Understanding the Many Faces of Narcissism—and How to Protect Yourself

When we hear the word narcissism, we might picture someone who is arrogant, self-obsessed, or manipulative. But narcissism isn’t always loud or obvious. It can wear many faces—some of them subtle, even self-sacrificing. For those raised by narcissistic parents or entangled in toxic relationships, understanding the different expressions of narcissism can be the first step toward healing.

What Is Narcissism, Really?

At its core, narcissism is a pattern of behaviour rooted in an unstable sense of self. While there’s a clinical diagnosis—Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)—many people show narcissistic traits without meeting the criteria for a disorder. These behaviours often serve to protect fragile self-esteem, typically developed as a survival strategy in response to unmet emotional needs, neglect, or conditional love during early life.

Narcissism isn't just about ego—it’s often about hidden wounds.

Different Forms of Narcissism

1. Grandiose or Overt Narcissist

• Traits: Arrogant, attention-seeking, dismissive of others' feelings, easily angered by criticism.

• Impact: Often dominates conversations, needs admiration, and may gaslight or devalue others.

2. Covert or Vulnerable Narcissist

• Traits: Passive-aggressive, hypersensitive to rejection, plays the victim, envious.

• Impact: Can seem shy or self-effacing but still manipulates emotionally to get needs met.

3. Malignant or Toxic Narcissist

• Traits: Controlling, cruel, sadistic, lacking empathy, and often abusive.

• Impact: May show signs of paranoia or aggression. Often emotionally or physically abusive.

4. Martyr Narcissist

• Traits: Gains power and validation through self-sacrifice and guilt-tripping.

• Impact: Uses “I do everything for you” narratives to manipulate others and avoid accountability.

5. Communal Narcissist

• Traits: Seeks validation through being "the good person"—a helper, healer, or moral guide.

• Impact: Can be competitive about goodness, over-identifies with being needed or admired.

What It’s Like Being Raised by a Narcissistic Parent

Children of narcissistic parents often grow up in environments where love is conditional. Approval is earned through compliance, achievement, or emotional caretaking of the parent. Over time, this can lead to:

• People-pleasing or perfectionism

• Chronic self-doubt or difficulty trusting one's own feelings

• Low self-worth rooted in never feeling “enough”

• Emotional neglect, where the child's feelings are ignored or punished

• Role reversal, where the child becomes the caregiver or confidant

Love in these homes often feels performative or transactional—leaving lasting wounds that can shape future relationships and self-identity.

How to Deal with Toxic Narcissistic Behaviour

If you recognise these dynamics in a parent, partner, or other relationship, it’s important to understand: you cannot change them, but you can protect yourself.

1. Create Emotional and Physical Space

Distance—whether physical, emotional, or both—helps reduce enmeshment and regain perspective. This might look like less frequent contact or choosing not to engage in conflict.

2. Set Clear Boundaries

Be direct and consistent. For example:

"I’m not available to discuss this right now."
"If you continue to speak to me that way, I’ll need to leave the conversation."

Expect pushback, especially from those who are used to crossing your boundaries freely—but hold firm.

3. Don’t Justify or Over-Explain

Narcissistic personalities often twist explanations into openings for control. You don’t need to convince them your boundary is valid—you just need to hold it.

4. Seek Support

Therapy can help you process the emotional fallout and develop healthier relational patterns. Support groups or psychoeducation can also help you feel less alone and more empowered.

5. Release the Hope for a Different Past

One of the hardest but most healing steps is letting go of the fantasy that the narcissist might one day change or give the love you needed. That grief is real—and valid—but accepting it can set you free.

You Are Allowed to Protect Your Peace

Recognising narcissistic behaviour doesn’t mean labelling someone as evil. It means understanding the emotional patterns that have shaped you—and deciding which ones you no longer want to live under.

Whether you’re untangling childhood wounds or navigating a difficult relationship in the present, know this: You are allowed to say no. You are allowed to want more. You are allowed to take up space.

And you deserve relationships that make you feel safe, seen, and respected.

What Is Intergenerational Trauma — And What Does Epigenetics Have To Do With It?

We often think of trauma as something that happens to an individual — a painful event or experience that leaves a psychological scar. But what if trauma can be passed down through families, even if the next generation didn’t experience the original event directly?

This is the concept of intergenerational trauma, and it’s gaining increasing attention in both therapy and science. Alongside it, research into epigenetics is beginning to show us how the effects of trauma may not just be emotional or behavioural, but biological as well.

What Is Intergenerational Trauma?

Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of the effects of trauma from one generation to the next. This can happen in families where earlier generations experienced significant adversity, such as:

• War, genocide, or forced migration

• Slavery, colonialism, or racial oppression

• Abuse, addiction, or neglect

• Poverty, imprisonment, or systemic injustice

Even if a child isn’t directly exposed to those traumas, the emotional climate they grow up in may be shaped by them. For example, a parent who survived extreme hardship may struggle with anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, or attachment — which in turn impacts how they relate to their child.

Over time, the family inherits a kind of “emotional legacy,” where unspoken pain, patterns of coping, and relationship difficulties get passed on — sometimes silently.

What Is Epigenetics?

Epigenetics is a relatively new field of science that studies how our environment and experiences can influence the way our genes are expressed. It doesn’t change the genetic code itself, but it can turn certain genes “on” or “off,” which affects how cells function.

This is important in the context of trauma. Research, particularly in animal studies and some human populations (such as Holocaust survivors and their descendants), suggests that traumatic experiences can lead to epigenetic changes. These changes might influence how future generations respond to stress, regulate mood, or process fear.

In other words, trauma might not just be inherited emotionally or socially — it could leave a biological imprint, too.

How Might This Show Up in Therapy?

Clients affected by intergenerational trauma may describe feelings or struggles that seem out of place or hard to trace:

• A persistent sense of fear or unease, even in safe environments

• Guilt or shame that feels "inherited"

• Difficulty trusting others, without knowing why

• Family patterns of emotional avoidance, anger, or disconnection

• Feeling responsible for others' pain

Therapy can help by creating a space to explore not just the individual’s personal history, but their family story too. Understanding the context of intergenerational trauma can be incredibly validating — helping clients realise, “It’s not just me.”

Can Intergenerational Trauma Be Healed?

Yes — and recognising it is often the first step. While we can't change the past, we can change how it's carried forward. Through therapy, clients can:

• Break cycles of silence, shame, or emotional suppression

• Learn to regulate their nervous system and responses to stress

• Build healthier relationships and parenting patterns

• Reclaim a sense of identity and agency

Healing intergenerational trauma is about more than individual wellbeing — it can reshape entire family systems and future generations.

You Are Not Broken — You Are Carrying Something

If you feel weighed down by emotional burdens that don’t seem to belong solely to you, you’re not imagining it. Whether shaped by your own experiences or those of generations before you, your pain deserves attention — and healing is possible.

You are not broken. You are carrying something. And you don’t have to carry it alone.

Why Helping Professions Attract People Pleasers with Histories of Trauma

If you work in the caring professions — as a support worker, nurse, counsellor, or therapist — you might notice something interesting about yourself or your colleagues. Many people drawn to these roles have a strong desire to help others, often going above and beyond. But beneath this compassionate drive, there can sometimes be a deeper story — one shaped by personal histories of trauma and the tendency to be a “people pleaser.”

Who Are People Pleasers?

People pleasers are those who often prioritise others’ needs and feelings over their own. They seek approval and avoid conflict, sometimes to their own detriment. This can come from:

• Growing up in environments where love or safety felt conditional

• Learning early to “keep the peace” by making others happy

• Feeling responsible for others’ emotions or wellbeing

While these traits can create skilled, empathetic helpers, they can also mask unmet needs and unresolved wounds.

Why Do People With Trauma Often Choose Helping Careers?

Many people who have experienced trauma — whether childhood abuse, neglect, loss, or other painful experiences — develop a heightened sensitivity to suffering. This can inspire a strong desire to protect and support others, sometimes as a way to:

• Find meaning or purpose in their own pain

• Create safety in environments they couldn’t control before

• Rebuild self-worth through acts of kindness and care

Helping others can feel deeply rewarding and healing. It’s a way to transform past hurt into something positive.

