Are you struggling with finding your sense of purpose as a woman, partner or caregiver? Are you finding it challenging to transition in life with relationships, childbirth or loss, parenting struggles or starting a new phase of life? Do you have trauma that is hindering your ability to flourish as a caregiver, lover, or individual?
If any of these sounds familiar to you, it could be time to explore counseling. You deserve to be happy and put yourself first for a change.
As we go through the phases of life, we can lose a part of ourselves without realizing it until we are faced with reality. It’s important to get your sense of worth back and take control of your life. We will discuss and resolve issues of communication, self esteem, self concept, and any barriers that may affect your abilities to parent, be a partner, or a caregiver.
Women’s Issues That Most Experience?
Women are twice as likely as men to be impacted by Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Reasons for this could be: women are in a constant state of worry making sure their children are well taken care of, the household is functional, finances are taken care of, and managing everyone’s busy schedule.
Women are also more likely to struggle with depression because of ties to hormonal levels. A woman’s body is constantly changing and hormone levels are having to adjust and readjust with each phase of life. There is a lack of sleep if there are children, no longer having energy to enjoy things once loved, or taking on too many roles.
Burnout can be experienced as a stay at home mother/partner or from a working mother/partner. The three main areas of burnout are exhaustion; emotionally and physically, alienation from activities which look like increased stress and frustration at work or at home and distancing themselves emotionally from others. Lastly, reducing performance such as tasks at work or taking care of the home and family members. The mindset becomes very negative about their tasks and they find it hard to concentrate, are listless and lack creativity.
How to Regain Control of Your life?
In counseling, we work on discovering your self worth and addressing current problems you may be experiencing. You will be encouraged to complete mindfulness exercises and homework that will help you gain insight towards feelings and finding yourself.
We discuss a range of topics from trauma that may need processed to get an understanding of yourself, to relationships, to parenting. We will get a better understanding of your role in the household and in society. You may be taking on traditional culture roles that you want to break free from but feel conflicted or shamed for doing so.
What are symptoms of mental disorders in women?
Some common symptoms include:
- Persistent sadness or feelings of hopelessness
- Noticeable changes in mood, energy level, or appetite
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
- Appetite or weight changes
- Misuse of alcohol, drugs, or both
- Decreased energy or fatigue
- Excessive fear or worry
- Seeing or hearing things that are not there
- Extremely high and low moods
- Aches, headaches, or digestive problems without a clear cause
- Anger or irritability
- Social withdrawal
- Thoughts or behaviors that interfere with work, family, or social life
- Thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts
Specific interventions we may focus on include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, trauma informed, or making referrals to other professionals such as gynecologists, primary care physicians, or psychiatrists.
Some questions you may have about women’s health counseling..
Will counseling actually help with these problems?
Counseling isn’t a cure but it is a way to alleviate your everyday stress or symptoms you are experiencing. It helps you gain insight towards these issues and find different ways to cope with situations.
What makes this type of counseling any different than any other types of counseling?
This type of counseling focuses on women specifically and continues to do research on current events that affect them from thriving or what oppresses them.
What makes you an expert on this topic?
To start, I am a woman and I believe our mental health matters. I am a mother of three rambunctious children, I have experienced a miscarriage, I have dealt with hormonal imbalances, I have dealt with professionals who have ignored my cries for help, and I have broken traditional cultural norms of what mother’s are expected to do.
Parenting with Trauma
Certain situations might trigger you emotionally, causing anxiety, agitation, or even emotional distance between you and your children or your partner. A trauma response is the way you react to trauma and these can include mental, emotional, physical or behavioral. Responding to these events could have you experience intrusive thoughts, relive a traumatic event, develop mental disorders or turn to substance use.
While in shock, you can become numb to the world around you. In addition to being emotionally unavailable, you may even dissociate, causing children to feel like you do not care about them. Of course, that is not the case. As you learn to cope with your trauma response better and fall back into reality, you will be able to connect again with your kids emotionally.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you become overly anxious and on high alert, you may have the opposite effect. Perhaps you become so fearful that you are overbearing. Overly sheltering and controlling children has many repercussions. Especially as they get older, kids often feel suffocated and eventually become more rebellious, causing even more tension in your relationship.
Trauma responses can affect your parenting style even more severely than if you were in shock or on high alert. If you are severely suffering from unresolved trauma, you may become neglectful or abusive. Neglect and abuse become so traumatic that the children carry it into their adulthood, causing a cycle of unresolved trauma and harmful parenting styles.
How can you get started with your healing journey?
If you would like more information about women’s health or counseling in general, check out my weekly blogs on traumatherapycompany.com. I also offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to answer any questions you may have. Or give me a call at 330.429.2169, or email me at mbartley@traumatherapycompany.com to get started. I return messages within the same day.
“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
