Newtown Counselling

21/07/2025

04/11/2024

26/05/2023

Depression has been described in many ways. Winston Churchill famously referred to it as ‘The Black Dog’, while others say it feels like darkness, an abyss or a constant heaviness.

What is depression?

When people talk about feeling depressed they usually mean they are low in spirit, feeling a bit miserable or fed up. These are perfectly normal feelings that everyone experiences and usually they pass within a few hours or days without affecting our ability to function in our everyday lives.

However, depression in the medical sense of the word, is an illness that gives rise to profoundly difficult and persistent feelings. Whilst there is variation in the way it affects individuals there are typical features such as feelings of hopelessness, deep sadness, self-loathing, worthlessness, lack of vitality or motivation, and in severe cases suicidal tendencies.

One of the challenges with depression is that, unlike physical illnesses, on the outside we may appear to be fine. There is no broken leg, hacking cough or strange spots to indicate that there is something wrong. It can be tempting for the uneducated observer to wonder why someone can’t just pull themselves together.

Without such visible symptoms it may even be hard to convince ourselves that there is something wrong and that we need help. Fortunately we are beginning to understand more about depression and with greater social awareness more people feel able to ask for the help that they need.

What causes depression?

There is still no consensus as to what exactly causes depression. Some experts believe it is due to biological factors while others believe it is a result of traumatic or difficult personal experiences. It is most likely due to an integration of biological, personal and social factors.

Stress and depression

Depression can be triggered by stressful events such as:

· bereavement

· breakdown of a relationship

· loss of a job

· consequences of an illness

· physical conditions such as an underactive thyroid

· hormonal changes after the birth of a child

Read more...

In this article we understand depression and how psychotherapy can help.

16/08/2021

We are now accepting new clients for online and telephone counselling sessions on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s. We’re pleased to offer the option of face to face sessions in our offices at 8 Randolph Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7TE from September 2021. 😀

01/11/2020

What is anxiety and how can counselling help?

Did you know anxiety results from the body's instinctual reaction to dangerous, threatening and stressful situations. The body prepares itself to fight, run away or freeze, this is known as the 'fight-flight-freeze' response.

What does anxiety feel like?
Anxiety can show itself in a range of physical ways, such as, muscle tension, sweating, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, sleeplessness, hyperventilating, panic attacks and wanting to use the toilet more. These are caused by the hormones released by the fight-flight-freeze response.

Anxiety is an appropriate reaction to external stresses, however frequent signs and symptoms in everyday life may indicate a problem, it can interfere with you life and your health and wellbeing.

When to seek help
The most important thing you should do if you are concerned about your mental health is talk to a specialist. This could be your GP, a counsellor or a helpline.

Anxiety disorders can occur for a wide variety of reasons or may seem to come out of the blue.

Some of the common causes of anxiety are:
* ongoing stress (e.g. pressure at work or from family life)
* stress from particular situations (e.g. losing your job or moving house)
* experiencing childhood abuse (physical, psychological or sexual)
* witnessing or being involved in a traumatic event
* drug use

Counselling can help anxiety
As a counsellor I can support you to explore what you're going through and why you feel as you do. I’d start by looking at what’s going on for you. What's causing these fears? Are there any underlying issues, anything that triggers these feelings of anxiety? I would explore the unhelpful thinking patterns that you might be having

Take action today
It’s important to understand that anxiety can be treated, even in seemingly mild cases. Although, anxiety usually doesn’t go away, you can learn to manage it and live a happy, healthy life.

Read More…

In this article we examine what is anxiety and how counselling can help.

15/09/2020

Many people are still under the misapprehension that therapy is for the ‘weak’. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Psychotherapy is a tool that creates success.

Many of us grew up under the impression that ‘internal stuff’ shouldn’t be discussed – it should be swept under the carpet.

Suppressing your emotions and not working through any psychological issues you have – especially serious pain or abuse in the past – can culminate in a host of problems.

Research shows that therapy is incredibly effective in helping people manage mental health conditions, and experts say that it’s worth it even if you don’t have a medical problem.

If you still need convincing, here are three reasons why you should give counselling a go...

This article looks at the central benefits that people gain when going through psychotherapy and counselling.