The Risks: Burnout and Boundaries

However, people pleasers and trauma survivors in caring roles may face unique challenges:

• Difficulty saying no: Feeling responsible for everyone can lead to taking on too much.

• Neglecting their own needs: Constantly focusing on others can leave little time for self-care.

• Emotional exhaustion: Absorbing others’ pain without sufficient support or boundaries increases risk of burnout.

• Re-triggering trauma: Working with vulnerable people can sometimes bring up their own unresolved feelings.

Recognising these risks is vital for sustainable, healthy care work.

Healing Through Awareness and Support

The good news is that therapy and self-awareness can help people pleasers and trauma survivors in helping professions:

• Understand and honour their own needs without guilt

• Build strong boundaries to protect their wellbeing

• Develop healthier ways to give and receive support

• Recognise when to seek help or take breaks

Supervision, peer support, and ongoing training also play important roles in maintaining resilience.

You’re Not Alone — And Your Compassion Is a Strength

If you’re a nurse, support worker, counsellor, or other helping professional with a history of trauma or a tendency to people please, know that your experience is common. Your empathy and dedication come from a place of deep understanding, even if it sometimes feels overwhelming.

By caring for yourself as much as you care for others, you can continue to make a meaningful difference — not just for those you support, but for your own healing journey too.

Therapy for People Who Didn’t Think They Deserved Help

Many people come to therapy not because they always believed they should — but because, eventually, the pain of not seeking help became too great.

If you’ve grown up being told to “just get on with it,” or learned early that your needs weren’t important, reaching out for support might feel unnatural, even selfish. You may be someone who minimises your struggles, thinking, “It’s not that bad,” or “Others have it worse.”

But pain doesn’t have to meet a certain threshold to deserve care. Hurt is hurt. And you are allowed to heal.

Where Does This Belief Come From?

Many people who struggle to ask for help were shaped by environments where emotional needs were ignored, dismissed, or subtly shamed. You might have:

• Been praised for being “strong” or “easygoing,” even when you were struggling

• Learned not to complain or show vulnerability

• Taken on adult responsibilities too early

• Been told you were “too sensitive”

• Grown up around people who were in survival mode themselves

Over time, you may have internalised the idea that your feelings are burdensome, unimportant, or not valid enough for support. This can lead to a deeply rooted sense that you must earn help, or that others’ pain is always more deserving than your own.

“Others Have It Worse” — A Dangerous Comparison

It’s true that suffering exists on a wide spectrum. But comparing your pain to someone else’s doesn’t make theirs easier — and it certainly doesn’t make yours disappear. This mindset often keeps people stuck in silence, invalidating their own experiences.

Pain is not a competition. It’s a human experience. And we all need support sometimes, regardless of how our lives look from the outside.

What Therapy Can Offer

Therapy provides a space that may feel unfamiliar at first — one where your feelings are met with curiosity, not judgment. Where your past is explored not to assign blame, but to understand how it shaped your beliefs. And where your struggles are treated with care, not comparison.

Therapy can help you:

• Understand the roots of your self-doubt or guilt around asking for help

• Learn how to validate your own needs without shame

• Practice receiving support, perhaps for the first time

• Begin to feel worthy of care — not because you’re “suffering enough,” but because you’re human

You Are Not Broken — You Adapted

Often, the very coping mechanisms that now feel like obstacles were once forms of protection. Minimising your pain may have been how you stayed safe or functional in a world that didn’t offer much support.

Therapy doesn’t pathologise those defences. It honours them, while gently helping you find new ways to live that are rooted in self-compassion.

You Deserve Help, Even If No One Told You That Before

The belief that you must “have it all together,” or “deal with it yourself,” can be a heavy burden to carry. You are allowed to put it down. You’re allowed to feel what you feel. And you are absolutely allowed to ask for help.

Healing is not reserved for the few. It’s for anyone who wants it — including you.

Understanding Bereavement: Navigating the Grieving Process

Loss is a part of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier when it arrives. Whether it's the death of a loved one, a friend, a pet, or even a symbolic loss such as the end of a relationship or life chapter, bereavement can shake the very foundations of our emotional world.

Grief is personal. It doesn’t follow a straight line or fixed timetable. For many, it can feel confusing, overwhelming, or even numb. If you’re grieving right now—or supporting someone who is—know that there’s no “right” way to feel, and help is available.

What Is Bereavement?

Bereavement refers to the period of mourning and adjustment that follows a loss, most often a death. It encompasses the emotional, physical, cognitive, and even spiritual reactions we might experience in response.

Grief, on the other hand, is the emotional response to that loss. This can include sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, loneliness, or even relief—sometimes all in the same day.

How Grief Is Experienced

Grief can affect us in many ways:

• Emotionally – You might feel deep sadness, shock, fear, anger, guilt, or longing. Sometimes, you may feel numb or disconnected altogether.

• Physically – Grief can cause exhaustion, poor sleep, changes in appetite, tightness in the chest, or difficulty concentrating.

• Socially – You might withdraw from others or feel that no one really understands what you’re going through.

• Existentially or Spiritually – Grief can bring up big questions about the meaning of life, beliefs, or identity.

These reactions can come in waves, triggered by memories, milestones, or ordinary moments. This ebb and flow is completely natural.

The Myth of the Five Stages

You may have heard of the five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While this model can be helpful for some, it's important to remember that grief isn't linear. You might not go through every stage, or you might revisit some multiple times.

Grieving isn’t a checklist. It’s a living process.

Common Themes in Grief

• Guilt or “I should have…” thoughts

• Regret for things unsaid or undone

• Fear of forgetting the person who died

• Pressure to ‘move on’ or ‘be strong’ too quickly

• Changes in identity, especially after losing a partner, parent, or child

All of these are normal and valid. Sometimes we also experience what’s called complicated grief—where the mourning feels stuck, prolonged, or unbearable. This can be particularly painful and is something therapy can gently support you through.

How Therapy Can Help

Grief can feel isolating, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Therapy provides a safe and non-judgmental space to:

• Talk openly about your feelings

• Explore your relationship with the person you’ve lost

• Make sense of difficult emotions like guilt or anger

• Sit with the sadness without being overwhelmed by it

• Begin to reconnect with life in your own time

Importantly, therapy doesn’t rush you. It meets you where you are.

There’s No Right Way to Grieve

Your grief is valid, no matter how it looks. Some people cry every day. Others feel strangely functional. Some want to talk. Others don’t know what to say. However you are coping, know that it’s okay.

Grief is love looking for somewhere to go. Over time, with support and compassion, the sharp edges of loss can soften. You might not “get over” the person you’ve lost—but you can learn to carry them with you in a new way.

If You’re Struggling

If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or unsure how to cope with your grief, reaching out for support is a courageous step. You are not alone. Therapy can help you process, honour, and live with your loss at your own pace.

The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Adult Relationships

Our earliest relationships shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world. When childhood is marked by trauma—whether through neglect, abuse, abandonment, or unpredictable caregiving—it can leave a lasting imprint. These early wounds often resurface in adult relationships, affecting how we connect, trust, and relate to others.

Understanding this connection isn’t about blame. It’s about making sense of patterns that might otherwise feel confusing, painful, or self-defeating—and finding a path toward healing.

What Is Childhood Trauma?

Childhood trauma can take many forms, including:

• Emotional neglect or lack of affection

• Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse

• Witnessing domestic violence

• Having a caregiver with mental health or substance issues

• Growing up in an unpredictable, chaotic, or unsafe environment

The impact of these experiences depends not just on what happened, but on how it was processed at the time. Children don’t have the emotional tools to make sense of overwhelming experiences, so trauma often gets stored in the body and nervous system, influencing behaviour and relationships in adulthood.

