Help for Persistent Loneliness – How to get past feelings of desperation & despair

Persistent loneliness is hard to get past. It can be very troubling without intervention. You may feel yourself withdrawing even more because you feel lonely. It could leave you feeling sad, depressed, and hopeless.

If you’re lonely but aren’t sure why, it’s time to come up with some answers that are reassuring and comforting. You don’t have to be alone in your journey. The licensed therapists at Heart-Centered Counseling provide a safe space for you to explore your feelings, work on your relationships, and come up with ideas on ways to make your life less lonely.

Some solutions for combating loneliness include:

• Discerning fact from fiction. Just because you feel lonely doesn’t mean that no one cares. Even if you feel like no one does, it may be because you haven’t been able to get past the feelings of defeat you’re currently experiencing. With the help of a therapist, you can learn see loneliness as an opportunity to work on your inner world and re-experience the outer world, instead of as a character flaw.
• Reach out to others for help. Even if you don’t know anyone in your immediate geographic location that you can speak to or meet up with, consider finding a point of contact. Join a club, interest group, therapy group, or support group online  (e.g. through MeetUp) and let others know how lonely you feel so they can help you move past the feelings that you’re currently experiencing.
• Come up with a plan that moves you out of your head. Self-care is essential for good mental and physical health. Create a list of things you can do when you’re feeling down. Even going for a quick walk around the neighborhood helps you come into contact with other people. Check one simple thing off your list as a start.

Trust in the counselors at Heart-Centered Counseling to help you get through the loneliest periods of your life. Having a dedicated therapist to work with is very beneficial because it allows you to communicate your needs with someone licensed and trained to assist you. Rather than spend more time alone, you’re in the company of someone who cares about your health and well-being.

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Learning to Accept Yourself Just as You Are

Learning to accept yourself just as you are may be among the most difficult things to master in life. After all, we all have preconceived notions of what others expect from us that come early in life from teachers and parents. If you feel the pressure to constantly be more than who you are and feel you’re not enough, it’s time to learn all that you can about self-acceptance. Individual therapy can teach you how!

What You Gain from Individual Therapy Sessions

Individual therapy sessions help you achieve clarity about the innate value of your life. It makes you understand your worth as a person just as you are today, not who you’ll be in the future. Working with a licensed therapist makes it possible for you to see and value your needs and communicate those needs to others in positive and effective ways. You’re then able to get more out of your relationships, see yourself as a person of value, and problem solve with the intention of growing as a person not completely changing yourself from head-to-toe.

Self-acceptance isn’t always comfortable at the onset. However, the right tools can make the idea less foreign to you. Instead of beating yourself up for the mistakes that you’ve made, you can learn to be empathic toward your “humanness” and to celebrate the positive steps you’ve taken to improve your life.

Seeing a counselor regularly to work through your issues is definitely one thing to be proud of. It requires a level of commitment from you that you may have not been willing to provide in the past. It also allows you to see where you are in a sincere yet gentle manner. You can then see how the things that you survived long ago have shaped you and how you can heal into a place of loving yourself for all that you’ve been through and all that you are.

Let Heart-Centered Counseling Help You with Self-Acceptance

It takes courage to change. It takes courage to treat yourself with kindness and care. Learning how to love yourself unconditionally is something that we can teach at Heart-Centered Counselors. Change the most important relationship that you have, the one with yourself, with the help of one of our counselors.

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How Can Therapy Help Me?

Learn what counseling can do to improve your life, relationships, and view of the world.

Therapy is an option that many people turn to when they want their lives and relationships to improve. They go to regular therapy sessions with a licensed therapist because they want to feel better about things that challenge them today. If you’re having a hard time moving forward with your life because of a childhood trauma, substance abuse problem, marital affair, mental health disorder, or for most any other reason, attending individual or couple’s therapy could help.

