Barry Carpenter
Psychotherapist/Counsellor
Counselling Supervisor
BACP Member
A little bit about anxiety and body/self image
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I work with many issues but anxiety seems to be the most common and I consider it to be an area that I very much understand. Anxiety is very common and it can be terrifying, especially not knowing where it comes from, what it's about and why it is happening, leaving you afraid, confused and stuck, dictating how your day will be. Perhaps it comes on unexpectedly with your heart racing, mouth dry and a warm heatwave rushing through your body.
There may be certain things that make you anxious and that leave you feeling outside of yourself. Perhaps it's in a relationship, work related, being around other people or fear of doing something wrong which may relate to self confidence, or even just something in general such as getting into a car or going to the shops. There may be no pattern to it either and you may not understand anything about it.
If it's attachment anxiety then we can explore your past relationships and look at where the fear and distrust and fear of connection began, allowing you an understanding of why your patterns are repeated and how to separate the past relationships from the present, be they family, friends or romantic relationships.
Well, I can help you to understand what it happening to you and how to take control of your life, either again or for the first time.
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Regarding body and self image, I tend to find that sometimes how we see ourselves in the flesh and how we feel about ourselves internally are linked. Maybe you dislike yourself for a number of reasons or have never been happy with who you are. Or, perhaps, you feel that you need to deny who you are, resulting in you never truly being able to be yourself.
Or maybe it is how you feel about your image, resulting in you hiding your body away and feeling unable to see yourself in the mirror. Generally, the seeds for such issues are usually planted in earlier life and can grow to be problematic in later life and the present, with certain comments and situations hooking into these ways of thinking. Together we can explore this and help you to discover yourself and be comfortable and, most importantly, happy, with who you are and happy with your body once and for all.