If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call Tele-MANAS on 14416 (24×7, free) or go to your nearest emergency department.
Anxiety
Feeling worried, tense or on edge much of the time, often about things that are unlikely to happen or are out of your control.
Common signs
- Constant worry that is hard to switch off
- Restlessness or irritability
- Racing heart, tight chest or stomach upsets
- Trouble concentrating or sleeping
- Avoiding situations that make you anxious
How therapy can help
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps you notice anxious thinking patterns, calm your body, and gradually face what you have been avoiding.
Stress management
Pressure from work, studies, family or money is part of life, but stress that goes on for a long time wears down both body and mind.
Common signs
- Feeling overwhelmed or always ‘on’
- Headaches, tiredness or body pain
- Snapping at people close to you
- Relying on food, your phone, smoking or alcohol to cope
How therapy can help
Together we identify what is driving your stress and build practical coping skills: relaxation, setting boundaries, managing time and looking after yourself.
Depression
More than feeling sad: a low mood or loss of interest that lasts two weeks or more and gets in the way of daily life.
Common signs
- Persistent sadness, emptiness or hopelessness
- Losing interest in things you used to enjoy
- Changes in sleep or appetite
- Low energy; everything feels like an effort
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Thoughts of death or suicide
How therapy can help
Depression is treatable. Therapy helps you understand what keeps the low mood going and take small steps back towards the things that matter to you. Where medication may help, I work alongside your doctor or psychiatrist.
Negative thoughts
A habit of harsh self-talk, expecting the worst or dwelling on mistakes, which slowly affects your mood and confidence.
Common signs
- Thoughts like ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘everything will go wrong’
- Overthinking and replaying conversations
- Jumping to conclusions about what others think
- Low self-esteem
How therapy can help
Using CBT and Transactional Analysis, you learn to catch unhelpful thoughts, question them, and replace them with more balanced ones.
ADHD in adults
ADHD often goes unnoticed in childhood, especially in children who were bright, quiet, or simply labelled ‘careless’ or ‘lazy’. Left unaddressed, it can follow you into adulthood: many people know they are capable, yet struggle to achieve what they should.
Common signs
- Chronic procrastination and trouble finishing tasks
- Forgetfulness, losing things, missing deadlines or appointments
- Disorganisation at work and at home; poor sense of time
- Restlessness, or impulsive decisions and spending
- Starting things with enthusiasm, then losing interest
- Feeling like an underachiever despite your ability, and low self-esteem after years of criticism
- Strain in relationships from forgetfulness or interrupting
How therapy can help
An assessment can finally explain long-standing struggles. Therapy, including CBT adapted for adult ADHD, builds practical systems for planning, focus and time, and works on the self-doubt that years of difficulty leave behind. Where medication may help, I work with a psychiatrist.
Panic attacks
Sudden waves of intense fear that peak within minutes, with strong physical symptoms. Many people fear they are having a heart attack.
Common signs
- Pounding heart or chest pain
- Breathlessness or a choking feeling
- Dizziness, trembling or sweating
- Fear of losing control or dying
- Avoiding places in case another attack happens
How therapy can help
Understanding what is happening in your body takes away much of the fear. Breathing and grounding techniques, along with CBT, help break the cycle. Please have physical symptoms checked by a doctor first.
Personality issues
Long-standing patterns of thinking, feeling and relating to others that keep causing difficulties in relationships, at work or in how you see yourself.
Common signs
- Intense or unstable relationships
- Strong mood swings or a sense of emptiness
- Difficulty trusting others, or being very sensitive to criticism
- Rigid perfectionism, or acting on impulse
- The same problems repeating in different settings
How therapy can help
A personality assessment can help make sense of these patterns. Therapy then builds self-awareness and healthier ways of coping and relating to others.
Sleep disturbances
Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up refreshed, often linked to stress, anxiety, low mood or daily habits.
Common signs
- Lying awake for a long time
- Waking at night or too early and not getting back to sleep
- Daytime tiredness, irritability or poor concentration
- Worrying about sleep itself
How therapy can help
We look at your sleep habits and the worries keeping you awake, using relaxation and CBT techniques for sleep. Loud snoring or pauses in breathing should be checked by a doctor.
Relationship & marriage counselling
Support for couples before marriage, during difficult phases, and for families going through change.
Common signs
- Frequent arguments, or growing distance and silence
- Feeling unheard or misunderstood
- Trust issues or infidelity
- Adjusting after marriage, a new baby or living with in-laws
- Preparing for marriage
How therapy can help
Counselling offers a safe space for each person to be heard, to understand each other’s needs, and to learn better ways to communicate and resolve conflict.
Trauma
The lasting effects of frightening or distressing experiences such as accidents, violence, abuse, sudden loss or disasters.
Common signs
- Flashbacks or nightmares
- Avoiding reminders of what happened
- Feeling constantly on guard or easily startled
- Numbness, guilt or shame
- Anger or irritability
How therapy can help
Therapy goes at your pace. We first build a sense of safety and coping skills, then gently work through what happened so it has less hold over your present.
Bereavement & grief
Grief is a natural response to loss: of a loved one, and also of a relationship, health or a way of life. There is no right way or timeline to grieve.
Common signs
- Grief that is not easing after many months
- Struggling to manage daily life
- Strong guilt, anger or numbness
- Withdrawing from others
- A sudden or especially painful loss
How therapy can help
Grief counselling gives you space to talk about your loss, honour the person or thing you have lost, and slowly adjust to life after it.
OCD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves unwanted, distressing thoughts (obsessions) and repeated actions or mental rituals (compulsions) done to ease the anxiety.
Common signs
- Excessive cleaning or hand-washing
- Checking locks, the gas or switches again and again
- A strong need for order or symmetry
- Intrusive, disturbing thoughts you can’t push away
- Rituals that take up a lot of time
How therapy can help
CBT with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the most effective therapy for OCD. Medication prescribed by a psychiatrist can also help.
Career guidance
For students and adults deciding on a course, a career, or a change of direction.
Common signs
- Confused about what to study after 10th, 12th or graduation
- Torn between options or family expectations
- Unhappy at work and considering a change
- Struggling with exam or performance pressure
How therapy can help
Aptitude, interest and personality assessments, followed by guidance sessions, help you make a choice that fits who you are.
Anger management
Anger is a normal emotion. It becomes a problem when it is frequent, intense, or harms you and the people around you.
Common signs
- Outbursts you regret later
- Shouting, breaking things or physical aggression
- Feeling irritable most of the time
- Anger affecting relationships or work
- Holding it in until you explode
How therapy can help
We work on understanding your triggers and early warning signs, calming techniques, and expressing your needs assertively rather than aggressively.
These guides are for general awareness and are not a diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional about your situation.