I focus on how your daily activities, habits and routines affect and are affected by difficult thoughts, feelings and emotions.
This may be related to anxiety and depression, the impact of neurodivergence, adjusting to major life events or simply to a sense that something just doesn't feel right.
If your thoughts and feelings get in the way of you having a balanced and fulfilling life and a satisfying sense of health and wellbeing, then I may be able to help.
Anxiety and depression
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The first thing to know is that you don't need to have a diagnosis of either anxiety or depression for me to be able to help you.
Anxiety might be lots of worries and stress, overthinking or ruminating on events but still managing to get to work, look after the children or do whatever it is you need to do.
We all sometimes experience worries and stress or feel low or unhappy.
If these feelings are impacting on your ability to do the things that you need or want to do in your daily life then it might be useful to come and think about making some changes.
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Sometimes its hard to put your finger on exactly what's wrong but anxiety and depression are individual experiences and will look different for everyone.
Anxiety isn't always a panic attack and depression isn't always looking sad.
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Depression might be feelings of detachment, loneliness, sadness, or emptiness, on the inside but maintaining a smile for other people because you need to be able to get through your day.
Whatever your individual experience is, whether it's anxiety, depression or simply a sense of not feeling quite right: it is okay to want more from life. It's okay to want to do more than just manage and okay to acknowledge that it's exhausting to maintain your life when your feeling stressed or low on the inside.
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Managing 'well enough' is not achieving good health and it is okay to want things to feel better.
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I can help you think about what's going on, work out what changes might be possible, and support you to try out different ways of doing things to see if you can feel better.
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Together we will explore what's going on for you in the here and now and find practical, realistic strategies and tools so that you can manage your feelings differently and experience improved health and wellbeing.
Neurodivergence and it's impact on daily life
If you are neurodivergent, it may be that sometimes getting through the day can be challenging. This might be due to sensory sensitivity, when smells, noise, colours or lights feel overwhelming or scary. It might be due to rigid routines and habits that preserve your abilty to manage emotions but get in the way of achieving other things in your life. Or you may experience high levels of anxiety when you feel you cannot complete your routines or are concerned about the sensory or social experience of the place you need to go to. On top of this experience, the thought of making changes to your life, even with the goal of improving your health and wellbeing, can be an anxiety inducing prospect.
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I can help you to think in a structured, organised and concrete way about why you spend your time the way you do. This will include detailed thinking about the activities you do, where you do them and what this tells you about your sensory preferences and difficulties. This can then lead to a gentle exploration and supported experience of alternative occupations and emotional and sensory management strategies.
By understanding how you work, you can make the things you do work better for you and get more calm, satisfaction and well-being out of life.
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Adjusting to life events
Changes in role, lifestyle or personal circumstances can leave us feeling lost, uncertain and unsure of what's wrong or why.
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Major life events or changes in our day to day activities and responsibilities affect our daily routines and habits in many ways.
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The impact of these changes is not just about the things we do, the places we go to or the people we spend time with but also on how we see ourselves and how we feel we fit into the world.
Change is hard, particularly when it's something that affects all aspects of our lives and our sense of identity. But with the right support, change is possible.
It's hard to think about why life feels difficult when we're in the middle of living it. That's why it can be useful to have space to think about what's happening and how its impacting on how you feel.
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I can support you to think about your current lifestyle, the changes you've experienced and support you to explore how best to adapt to these changes so you can achieve a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.