How Childhood Trauma Shows Up in Adult Relationships

If you experienced trauma as a child, you might notice some of these patterns in your adult relationships:

1. Fear of Abandonment
Even small signs of distance from a partner or friend can feel terrifying. You may feel panicked or desperate to keep them close, even at the expense of your own needs or boundaries.

2. Difficulty Trusting Others
You might struggle to believe that others are truly reliable, loving, or safe. This can lead to pushing people away, testing their commitment, or never letting anyone get too close.

3. People-Pleasing or Over-Giving
If love felt conditional in childhood, you may have learned to earn affection by being “good,” helpful, or self-sacrificing—often at a cost to your own wellbeing.

4. Avoidance of Intimacy
For some, closeness itself can feel threatening. You may prefer emotional distance, avoid vulnerability, or stay in relationships that feel safe because they’re emotionally unavailable.

5. Repeating Unhealthy Dynamics
Trauma often leads us to repeat familiar patterns, even when they’re painful. You may find yourself drawn to partners who are emotionally distant, controlling, or unreliable—because on some level, that feels “normal.”

6. Difficulty Regulating Emotions
Relationships can stir up intense emotions. If childhood taught you that feelings were unsafe or unwelcome, you may struggle to express your needs or soothe yourself in conflict.

Why This Happens: The Nervous System and Attachment

When a child grows up in a threatening or unpredictable environment, the nervous system adapts for survival. This can mean living in a state of hypervigilance, shutting down emotionally, or relying on strategies like appeasing or withdrawing.

These patterns can carry into adulthood, especially in close relationships where the stakes feel high. The nervous system may react to a partner’s disagreement as if it were a threat to safety, leading to fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses.

Attachment theory also plays a role. Early experiences with caregivers shape our “attachment style”—the way we connect with others. Trauma can lead to insecure attachment styles, such as anxious or avoidant, which can make relationships feel more stressful and less fulfilling.

Healing Is Possible

The good news is that relationship patterns shaped by trauma are not set in stone. With support, awareness, and compassion, they can be understood and shifted over time.

Therapy can help by:

• Making sense of your relational history

• Identifying and naming unhelpful patterns

• Building self-worth and self-trust

• Learning to communicate needs and boundaries

• Processing unresolved trauma in a safe, supportive space

Some therapies, like EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), or trauma-informed approaches, are especially helpful in addressing the root of relational wounds.

Moving Toward Healthier Relationships

Healing from childhood trauma is not about becoming “perfect” in relationships. It’s about becoming more conscious, more self-aware, and more compassionate with yourself.

As you heal, you may find that:

• You react less intensely to perceived slights or distance

• You choose partners who feel safer and more respectful

• You communicate your needs with more clarity and confidence

• You trust that you are worthy of love, just as you are

Relationships can become a source of growth and healing—not just a place where old pain gets replayed.

Final Thoughts

If you recognise yourself in these patterns, you're not broken—you’re responding to past experiences that shaped your survival. The fact that you’re exploring these ideas is a powerful first step toward healing.

Therapy can help you untangle the past, reclaim your sense of safety, and build more nourishing relationships moving forward. You deserve love, connection, and a relationship with yourself that is grounded in compassion and trust.

Is It Autism or Social Anxiety? Understanding the Difference

If you find social situations overwhelming or confusing, you might have wondered: Do I have social anxiety, or could I be autistic? The two can appear similar on the surface—both may involve avoiding social events, feeling out of place, or struggling to connect with others.

But autism and social anxiety are fundamentally different experiences, rooted in different causes. Understanding these differences can help you get the right kind of support.

What Is Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety is a mental health condition that causes intense fear about social situations. It’s not simply shyness or introversion. People with social anxiety often worry excessively about being judged, criticised, or humiliated, even in everyday interactions.

Some signs of social anxiety include:

• Avoiding conversations or public speaking

• Overthinking social interactions before and after they happen

• Feeling panicked at the thought of being the centre of attention

• Wanting to connect with others, but feeling paralysed by fear

• Physical symptoms like sweating, shaking, or a racing heart in social settings

The core issue in social anxiety is fear—especially fear of negative evaluation.

What Is Autism?

Autism (or Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental difference. Autistic people process the world in a way that’s different from non-autistic people, especially when it comes to social interaction, communication, and sensory experiences.

Autistic traits may include:

• Finding it difficult to pick up on social cues like facial expressions or tone of voice

• A preference for routine and predictability

• Deep focus or interest in specific topics

• Sensory sensitivities (e.g., to sound, light, or texture)

• Social interactions that feel effortful, confusing, or draining

Unlike social anxiety, the social differences in autism are not rooted in fear of judgment. They are part of a different neurological experience of the world.

How Are They Similar?

There are overlaps between social anxiety and autism. Both may involve:

• Avoiding group situations or conversations

• Discomfort making eye contact

• Feeling awkward or “different” in social settings

• Struggling to make or maintain friendships

• A sense of being overwhelmed by social or sensory input

It’s also common for autistic people to develop social anxiety over time, especially if they’ve been misunderstood, criticised, or excluded throughout life.

Key Differences to Look For

While the two conditions can look alike, there are some clues that can help tell them apart:

If you experience social discomfort because you're worried about being judged, disliked, or embarrassing yourself, social anxiety may be the root cause. People with social anxiety often want to engage socially but feel too anxious or self-conscious.

In contrast, if you find social interaction confusing or exhausting regardless of how others respond, it might be more aligned with autism. Many autistic people aren’t necessarily afraid of judgment—they just interact differently or find social rules hard to follow.

Autism tends to show up from early childhood, even if it goes unrecognised. Social anxiety, however, often develops later—sometimes in adolescence or adulthood.

What Can Help?

Whether you’re autistic, anxious, or a mix of both, therapy can be a powerful support. A therapist can help you:

• Understand your experiences more clearly

• Manage anxiety or overwhelm in social settings

• Explore your identity without shame or pressure

• Build confidence and self-acceptance

• Decide whether an autism assessment may be helpful

Therapy offers a space to be seen and heard just as you are. There’s no one “right” way to be social, and exploring your needs in a safe setting can make a big difference.

Final Thoughts

Social anxiety and autism can both impact how you relate to others, but they come from very different places. Understanding the distinction can help you better understand yourself—and seek the right kind of support.

If you're unsure where you fit, you're not alone. Therapy can offer clarity, compassion, and practical tools to help you thrive in your own way.

What Is Chemsex? Understanding the Risks and Support Options

In recent years, the term "chemsex" has become more widely recognised in conversations about mental health, addiction, and sexual wellbeing. For some, it may be unfamiliar; for others, it's a deeply personal or painful experience. In this blog post, we’ll explore what chemsex is, why it happens, the risks involved, and how therapy can help.

What Is Chemsex?

Chemsex refers to the use of specific drugs—typically methamphetamine (crystal meth), mephedrone (meow meow), and GHB/GBL (gamma-hydroxybutyrate/gamma-butyrolactone)—to facilitate or enhance sexual experiences, often over extended periods of time and frequently with multiple partners.

Chemsex is most commonly associated with men who have sex with men (MSM), but it can involve people of all genders and sexual orientations. It usually occurs in private homes, parties, or via hookups arranged through apps.

The term doesn’t refer to all sex that involves substances—what defines chemsex is the intentional use of these particular drugs to disinhibit, enhance stamina, reduce pain, and increase feelings of euphoria and intimacy.

Why Do People Engage in Chemsex?

The motivations behind chemsex can be complex and varied. For some, it's about freedom, confidence, or connection. For others, it may serve as an escape from emotional pain, loneliness, shame, trauma, or internalised stigma—especially around sexuality.

Some common reasons include:

• Reducing social or sexual anxiety

• Escaping emotional pain or trauma

• Seeking connection or intimacy

• Increasing confidence or sexual performance

• Avoiding feelings of shame or isolation

While chemsex may initially feel liberating or pleasurable, over time it can lead to significant risks and consequences.

