Therapy for Troubled Times

When distress comes from the world around you

The world may feel like it's becoming more chaotic, precarious and difficult to make sense of. You may be feeling like you're caught in an onslaught of global events, natural disasters, climate change and biodiversity loss, economic instability, technological change and political polarisation.

The personal impact can be hard to identify as it creeps up slowly. Maybe you have become aware of a chronic low-grade anxiety or a difficulty in making longer-term plans such as having children, committing to a relationship or a career. You may feel you are too glued to the news, but you can't look away either. Are you mourning for a way of life that you feel is disappearing? We can find ourselves making our world smaller to feel safer, retreating. Or we might be increasingly seeking comfort in bad habits that distract us from the things we feel powerless to control.

It can feel like it's taboo to talk about these causes of distress, and we can feel like we should just get on with it, but I want you to know this can be taken seriously. It can be an enormous relief just to be able to talk openly and honestly about your feelings and experiences. To understand your individual response, it may also be useful for us to explore how you have learned to be in the world and in relationships. In this way we may be able to find some steadier ground together. We may also be able to figure out how you can build internal and external support, how you might be able to act and contribute rather than feeling helpless or hopeless, and how to bear what you can't change.