Christel Maritz Clinical Psychologist

13/03/2026

A very well-recognized trauma pattern often called the rescuer, fixer, or caretaker identity. It develops when a person learns—usually early in life—that their value and safety come from meeting other people’s needs rather than having their own needs met.

Psychologically, this pattern is closely linked to what is sometimes called the fawn response, a trauma adaptation identified by therapist Pete Walker.

11/03/2026

When a person disconnects from the authentic self, it is usually not a conscious decision-it is a protective adaptation to trauma. The nervous system prioritizes survival over authenticity. Over time this can create a split between the inner self and the presented self.

09/03/2026

Ever felt like your mood is a puppet on strings, yanked by everyone else's chaos? If you weren't taught emotional regulation as a child, perhaps in a home where feelings were dismissed, exploded, or simply ignored, you're left navigating adulthood reacting instead of responding. Now, your inner calm hinges on others "being in control": a boss's tone, a partner's mood, or even strangers' drama can derail you. It's exhausting, leaving you moody, anxious, or numb, as unprocessed emotions bubble up unchecked.

As Christel Maritz, Clinical Psychologist in Somerset West, I help you break free, learning tools to monitor and regulate your own state, no matter the storm around you. Reclaim your emotional steering wheel; contact me today for a supportive space to build resilience that lasts.

📍 Somerset West | Email - cmaritz67@gmail.com to start.

05/03/2026

Toxic behaviours I stopped normalising:

• Being told I’m “too sensitive” when I express how something hurt me.
• Apologising for things that were never my responsibility to carry.
• Staying silent to keep the peace while my boundaries were being crossed.
• Accepting disrespect disguised as “just a joke.”
• Being expected to tolerate behaviour that slowly erodes my wellbeing.
• Believing that love, friendship, or family requires enduring emotional harm.

Healthy relationships are not built on silence, fear, or self-abandonment. They are built on respect, accountability, and emotional safety.

Sometimes the most powerful step in healing is recognising what should never have been normal in the first place.

If you find yourself questioning patterns in your relationships or struggling to reclaim your boundaries, speaking to a professional can help you gain clarity and rebuild your sense of self.

02/03/2026

If you’ve ever been told you’re "too sensitive" or "overly dramatic," you might actually be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).

Being an HSP isn't a medical diagnosis or a disorder—it’s a personality trait shared by about 20% of the population. It means your nervous system is simply wired to process information more deeply than others.

What it feels like:

Sensory Overload: Loud noises, bright lights, or itchy fabrics feel physically painful.

Deep Empathy: You absorb the emotions of people around you like a sponge.

Need for Downtime: After a busy day, you need a dark, quiet room to recharge. Rich Inner Life: You are deeply moved by art, music, and the beauty of the world.

How is it "treated"? Since being an HSP isn't an illness, we don't "cure" it—we manage it. The goal is to move from "surviving" to "thriving."

Lifestyle Design: Creating a "buffer" in your schedule. If you have a big social event, plan for a quiet day afterward.

Boundaries: Learning that "No" is a complete sentence. Protecting your energy is a necessity, not a luxury.

Sensory Tools: Using noise-canceling headphones, dimmed lights, or comfortable clothing to lower the external "volume."

Therapy (Somatic or CBT): Working with a professional to reframe the shame often associated with sensitivity and learning how to regulate an overstimulated nervous system.

The Bottom Line: Your sensitivity is a gift. The world needs people who notice the details, feel deeply, and care intensely. 🌿✨

Christel Maritz from Christel Maritz Psychologist is a qualified Clinical Psychologist based in Somerset West. Over the past 22 years she has come to realize that although there are different schools of psychotherapy, certain common denominators are occurring and that these denominators are brain ba...

23/02/2026

Feeling what you’re afraid to feel isn’t weakness—it’s the essence of real healing. Research in emotional neuroscience shows that when we suppress emotions, the brain actually amplifies stress responses, increasing anxiety, tension, and even inflammation in the body. By allowing ourselves to sit with uncomfortable emotions instead of pushing them away, we give our nervous system permission to process and regulate naturally. Facing fear, sadness, or grief head-on strengthens emotional resilience, helping the brain rewire itself for clarity and calm rather than chaos.

Psychologists have found that people who tolerate and explore difficult emotions develop greater self-awareness and empathy. Experiments in affective science indicate that when we fully experience emotions, we integrate them rather than compartmentalize them, which reduces the likelihood of repeating unhealthy patterns in relationships or life choices. This means that the feelings we fear most—loneliness, anger, vulnerability—are often the very catalysts for profound growth, creativity, and stronger connections with others.

The transformative power of feeling fear is that it teaches you where you are holding back and where your untapped strength lies. Every emotion fully felt becomes data for your personal evolution, signaling what matters, what needs attention, and what must be released. Healing is not the absence of fear—it is the courage to move through it, to meet yourself in the places you’ve been avoiding, and to step into a version of yourself that is wiser, freer, and more whole than ever before.

17/02/2026

Many adults who receive a neurodivergent diagnosis later in life experience a range of intense emotions—and this is completely normal.

The emotional journey often follows a pattern:

Validation – finally understanding, “There was a reason.”
Grief – mourning the misunderstood child, teen, or young adult you once were.
Anger – at systems, workplaces, caregivers, or even yourself.
Identity disruption – questioning, “Who am I now that I know this?”
Integration – gradually rebuilding your self-concept with clarity and compassion.

This process is not a sign of weakness or pathology. It’s a natural response to years of navigating life without answers.