The Risks of Chemsex

Chemsex can have serious impacts on both physical and mental health. The drugs used are highly addictive and often lead to:

• Physical health risks: unsafe sex, STIs, HIV, hepatitis C, overdose, dehydration, lack of sleep, and injury

• Mental health concerns: anxiety, paranoia, depression, psychosis, and suicidal thoughts

• Dependency and addiction: the cycle of relying on substances for sex or emotional regulation

• Consent and trauma issues: being unable to consent clearly or remembering what happened during extended sessions

• Isolation and shame: especially when chemsex becomes secretive or interferes with relationships and daily life

Many people who engage in chemsex struggle with conflicting feelings — they may experience enjoyment and connection but also feel shame, regret, or concern about losing control.

How Therapy Can Help

Talking to a therapist about chemsex can feel daunting — especially if there are fears of judgment or misunderstanding. But therapy can offer a non-judgmental, confidential space to explore what’s going on underneath the behaviour.

Therapy can help with:

• Understanding the emotional and psychological roots of chemsex

• Managing shame, trauma, or anxiety

• Exploring issues around sex, identity, and relationships

• Finding healthier ways to cope or connect

• Reducing harm and planning for change, if desired

You don’t have to be in crisis or want to stop completely to seek support. Therapy can be a space to reflect, gain insight, and make informed choices that feel right for you.

Final Thoughts

Chemsex is a complex issue, often linked to deeper emotional, cultural, and psychological factors. Whether you’re personally involved in chemsex or supporting someone who is, compassion and understanding are key.

If you feel affected by chemsex or want to talk confidentially about your experiences, a qualified therapist can offer support — without judgment, pressure, or shame.

You are not alone. Help is available.

Understanding Shame: What It Is, Why We Feel It, and How to Heal

Shame is one of the most powerful and painful human emotions. It can be overwhelming, isolating, and deeply rooted. For many people, shame lingers silently in the background of their lives — shaping relationships, self-worth, and even mental health. But what exactly is shame? Why do we feel it? And how is it different from guilt?

In this post, we’ll explore the nature of shame, how it differs from guilt, and what we can do to begin moving toward healing.

What Is Shame?

Shame is the feeling that there is something fundamentally wrong with who we are. It’s not just a sense that we’ve done something bad — it’s the belief that we are bad.

Shame often shows up as:

• A desire to hide or withdraw

• Harsh self-judgment or inner criticism

• A sense of being unworthy, broken, or unlovable

• Avoidance of vulnerability or closeness

• Fear of being exposed, rejected, or humiliated

It can be triggered by specific experiences — like rejection, criticism, or trauma — or it can develop over time, especially if we grew up in environments where we were criticised, neglected, or made to feel "not good enough."

Why Do We Feel Shame?

Shame is a deeply social emotion. It’s rooted in our evolutionary need to belong. In early human societies, being part of a group was essential for survival. Shame helped regulate behaviour and prevent us from being cast out or rejected.

But in modern life, shame can become toxic. It’s often tied to unrealistic expectations, societal pressures, or messages we received as children. We might feel shame for expressing emotions, making mistakes, or simply being ourselves.

For example:

• A child who was repeatedly criticised may grow into an adult who feels shame whenever they speak up.

• Someone who experienced abuse may carry shame about what happened, despite it not being their fault.

• People in marginalised groups may feel shame simply for existing in a society that devalues them.

Over time, this kind of shame can become internalised and automatic, affecting everything from self-esteem to relationships to mental health.

Shame vs. Guilt: What’s the Difference?

Although shame and guilt are often confused, they are not the same:

• Guilt says: I did something wrong.

• Shame says: There’s something wrong with me.

Guilt can be a helpful emotion — it signals when our actions have hurt someone or violated our values. It motivates us to make amends and grow.

Shame, on the other hand, is often paralysing. It doesn’t lead to repair — it leads to hiding, self-hatred, or emotional withdrawal. Unlike guilt, which focuses on behaviour, shame targets the self.

It’s also possible to feel both at once. For example, someone might feel guilty for lying to a friend, and ashamed because they believe it confirms they are a “bad person.”

What Can We Do About Shame?

Healing from shame isn’t about “getting rid of it” — it’s about learning to recognise it, understand it, and respond to it with compassion. Here are a few steps that can help:

1. Name It

The first step is recognising when you’re feeling shame. Notice the signs — the inner critic, the urge to withdraw, the feeling of worthlessness. Simply saying to yourself, “This is shame,” can start to break its grip.

2. Talk About It

Shame thrives in silence. When we speak it aloud — especially to someone safe and non-judgmental — it begins to lose power. Therapy can be a supportive place to explore shame and its roots.

3. Challenge the Inner Critic

Shame often shows up as a harsh inner voice. Ask yourself: Whose voice is this? Would I speak to someone I love this way? Learning to talk to yourself with kindness is key.

4. Connect with Others

Shame isolates. Connection heals. When we share our struggles with people who respond with empathy, we begin to rewrite the belief that we are alone, broken, or unlovable.

5. Practice Self-Compassion

Instead of trying to “fix” yourself, try offering understanding. Self-compassion means recognising that being imperfect, struggling, and feeling pain are all part of being human.

Final Thoughts

Shame is a deeply human emotion — but it doesn’t have to control your life. By understanding what shame is, where it comes from, and how to meet it with compassion, it’s possible to shift from a place of self-judgment to one of healing and self-acceptance.

You are not your shame. You are not broken. And you are not alone.

If shame is something you struggle with, therapy can help you explore its roots, understand your emotional responses, and begin to build a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

Delayed PTSD After Sexual Assault: Understanding Freeze, Shut Down, and Self-Blame

Sexual assault is a deeply traumatic experience that can leave lasting psychological wounds. For many survivors, these wounds may not surface immediately. Months — even years — after the event, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can emerge, often catching people off guard and bringing with them a wave of confusion and self-blame.

One of the most misunderstood aspects of sexual trauma is how our bodies react during the assault. Many survivors struggle with questions like, Why didn’t I fight back? Why didn’t I say no? Did I let this happen?

The truth is: You didn’t let it happen. Your body responded in the only way it knew how to survive.

What Is Delayed PTSD?

Delayed PTSD refers to symptoms that arise well after the traumatic event — sometimes after a triggering experience, a period of increased stress, or when a survivor finally feels "safe enough" for the trauma to surface.

These symptoms may include:

• Flashbacks or intrusive memories

• Panic attacks or anxiety

• Avoidance of people, places, or reminders

• Nightmares and sleep disturbances

• Emotional numbness or detachment

• Intense shame, self-criticism, or guilt

For survivors of sexual assault, these experiences can feel especially confusing when they seem to appear “out of nowhere,” long after the event.

Why Self-Blame Is So Common

One of the cruelest effects of trauma is self-blame. Survivors may revisit the assault over and over, questioning their actions or inactions:

• Why didn’t I scream?

• Why didn’t I run away?

• Why didn’t I say no more forcefully?

These questions are often rooted in a lack of understanding about how the nervous system responds to danger.

We tend to hear a lot about the “fight or flight” response. But there’s another equally important — and often overlooked — response: freeze.

The Freeze Response: Your Body Trying to Keep You Alive

When your brain perceives overwhelming threat — especially one you can't escape — it may shut down movement, speech, and emotion altogether. This is not a conscious decision. It's not something you chose. It’s a survival response controlled by the autonomic nervous system — the same system that keeps your heart beating and your lungs breathing.

This freeze or shutdown state can look like:

• Being unable to move or speak

• Feeling numb, disconnected, or frozen in place

• Complying or becoming passive

• A sense of floating or being outside your body (dissociation)

To outside observers — or even to survivors later on — this may be misinterpreted as consent or acceptance. But in reality, it’s your body’s last-resort effort to survive an inescapable threat.

This response is especially common during sexual assault, where the attacker often has control, power, or physical dominance. The body assesses that resistance could lead to more harm — so it shuts down to protect you.

Releasing the Shame

Understanding the biology of trauma can be a powerful step toward healing.

You didn't fail.
You didn't “let it happen.”
You weren't weak.

Your nervous system responded exactly as it was designed to in the face of danger.

