Depression & Anxiety

Too often, depression is used to describe feelings of sadness which all of us experience at some stage of our lives. When faced with the loss of a loved one, relationship breakdown or financial issues most people will feel hopeless or “down”. These reactions are not clinical depression, but are just a part of everyday life. Our counsellors can help address feelings of sadness supporting you to work through life’s challenges. However, clinical depression can be described as an excessive or long-term depressed mood, which affects the person’s life. This is a more serious condition that requires a more formal type of intervention. We can help individuals manage their depression in a safe and supportive environment chosen by them.

Anxiety can be a reaction to experiences in life, such as job loss, relationship breakdown, serious illness, major accident or the death of someone close. Anxiety is a natural reaction in these situations and usually the feeling will ease over time. However, anxiety disorders are a group of illnesses, each characterised by persistent feelings of high anxiety and are often triggered by a series of significant life events. Anxiety disorders affect the way we think, feel and behave and if not treated, cause considerable suffering and distress.

Everyone experiences grief differently because our reaction depends on a range of individual factors. Grief is a normal response to loss and encompasses a range of emotions such as anger, sorrow, confusion, anxiety, restlessness, disbelief, panic or even numbness. Our counsellors work with you to find ways to manage safely these strong emotions. Crying is our way of releasing strong emotion and can offer some relief however, if the duration is prolonged and accompanied with fatigue, headaches vomiting, aches and pains counselling is recommended.

Unfortunately, traumatic experiences are common. While most people will recover without professional help a sizeable proportion of people develop a set of symptoms called Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), and if the symptoms persist for more than two months, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms in ASD and PTSD can be re-living the traumatic event, always feeling anxious, stressed, and regularly avoiding reminders of the event (driving, people, places, objects or relationships). It is also common for sufferers of PTSD to struggle at work, become conflictual at home, and develop anxiety and depression symptoms. Adelaide Discreet Counselling regularly treats people suffering from ASD and PTSD. We follow the recommended guidelines developed by The Australian Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health.

A panic attack is a sudden onset of acute anxiety that leaves the sufferer feeling overwhelmed and confused with feelings of intense fear in situations where most people would not ordinarily be afraid. The symptoms of panic attacks can peak within 10 minutes. Following a panic attack, individuals may develop a panic disorder, which is characterised by a fear of re-experiencing further panic attacks. Such a disorder may cause individuals to avoid situations where they have previously experienced panic. The physical symptoms of panic disorder can include chest pain or discomfort, chills or hot flushes, feeling Nauseous, feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself. Numbness or tingling sensations with a pounding heart Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, followed by sensations of shortness of breath, sweating, trembling or shaking. The psychological symptoms of panic disorder include feeling you are about to die, everyone is looking at you and your going crazy.