Here are some ways therapy can help you:

• By offering support if you’re not getting any. Your therapist will become someone you trust with your most sensitive issues. They’ll provide you with a safe place to open up about your feelings and the struggles that are interfering with your life so you can process your issues.
• By teaching you how to effectively communicate with other people so you’re less stressed and better able to take care of your needs. You’ll learn the importance of speaking your truth, and listening in a way that’ll help you understand other people better. You’ll learn what they feel and need, and you’ll be able to explain your needs with care and courage.
• By providing you with tools that you can use in place of unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms. Rather than turning to addictions, you’ll have other resources available such as CBT and DBT to help you navigate difficult terrain. Instead of being destructive, you’ll find constructive ways forward.
• By allowing you to work together with your partner or family to resolve issues that affect everyone. When you heal the individual, you start the process of healing your partners and families, too.

Strengthen the bond you have with yourself and the people closest to you. By opening up to a professional who is trained to help you move past challenges in your life, you accomplish several things. You get very good at asking for help when you need it. You no longer bottle up your feelings because you know that sharing you need assistance is far easier than going at it alone.

Learn more

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Three Great Couples Counseling Exercises

See for yourself the type of progress you’ll make in therapy.

Couples counselors often provide valuable insight that helps couples come to their own conclusions as to why their relationships need work. Exercises are sometimes used in therapy settings because they allow couples to actively participate together to come up with solutions that meet each other’s needs. Instead of giving ‘homework,’ engaging in work during couples counseling sessions initiates the type of response that is needed for healing to begin.

Three examples of great couples counseling exercises are described below.

The Gottman Method

For over 40 years, this nine-step process has been helping create healthier relationships. Couples counselors explore the steps with the couple. That way each idea is given the attention it deserves in context of helping the relationship.

The steps are:

• Building Love Maps.
• Sharing Admiration and Fondness for the Other Person.
• Stating Individual Needs.
• Choosing a Perspective That is Positive.
• Managing Conflict Instead of Rushing to Resolve It.
• Sharing Values, Hopes, and Dreams as They Pertain to Your Life.
• Sharing the Vision You Have for Your Future.
• Building Trust in One Another.
• Showing That You Believe in the Relationship and Commitment You’ve Made to One Another.

Thousands of couples have made progress in their relationships because of this exercise.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Since the 1980s, EFT has been used in couples counseling. It consists of three steps. They are responding emotionally in different ways by expanding and reorganizing, creating tighter bonds between partners, and taking personal stances, repositioning them, and creating new interactions. This exercise has had a success rate of 90% in the past, making it an important tool for counselors.

Narrative Therapy Exercises

This counseling exercise allows both parties to narrate the story of their relationship as they experience it. They get to write about the things that bother them and possible solutions that could improve their partnership. A very simple approach to a complex subject, narrative therapy exercises are a go-to for therapists because they are very effective. People who have trouble speaking their mind often have an easier time putting words on paper.

Heart-Centered Counselors provides you with exercises, instruction, and a supportive environment to talk about your issues as a couple. If you haven’t looked into couples counseling yet, now might be the time to do so. You and your partner will benefit physically, mentally, and emotionally from the support our trained and experienced counselors provide. Don’t suffer in silence. We’re here to help.

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Can Counseling Save My Marriage?

Learn what makes couples counseling beneficial.

If you’re going through a rough patch in your relationship, and need someone to help you better communicate your needs to your partner, couples counseling is for you. Devoting a dedicated amount of time each week to sit down with a counselor and your spouse to work on your marriage can be precisely what saves it. If you can’t make headway on your own with your partner, and fear that the end is near, a visit to Heart-Centered Counseling for marriage counseling is a step in the right direction.

What Couples Counseling Provides

First, you’ll want to find a therapist that works well with you. If you call Heart-Centered Counseling, for example, we’ll identify your struggles with your assistance so we’re able to find the professional who best meets your needs as a couple. We’ll find a therapist with whom you’ll feel comfortable opening up to and being honest, so that you can share what’s truly troubling you.

Next, you’ll receive the benefit of having a dedicated listener who understands your struggles and meets you where you’re at emotionally. Your marriage counselor will help you gain new perspectives when it comes to your relationship. They’ll help you come to an understanding of how important it is to communicate unmet needs and unresolved feelings, and how struggling to do this has allowed silent barriers to build. The counselor will also formulate a solution that benefits you as a couple.