Shame thrives in silence and misunderstanding. Talking about the freeze response, learning about trauma, and connecting with others who understand can help release the burden of self-blame.

How Therapy Can Help

If you’re experiencing delayed PTSD after sexual assault, therapy can support you in making sense of your experiences, regulating your nervous system, and rebuilding a sense of safety and trust.

A trauma-informed therapist can help you:

• Understand your body’s response and replace self-blame with compassion

• Process the trauma at a pace that feels safe

• Learn grounding and calming tools to manage flashbacks and anxiety

• Reconnect with your body in gentle, empowering ways

• Build a narrative of what happened that honours your truth

You don’t have to carry this alone.

You Deserve Healing — On Your Own Timeline

Trauma is not always immediate. Healing doesn’t have a deadline. If your symptoms are surfacing now, it's not too late. In fact, this may be the very moment your mind and body feel ready to begin.

No matter how much time has passed, what happened to you matters. And how your body responded was not your fault.

You are not broken. You are surviving. And with the right support, you can begin to thrive.

Dissociation, Depersonalisation, and Derealisation: Understanding the Disconnection

Have you ever felt like you were watching your life from outside your body, or that the world around you suddenly seemed strange or dreamlike? These are common descriptions of dissociation, depersonalisation, and derealisation — experiences that can be confusing, distressing, and often hard to explain.

This blog post explores what these terms mean, how they are experienced, what causes them, and how therapy can help bring you back to yourself.

What Is Dissociation?

Dissociation is a mental process where a person disconnects from aspects of their experience, such as thoughts, feelings, memories, physical sensations, or even their sense of identity. It’s not always a sign of something serious — many people experience mild dissociation, such as daydreaming or “zoning out.”

But when dissociation becomes frequent, intense, or disruptive, it may indicate a deeper underlying issue such as trauma, anxiety, or stress.

Depersonalisation: Feeling Detached From Yourself

Depersonalisation is a specific type of dissociation where you may feel detached from your own body, thoughts, or identity. People often describe it as:

• Feeling like a robot or as if they’re on autopilot

• Experiencing their body as unreal, numb, or unfamiliar

• Watching themselves from outside, like in a film

• Feeling emotionally disconnected or “flat”

You might know, logically, that nothing is wrong — but still feel profoundly disconnected.

Derealisation: Feeling Detached From the World

Derealisation involves a sense that the world around you isn’t real. This might feel like:

• The environment appears foggy, distant, or dreamlike

• People or objects seem distorted or unfamiliar

• Time feels slowed down or sped up

• A sense of being behind glass or in a movie

Again, this is not a hallucination — you’re aware of what’s real, but feel strangely removed from it.

What Causes Dissociation?

Dissociation often occurs as a protective response to overwhelming stress or trauma. When something feels too painful or threatening to fully process, the mind may “disconnect” as a way to cope. Causes include:

• Childhood trauma or abuse

• Ongoing stress or anxiety

• Sudden traumatic events (e.g., accidents, assault)

• Emotional neglect or chronic invalidation

• Panic attacks or other intense emotional states

Some people are more prone to dissociation than others, especially if they’ve experienced trauma or grew up in environments where they had to suppress emotions to stay safe.

How Does It Affect Daily Life?

For some, dissociation is fleeting and manageable. For others, it can be deeply disruptive. It might affect:

• Relationships – Feeling distant or disconnected from others

• Memory – Difficulty recalling events or conversations

• Emotions – Feeling numb, confused, or flat

• Identity – Struggling with a sense of who you are

• Functioning – Trouble concentrating, staying present, or making decisions

These experiences can also be frightening, especially if you don’t understand what’s happening.

How Can Therapy Help?

The good news is that dissociation, depersonalisation, and derealisation are treatable. Therapy can help you understand your experience, reduce symptoms, and reconnect with yourself and the world around you.

Here’s how:

1. Understanding and Validation

Many people feel alone or ashamed of their dissociative experiences. Therapy offers a space where your experiences are taken seriously and compassionately understood.

2. Processing Underlying Causes

Therapists can help you explore past trauma, stress, or emotional patterns that may be contributing to dissociation — at a pace that feels safe.

3. Grounding Techniques

You’ll learn practical tools to stay connected to your body and the present moment. This may include breathing exercises, mindfulness, movement, or sensory techniques.

4. Building Emotional Tolerance

Therapy supports you in gradually increasing your ability to stay with difficult emotions and sensations, so that dissociation becomes less necessary as a coping strategy.

5. Stabilisation and Integration

Over time, therapy can help you feel more emotionally stable, and begin to integrate parts of yourself that may have felt split off or disconnected.

You’re Not “Broken” — You’re Protecting Yourself

Dissociation is not a flaw or failure — it’s a creative and adaptive response to pain. But you don’t have to live with it forever. With the right support, you can begin to feel grounded, real, and whole again.

If you’re experiencing dissociation, depersonalisation, or derealisation, you're not alone — and help is available.

How Therapy Helps With Grief After Miscarriage or Baby Loss

The grief following a miscarriage or baby loss is profound. It’s not just the loss of a pregnancy or a child — it’s the loss of hopes, dreams, and a future you may have already begun to imagine. Whether your experience was recent or years ago, the emotional weight can be overwhelming and long-lasting.

Therapy can provide vital support through this unique and often isolating kind of grief. Here’s how.

Grieving What’s Often Unspoken

One of the hardest parts of miscarriage or baby loss is how invisible the grief can be. Others may not understand the depth of your pain, especially if the loss happened early in pregnancy. You may feel pressure to move on quickly, or struggle with feelings of shame, guilt, or failure.

In therapy, you don’t have to minimise your loss. It offers a space to:

• Talk freely about what happened

• Name your grief and honour your experience

• Acknowledge your baby and the bond you felt

• Be supported without judgment or expectations

What Therapy Can Help You With

Grief after miscarriage or baby loss doesn’t follow a timeline. It can affect your emotions, relationships, body image, and future plans. A therapist can help you:

• Process feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, or numbness

• Work through anxiety about future pregnancies or fertility

• Manage changes in your relationship or family dynamics

• Rebuild trust in your body and sense of safety

• Honour your loss in meaningful, healing ways

The Emotional Landscape of Baby Loss

Everyone grieves differently, but many people describe:

• A sense of emptiness or disconnection

• Unexpected emotional triggers (e.g., anniversaries, baby announcements)

• Sleep difficulties or physical symptoms

• Feelings of isolation, especially if others don't acknowledge the loss

• Difficulty finding meaning or hope in everyday life

Therapy helps you make space for these emotions and find ways to live with the grief, not against it.

Supporting Partners and Families

Partners may grieve differently — sometimes more quietly or inwardly. Therapy can also support couples in navigating loss together. It can:

• Improve communication and mutual understanding

• Help each partner feel seen and supported

• Rebuild emotional closeness and trust

• Provide a shared space for honouring your baby

Therapy may also support siblings or other family members affected by the loss.

Choosing the Right Therapist

When seeking support, consider a therapist who:

• Specialises in grief, bereavement, or reproductive loss

• Has experience supporting individuals or couples through miscarriage or stillbirth

• Creates a calm, validating, and safe therapeutic space

• Understands the complex emotions and layered grief this experience can bring

Sometimes the hardest part is reaching out. But it’s a sign of strength to ask for help when you’re carrying something so heavy.

You’re Not Alone

Grief after miscarriage or baby loss is real, valid, and deserving of care. Therapy can help you feel less alone, more understood, and gradually more able to carry the pain with compassion.

There is no right way to grieve. But you don’t have to grieve in silence.

If you're ready to talk, there are people who will listen — and walk alongside you through your healing.

Navigating Gender Identity in Therapy: How It Can Help

Exploring gender identity is a deeply personal journey. Whether you're questioning your gender, transitioning, or simply looking for a space to talk, therapy can offer support, clarity, and acceptance.

In a world that often misunderstands or marginalizes gender diversity, therapy provides a place to be seen, heard, and affirmed. Here's how it can help — and why it matters.