If you’re working through a late diagnosis and need guidance to make sense of your experiences, reach out to discuss how therapy can help you integrate this new understanding. Contact me at cmaritz67@gmail.com

https://christelmaritzpsychologist.psychpractice.org/late-diagnosis-understanding-the-struggle/

16/02/2026

It is Monday morning, and that familiar, heavy vibration is starting to settle in your chest.

The most frustrating part about anxiety, the part people rarely tell you, is that it doesn’t always start with a "worried thought." Sometimes, your mind is perfectly quiet, but your body is screaming. Your heart is racing, your breath is shallow, and your stomach is in knots, even though you haven’t had a single negative thought yet.

If you are feeling this right now, I want you to know: You aren't losing your mind. Your body is just trying to protect you from a threat that isn't there.

Technically, your nervous system has pulled the fire alarm. It has flooded your system with adrenaline and cortisol because it thinks you’re in danger. When your body is having an "attack" but your mind feels fine, we call this "bottom-up" anxiety. You can’t talk yourself out of it because the part of your brain that handles logic has been temporarily bypassed.

If you feel an attack coming on, stop trying to "think" it away. Try this instead:

Cool the system: Splash ice-cold water on your face or hold a frozen orange. The sudden temperature shift forces your heart rate to drop. It’s a biological "reset" button.

Lengthen the exhale: Your body thinks it needs to run. By making your exhale twice as long as your inhale, you are physically forcing your nervous system to switch from "fight" back to "rest."

Acknowledge the physical: Say it out loud: "My heart is beating fast because of adrenaline, not because I am in danger." Give the sensation a name so it loses its power.

Stop demanding an explanation from your brain for what your body is doing. Your body is just overreacting to the start of the week. Let the sensation be there without giving it a story. It will pass.

Christel Maritz
Clinical Psychologist

13/02/2026

Healing isn't always pretty, sometimes it starts with the guilt of saying "no."

If you've ever felt this:

*Guilty for setting limits, like "no" is selfish.
*Overworking because boundaries felt rude.
*Staying quiet to keep the peace, even when it hurt.
*Ignoring red flags out of fear of being "too sensitive."

That's not weakness; it's a survival pattern from past wounds. True healing rewires it: You learn "no" protects your energy. Boundaries build respect. Speaking up fosters real peace. And trusting your sensitivity saves you from bigger pain.

You're not too much. You're reclaiming your worth.

Ready to break the cycle? Book a session. Christel Maritz Clinical Psychology cmaritz67@gmail.com Healing starts with one brave step.

Christel Maritz from Christel Maritz Psychologist is a qualified Clinical Psychologist based in Somerset West. Over the past 22 years she has come to realize that although there are different schools of psychotherapy, certain common denominators are occurring and that these denominators are brain ba...

10/02/2026

Chronic overwhelm, emotional exhaustion, difficulty sustaining focus, heightened sensitivity to stress, and a persistent sense of “working harder than others” are often the earliest signs reported by adults who are later diagnosed as neurodivergent. For many, these symptoms only become visible during major life changes, when long-standing coping strategies no longer hold.

A late diagnosis can bring relief through understanding, but it often also uncovers grief for years of self-doubt and misunderstanding. Therapy is not about fixing or labelling you; it is about helping you understand how your nervous system works, making sense of past struggles, and integrating this new insight into daily life. If you are navigating a late diagnosis or questioning one, reaching out to a therapist can provide clarity, support, and a way forward grounded in self-compassion rather than self-criticism.

If you are navigating a late diagnosis or questioning one, reach out today to discuss how therapy can provide clarity and support. Contact me at cmaritz67@gmail.com to start your journey toward understanding and integration.

05/02/2026

Being diagnosed as neurodivergent later in life can feel like the ground shifts beneath you.

Suddenly, life-changing events—burnout, relationship breakdowns, career crises, parenting challenges—take on a different meaning. What once felt like personal failure or “not coping well enough” often reveals itself as years of navigating a world that was never designed for how your nervous system processes information, emotion, and stress.

Late diagnosis brings clarity, but it also brings grief.
Grief for the younger self who worked twice as hard.
Grief for missed accommodations, misunderstood reactions, and chronic self-doubt.
And when life throws a major transition your way, that unresolved load can surface all at once.

So, will therapy help?

Yes—but not in a “fix what’s wrong with you” way.

Effective therapy helps you:
• Reframe your life story through an accurate lens
• Understand how your neurodivergence shapes stress, attachment, and resilience
• Regulate your nervous system during high-impact life events
• Integrate this newly named part of yourself without it becoming your entire identity

Moving forward isn’t about starting over.
It’s about integrating what was always there—now with language, compassion, and choice.

If you’ve recently received a formal diagnosis, or are questioning one, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, disoriented, or unsure how to adapt—reach out. A therapeutic space can help you make sense of the diagnosis, adjust where needed, and gain clarity on how to live with your neurodivergence rather than against it.

You don’t have to navigate this alone. Direct Message - cmaritz67@gmail.com.

02/02/2026

You survived the trauma—you will survive the healing. What many don’t see is that therapy doesn’t just help you cope—it reveals the parts of yourself you never knew existed, the patterns, the blocks, the fears you’ve carried silently.

When the journey breaks open the unimaginable, therapy provides a framework to process, integrate, and transform it. It’s where the chaos of your past meets the possibility of profound change. Healing isn’t quick. It isn’t easy. But it is possible—and it is powerful.

This week, remember: showing up for yourself is the most radical act of courage. Each session, each insight, each moment of reflection is a step toward clarity, resilience, and freedom.

The table is set. All that’s needed is your willingness to engage. ✨