Taking as much time as needed to strengthen your marriage through counseling is next. Our counselors are never in a rush to send you on your way. Instead, they follow your lead and only feel their job is done when together you decide it is.

How to Show Interest in Couples Counseling

If couples counseling interests you, the easiest way to learn more about it is to set up a free initial consultation with Heart-Centered Counselors. That way, you can familiarize yourself with the process and introduce yourself to your counselor. The relationship you build with your therapist is among the most important tools you’ll have access to during your journey. That’s why it’s important to choose your therapist wisely.

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Four Keys to Healthy Communication in Relationships

So, you want to be able to communicate more effectively? For healthy communication, you need to learn what it takes to be an active listener and better communicator.  

Communication is one of the most important things in any relationship. You can easily improve the quality of your interactions with other people by practicing active listening and learning how to effectively communicate your needs in ways that others understand and honor.

Healthy Communication Consists of These Four Principles

There are four essential things that make communication healthy in relationships. Understanding the importance of each helps develop your skills as a good communicator. Refer to this list anytime you have questions about the communication process in the relationships you have.

1. Maintain eye contact with the person you want to communicate with.
   • That way, there isn’t any doubt that you’re speaking to them directly. If you’ve got their undivided attention, ask them to listen and then speak.
2. Be direct and honest, but speak kindly.
   • Don’t be scared to get to the point of the matter, so you’re able to address the issue. But, as best as possible, use gentle words and a gentle tone to avoid defensiveness.
3. Ask for confirmation that the person understands what is being said or asked of them.
   • If the person isn’t giving you verbal or non-verbal feedback, ask them directly how well they understood what you said. In the event that they didn’t, try sharing it using different (but still gentle) words. Be patient!
4. Do the same thing when they’re the speaker.
   • Exercise good communication skills by making eye contact with the person speaking to you, letting them know that you understand what they’re saying, and keeping the issue at hand.

These four keys help develop and promote healthier communications in relationships. It’s important that you understand your role when it comes to communicating well. In many cases, you’ll be able to voice your concerns and also feel as if you’ve been listened to and had your wishes honored.

Heart-Centered Counseling Services Help You Become a Better Communicator

Regular counseling services help strengthen your communication skills. To learn more about what Heart-Centered Counselors has to offer you, your partner, and/or your family, contact us today for a free consultation. You’ll get to meet with one of our licensed counselors either in-person or virtually and practice being a better communicator.

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If I Have Anxiety, Do I Need Therapy?

If you have anxiety, you’re not alone. Many Americans feel overwhelmed and anxious at times. If you’re experiencing persistent anxiety and feel you may have an anxiety disorder, therapy is one option that can help you better manage the symptoms that you’re experiencing, and even find long-term relief.

How Therapy Benefits People with Anxiety

Therapy is very beneficial for people with anxiety because it provides them with structure and relational support. Here are some advantages of seeking professional counseling services as an anxious person:

• Learn what thoughts contribute to anxiety. By providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, therapists are able to give their patients a new perspective. The anxious person understands what triggers them and how the thoughts and feelings that they’re experiencing make them anxious. By changing how they perceive the situation (and themselves), patients are able to feel differently and therefore lessen the amount of anxiety that they experience.
• Have a safe space to speak without fear of judgment. People often feel as though they don’t have anyone they can talk to about the things that are troubling them. Being in a safe space with someone helps the patient be honest about what they’re feeling. They don’t have to put on a front because they’re speaking to a therapist who can help them with their issues.

Working with therapy services to redirect feelings of anxiousness is helpful. Heart- Centered Counselors can help with anxiety therapy. You can meet with a therapist in-person or via the internet, whichever works better for you.

Anxiety doesn’t need to rule your life

With anxiety counseling, you can get past feelings of anxiousness by learning how to deal with them in productive and helpful ways. You’ll learn how to deal with the feelings that come up which makes a world of difference in how you react.

Therapy helps validate the anxiety that you’re feeling and gives you healthy coping mechanisms to deal with the nervousness and uncertainty that may be consuming you.

Contact us for more info: (970) 310-3406

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