Understanding Gender Identity

Gender identity refers to your internal sense of who you are — whether that's male, female, both, neither, or somewhere along a spectrum. For some people, gender identity is clear and constant. For others, it may shift or take time to fully understand.

Therapy can help you:

• Explore your identity in a safe, non-judgmental space

• Work through confusion, fear, or internalised stigma

• Make sense of the emotions and questions that arise

• Understand how gender intersects with other parts of your life

Common Reasons People Seek Therapy Around Gender

People come to therapy with many different experiences and goals. Some common reasons include:

• Feeling uncertain or anxious about gender identity

• Coming out to family or friends

• Navigating the social or medical aspects of transition

• Coping with discrimination, rejection, or dysphoria

• Seeking gender-affirming support for other mental health issues like anxiety or depression

Whatever brings you in, therapy can meet you where you are — without pressure or assumptions.

What Does Affirming Therapy Look Like?

A gender-affirming therapist will:

• Respect your identity and pronouns

• Create a space that feels inclusive and validating

• Understand the impact of societal and systemic pressures

• Help you process emotions, relationships, and choices in a supportive way

Affirming therapy isn’t about steering you in a particular direction — it’s about helping you listen more deeply to yourself and feel empowered in your own journey.

The Benefits of Therapy When Exploring Gender Identity

• Clarity – Talking things through can reduce confusion and anxiety

• Self-acceptance – Therapy helps you build a kinder, more confident relationship with yourself

• Resilience – You’ll learn tools to manage dysphoria, discrimination, or stress

• Connection – Therapy can help you navigate relationships and build support networks

• Support during transitions – If you're considering social or medical transition, a therapist can guide you through the emotional aspects of these changes

Finding the Right Therapist

It’s important to work with someone who is experienced in gender identity issues and who affirms your lived experience. Look for therapists who:

• Explicitly state LGBTQIA+ inclusivity

• Have training or specialism in gender identity

• Make you feel safe and respected from the first session

Don’t be afraid to ask questions in an initial consultation. A good therapist will welcome your curiosity and prioritise your comfort.

Final Thoughts

Gender identity is not something to be “fixed” — it’s something to be understood, honoured, and lived fully. Therapy offers a space to make sense of who you are and to grow into that identity with confidence and support.

If you’re considering therapy as part of your journey, you deserve to be met with respect and care. You are not alone, and support is available.

How Do I Know If I’m Experiencing Burnout or Depression?

Feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or emotionally drained can be tough to handle. But sometimes it’s hard to tell whether what you’re experiencing is burnout or depression — and knowing the difference can be important for getting the right kind of help.

In this post, we’ll explore what burnout and depression are, how they overlap, and some key signs to help you distinguish between the two.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that usually results from prolonged work pressure or demanding life situations. It’s often related to feeling emotionally exhausted, physically drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

Common signs of burnout include:

• Feeling constantly tired and drained

• Reduced motivation or interest in work or daily tasks

• Feeling detached or cynical about your job or responsibilities

• Struggling with concentration or productivity

• Physical symptoms like headaches or sleep problems

Burnout is usually tied to a specific source of stress — such as your job or caregiving duties — and may improve when those pressures lessen or when you take time to rest and recover.

What Is Depression?

Depression is a clinical mental health condition that affects your mood, thoughts, and body. It goes beyond just feeling sad and can impact every area of life.

Symptoms of depression often include:

• Persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness

• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed

• Changes in appetite or sleep patterns

• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt

• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide (in severe cases)

Depression may arise for many reasons, including chemical imbalances, genetics, trauma, or ongoing stress. It typically requires professional treatment to manage effectively.

How Are Burnout and Depression Similar?

Burnout and depression share some symptoms, which can make it hard to tell them apart:

• Fatigue and low energy

• Difficulty concentrating

• Feeling overwhelmed or emotionally drained

• Loss of interest in activities

Because of these overlaps, it’s important to pay attention to the context and other specific signs.

How Can You Tell Them Apart?

Here are some clues to help distinguish burnout from depression:

• Source of symptoms: Burnout is usually linked to specific stressors like work, while depression can affect many areas of life without an obvious trigger.

• Emotional tone: Burnout often comes with feelings of frustration or cynicism, especially related to work. Depression involves deeper feelings of sadness or hopelessness that don’t lift easily.

• Physical symptoms: While both can cause fatigue, depression is more likely to cause changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, and physical pain without clear cause.

• Duration and impact: Burnout symptoms may improve with rest, boundary-setting, or changing your environment. Depression tends to persist and affect your overall functioning even outside of work or specific stressors.

When Should You Seek Help?

If you’re struggling with ongoing feelings of exhaustion, sadness, or hopelessness — or if you have thoughts of self-harm — it’s important to reach out to a healthcare professional. Both burnout and depression benefit from support, but depression especially requires proper diagnosis and treatment.

Therapy can be very effective in helping manage both burnout and depression by addressing stress, building coping skills, and exploring underlying issues.

Final Thoughts

Feeling overwhelmed and exhausted is tough, but recognising whether you’re dealing with burnout or depression is a key step toward recovery. Both conditions deserve attention and care.

If you’re unsure or worried about your mental health, don’t hesitate to ask for help. You don’t have to face it alone.

Low Self-Esteem vs. Low Confidence: What’s the Difference?

 The terms self-esteem and self-confidence are often used interchangeably — but they don’t mean quite the same thing. Understanding the difference between them can be the first step toward healing self-doubt and building a more resilient sense of self.

In this post, we’ll break down what each term means, how they show up in everyday life, and how therapy can help if either — or both — are holding you back.

What Is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is about how you see yourself at your core. It's your internal sense of worth and how much you believe you deserve love, respect, and happiness — simply because you're you.

People with low self-esteem often:

• Feel unworthy or “not good enough”

• Struggle with self-criticism or shame

• Have difficulty accepting compliments

• Avoid relationships or opportunities for fear of rejection

• Internalise failure as a reflection of their identity

In short, self-esteem is about who you believe you are.

What Is Self-Confidence?

Self-confidence, on the other hand, is about trust in your abilities — like how well you think you can perform a task or handle a challenge.

Someone with low confidence might:

• Doubt their skills or knowledge in specific areas (e.g. public speaking, leadership)

• Struggle with imposter syndrome at work or school

• Avoid new challenges for fear of failure

• Feel anxious in social or performance-based situations

Where self-esteem is about being, confidence is about doing.

Why the Distinction Matters

Though they're different, self-esteem and confidence are closely linked. You can have:

• High confidence but low self-esteem: You may perform well outwardly (e.g. in a job), but still feel fundamentally “not good enough” inside.

• Low confidence but healthy self-esteem: You might struggle in new situations, but still value yourself overall and treat yourself with compassion.

Understanding where the issue lies helps tailor support — whether that’s building self-belief from within, or developing new skills and experience to boost external confidence.

 Self-Esteem vs. Self-Confidence at a Glance

Self-Esteem

Focus: Your sense of worth

Based on: Deep beliefs about yourself

Influenced by: Childhood, identity, relationships

Common thoughts: “I’m not lovable.” “I don’t deserve good things.”

Healing approach: Therapy, self-compassion, inner work

Self-Confidence

Focus: Your belief in your abilities

Based on: Experience and competence

Influenced by: Practice, feedback, past success/failure

Common thoughts: “I can’t do this.” “I’m not good at that.”

Healing approach: Skill-building, support, exposure

How This Shows Up in Therapy

Clients often come to therapy saying things like:

• “I feel like a fraud even though I’m successful.”

• “I always second-guess myself in meetings.”

• “I can’t take a compliment — I just don’t believe it.”

• “I keep people at a distance because I worry I’ll disappoint them.”

Sometimes, the issue is surface-level confidence. Other times, it's deeper self-worth wounds rooted in childhood, trauma, or past criticism.

How Therapy Can Help

Whether you're struggling with self-confidence, self-esteem, or both, therapy can help you:

• Identify the roots of self-doubt

• Challenge negative beliefs about yourself

• Build confidence in practical situations

• Develop self-compassion and emotional resilience

• Learn to value yourself regardless of performance

No one is born with high self-esteem or confidence — both are shaped over time. And with the right support, they can also be rebuilt.

You Deserve to Feel Good About Who You Are

You are more than your achievements, and you are not defined by your doubts. Whether you feel stuck in patterns of self-criticism or are simply tired of holding yourself back, therapy offers a safe space to explore, understand, and grow.

If you’re based in Nottingham or looking for support online, get in touch to explore how we can work together to build confidence and nurture true self-worth.

Is It ADHD or Anxiety? How to Tell the Difference

 If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether you're living with ADHD or anxiety, you’re not alone. These two conditions often overlap in symptoms — like restlessness, difficulty focusing, and racing thoughts — which can make it difficult to know what’s really going on.

Understanding the differences (and the similarities) can help you take the next step toward the right support.

Shared Symptoms: Why ADHD and Anxiety Can Look Alike

Both ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and anxiety disorders can cause:

• Trouble focusing or staying on task

• Feeling overwhelmed easily

• Restlessness or physical tension

• Difficulty sleeping

• Forgetfulness or disorganisation

• Constant worry or a "busy brain"

It’s no wonder people often misidentify one as the other — or even live with both without realising it.

What’s at the Root? ADHD vs Anxiety

To untangle the difference, it helps to look at the root causes:

ADHD

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. The brain processes attention, executive function (like planning and memory), and self-regulation differently. This means people with ADHD often:

• Struggle to filter distractions

• Find it hard to start or complete tasks

• Lose track of time or misplace things

• Act on impulse or shift focus frequently

ADHD is not caused by stress — though stress can make symptoms worse.

Anxiety

Anxiety, on the other hand, is typically driven by excessive worry or fear. Your brain enters a heightened state of alert, constantly scanning for potential danger. This can lead to:

• Overthinking and second-guessing decisions

• Physical symptoms like muscle tension or nausea

• Avoidance behaviours

• Trouble sleeping due to worry

In short: Anxiety is rooted in fear; ADHD is rooted in brain wiring.

Can You Have Both? Yes — and It’s Common

Many people live with both ADHD and anxiety, and they can feed into one another.

• Someone with untreated ADHD might feel anxious because they’re constantly missing deadlines or forgetting important tasks.

• Someone with anxiety might look like they have ADHD because their brain is always “elsewhere.”

A qualified mental health professional can help untangle these threads — and offer support that matches your needs.

Key Differences at a Glance

ADHD

Main challenge: Attention, focus, and regulation

Thought pattern: Scattered or distracted

Triggers: Internal (boredom, overstimulation)

Relief from symptoms: Novelty or stimulation can help

Treatment: Often includes structure and stimulation

Anxiety

Main challenge: Worry, fear, and avoidance

Thought pattern: Repetitive and worry-driven

Triggers: External (social situations, fears)

Relief from symptoms: Reassurance or control helps

Treatment: Often includes calming and exposure strategies

What Clients Often Say

• “I start a task, then jump to something else without finishing. Is it ADHD?”

• “I can’t focus because I’m constantly worried. Could it be anxiety?”

• “My brain never slows down. I’m exhausted.”

These are the kinds of statements I often hear in therapy — and they’re important clues to what’s underneath the surface.

How Therapy Can Help

Whether you’re dealing with ADHD, anxiety, or both, therapy can help you:

• Understand how your brain works

• Learn practical strategies for focus and calm

• Manage overwhelm and burnout

• Explore medication options if appropriate

• Build self-esteem and reduce shame

You Don’t Have to Figure It Out Alone

If you're unsure whether it's ADHD, anxiety, or something else entirely, speaking with a mental health professional can bring clarity and relief.

I offer a safe, supportive space to explore what’s really going on — and how we can work together to make daily life feel more manageable.

Autism vs. Complex Trauma: Similarities, Differences, and How to Tell Them Apart

In the therapy room, clients sometimes ask, “Is this autism… or could it be trauma?” The question is more common than you might think. Autism and complex trauma (also called Complex PTSD or C-PTSD) can share overlapping traits, making it difficult—at times even for clinicians—to tease them apart.

But while the two can look similar from the outside, they stem from fundamentally different roots.

So what are the key similarities, how are they different, and how can you begin to tell them apart?

What Is Autism?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, present from early life, which affects how a person experiences the world. It involves differences in communication, sensory processing, social interaction, and often includes focused interests and a preference for routine.

It is not a mental illness or the result of trauma—it’s a different way of being wired.

What Is Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)?

Complex trauma, or C-PTSD, arises from ongoing, repeated exposure to relational trauma, such as emotional neglect, abuse, or instability—often during childhood. It can shape how a person sees themselves, others, and the world. Unlike autism, C-PTSD is acquired, not innate.

 Where Autism and C-PTSD Overlap

There are several traits that can appear in both autism and complex trauma:

Emotional dysregulation

Outbursts, shutdowns, emotional flooding

Social withdrawal or awkwardness

Avoidance, difficulty reading social cues

Sensitivity to stimuli

Sensory overwhelm, hypervigilance

Routine-seeking

Need for predictability or control

Difficulty with change

Fear-based (trauma) or comfort-based (autism)

Dissociation or shutdown

Zoning out, emotional numbing, “going blank”

Identity confusion

“Who am I?” especially in masking or survival modes

These shared features often lead to misdiagnosis or misinterpretation—especially when a trauma history is present, or when autism has been masked for years.

Key Differences Between Autism and C-PTSD

Understanding the origin and context of behaviour is essential. Here are some contrasting elements:

Origin

Autism: Inborn neurotype

CPTSD: Learned survival response to prolonged threat

Timeline

Autism: Signs present in early development

CPTSD: Develops over time, often after repeated abuse

Sensory sensitivity

Autism: Neurologically based

CPTSD: Linked to hypervigilance or trauma triggers

Social struggles

Autism: Difficulty understanding others

CPTSD: Fear or mistrust of others

Repetitive behaviours

Autism: Often soothing or joyful (stimming)

CPTSD: Often absent or tied to anxiety management

Sense of self

Autism: Often identity is internally formed

CPTSD: May be fragmented, shaped by survival roles

Attachment patterns

Autism: May seem disinterested or “different”

CPTSD: Often preoccupied, avoidant, or disorganised

 Is It Possible to Have Both?

Yes—autism and trauma can coexist, and they often do.

• Autistic individuals are more vulnerable to trauma, particularly in childhood.

• Experiences like bullying, misunderstanding, masking, or being unsupported can be traumatic in themselves.

• Likewise, someone with a trauma history may have autistic traits that were never identified, leading to confusion.

Proper assessment with a neurodiversity-informed, trauma-sensitive clinician is vital.

How to Tell the Difference (or At Least Start to)

Here are some helpful questions a therapist or individual might consider:

• Were the traits present early in life, before any trauma occurred?

• Do the behaviours increase in safety, or only when stressed?

• Are routines and stimming comforting and self-directed, or driven by fear and control?

• Is sensory overwhelm consistent and patterned, or trigger-specific?

It’s not about ticking boxes but looking at the whole story—history, nervous system responses, development, and context.

Why This Distinction Matters

• Misdiagnosing autism as trauma may lead to therapy focused on “fixing” something that isn’t broken.

• Mistaking trauma for autism may overlook pain that needs healing.

• Understanding the difference helps tailor support—whether that’s therapy, sensory strategies, or self-compassion.

Final Thought

Autism and complex trauma aren’t the same—but they can look alike, coexist, and interact in complex ways. Being curious, compassionate, and collaborative in exploring the “why” behind behaviour is key.

You don’t need all the answers right away—but asking the question is a powerful first step.

Understanding Attachment: How Our Bonds Shape Us

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to thrive in relationships while others struggle with closeness, trust, or independence? The answer may lie in something called attachment style — a blueprint for how we connect with others that often begins in early childhood.

Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby and expanded by Mary Ainsworth, helps us understand how our early relationships with caregivers shape our expectations and behaviours in relationships throughout life.

Let’s explore the four main attachment styles: secure, insecure avoidant, insecure ambivalent (also called anxious), and disorganized — what causes each, how they show up, and what can help.

 Secure Attachment: Feeling Safe to Love and Be Loved

What causes it?
Secure attachment develops when caregivers are consistently responsive, emotionally available, and attuned to a child’s needs. These children learn that others can be trusted and that they are worthy of care.

How it manifests:
Adults with secure attachment are comfortable with intimacy and independence. They can express needs and emotions, maintain healthy boundaries, and seek support without fear.

What’s helpful:
Secure individuals usually thrive in emotionally balanced relationships, but even they benefit from open communication and self-awareness. They often make great partners, friends, and parents because they model emotional regulation and trust.

 Insecure Avoidant Attachment: Keeping Distance

What causes it?
Avoidant attachment often develops when caregivers are emotionally distant, rejecting, or consistently unresponsive. The child learns not to rely on others for comfort or support.

How it manifests:
As adults, avoidantly attached individuals may appear independent to the point of seeming emotionally unavailable. They tend to downplay emotions, avoid closeness, and may struggle with vulnerability.

What’s helpful:
Developing trust gradually, learning to tolerate emotional closeness, and practicing open communication in safe relationships can help avoidant individuals form more connected bonds.

 Insecure Ambivalent (Anxious) Attachment: Clinging and Uncertainty

What causes it?
This style develops from inconsistent caregiving — sometimes nurturing, sometimes neglectful. The child never knows what to expect, leading to anxiety and hypervigilance.

How it manifests:
Adults with anxious attachment may crave closeness but fear abandonment. They might be overly sensitive to relationship dynamics, need constant reassurance, and become easily overwhelmed by emotional fluctuations.

What’s helpful:
Mindfulness, self-soothing techniques, and learning to recognize inner worth — independent of others' approval — can support healing. Therapy can help address underlying fears of abandonment.

 Disorganized Attachment: Confusion and Fear

What causes it?
Disorganized attachment typically arises in environments where the caregiver is both a source of comfort and fear — such as in cases of trauma, abuse, or frightening, unpredictable behaviour.

How it manifests:
Adults with this style may swing between avoidance and anxiety. Relationships can feel chaotic, intense, or confusing. There may be struggles with identity, trust, and emotional regulation.

What’s helpful:
Trauma-informed therapy is often crucial. Creating safety, learning emotional regulation, and processing past trauma are key steps toward healing and developing more secure attachment patterns.

It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All

It’s important to remember that attachment is not fixed — it's a dynamic system. People may show different attachment styles in different relationships or life stages. For example, someone might be secure with friends but anxious in romantic relationships. Stress, life changes, and healing experiences can all shift how we relate to others.

 Moving Toward Security

No matter where you start, attachment patterns can evolve. Through supportive relationships, therapy, self-reflection, and personal growth, many people move toward a more secure attachment style over time.

Understanding your attachment style is not about labelling yourself — it’s about gaining insight into how you relate to others and what you might need to feel safe, connected, and understood.

Final Thought:
Compassion is key — for yourself and for others. Everyone is doing the best they can with the blueprint they were given. And the good news? Blueprints can be revised.

Exploring the Overlap Between Berne’s Parent-Adult-Child Model and Our Parts

When we think about what makes us “us,” it’s easy to imagine a unified self—a single, cohesive personality with a consistent voice and perspective. But psychological and therapeutic models have long suggested that our inner world is far more complex and modular. Eric Berne’s Parent-Adult-Child (PAC) model, the concepts of the Inner Child and Inner Critic, and the idea of internal parts (as explored in Internal Family Systems, or IFS) all point toward a powerful truth: our personality is made up of multiple inner voices or parts, each with their own roles, functions, and emotional histories.

Let’s explore how these models overlap, and what they tell us about our inner world—especially in the context of trauma.

Berne’s Parent-Adult-Child Model

Eric Berne, founder of Transactional Analysis, proposed that we operate from three ego states:

• Parent: The internalized voice of authority—our caregivers, culture, society. It can be nurturing or critical.

• Adult: Our rational, here-and-now self. Grounded, thoughtful, and balanced.

• Child: The emotional, reactive part of us that holds both joy and vulnerability. It includes the Free Child (playful, spontaneous) and the Adapted Child (compliant, fearful, or rebellious in response to authority).

Each of these states can dominate in different situations, shaping our thoughts, emotions, and interactions.

Inner Child and Inner Critic: Echoes of the PAC Model

The Inner Child mirrors Berne’s Child ego state. This part carries our early emotional experiences—both the innocent joy and the wounds of unmet needs, shame, and fear. In trauma therapy, working with the inner child often involves reparenting and meeting needs that weren’t adequately met in childhood.

The Inner Critic reflects the more rigid or punitive aspects of the Parent ego state—those harsh internalized voices that tell us we’re not good enough, that we shouldn’t speak up, that we must work harder to be lovable. It often mimics the tone of early caregivers or cultural messages we’ve absorbed.

When left unchecked, the Inner Critic can dominate the psyche, overwhelming the Inner Child with shame, fear, and judgment—leaving little room for the Adult voice to moderate and soothe.

The Modular Self: Trauma and the Separation of Parts

Modern psychology increasingly recognizes the modular nature of personality. Instead of a single unified self, we have parts—distinct subpersonalities that arise in response to different contexts or emotional states. This is especially apparent in models like Internal Family Systems (IFS), which views the mind as an internal system of parts, including:

• Exiles (often wounded inner children),

• Managers (like inner critics or perfectionists),

• Firefighters (parts that try to distract or numb pain), and

• The Self—a core state of calm, curiosity, and compassion.

Trauma can intensify this internal modularity. When an experience is overwhelming, parts of us may fragment or "split off" to protect the core self. These parts can become more isolated, rigid in their roles, and emotionally extreme. For instance:

• A part may take on the role of protector, constantly vigilant and anxious.

• Another may act as a people-pleaser to avoid conflict.

• A wounded part might feel stuck in childhood, reliving fear or abandonment.

This dynamic resonates with the Parent-Adult-Child model—but in trauma, the boundaries between these parts may feel more absolute. A person may swing between states, struggling to access their Adult ego state or Self energy to mediate between their inner voices.

Integration: From Fragmentation to Wholeness

Healing involves developing internal communication and compassion between these parts. This often includes:

• Softening the Inner Critic (Critical Parent) and reworking its fears and protective intent.

• Befriending the Inner Child (Free or Adapted Child), offering safety, validation, and care.

• Strengthening the Adult ego state or Self energy—helping it become the wise, grounded centre that can lead the system.

In therapy, we learn to recognize which part is speaking and why. Instead of being overtaken by a wounded child or a punitive parent, we learn to listen to these parts without fusing with them. This leads to integration, emotional regulation, and a deeper sense of inner harmony.

Final Thoughts

Whether you're working with Berne’s Transactional Analysis, exploring the Inner Child and Critic, or navigating your parts in IFS, the message is the same: your mind is a complex, layered, living system. Trauma may separate and polarize these parts, but healing involves witnessing, honouring, and re-integrating them into a cohesive whole.

You are not broken—just internally diverse.

And with the right support, every part of you can find its place in the larger story of your growth.

Focusing and the Inquiry into the Self: Turning Distraction into Deep Healing

When we close our eyes in meditation, the mind rarely settles into a serene silence right away. Thoughts arise. Feelings surface. The body shifts. Sounds intrude. These occurrences are often labeled as distractions. But what if we approached them differently—not as interruptions to awareness, but as invitations into it?

This shift lies at the heart of Focusing, a practice developed by philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin. Rather than trying to push away thoughts, emotions, and sensations, Focusing encourages us to turn toward them, inquire into them, and allow them to reveal something deeper about who we are. When we meet these internal experiences with curiosity and presence, they become less like noise and more like messengers.

The Landscape of the Self: Thoughts, Feelings, and Sensations

In Focusing, the body is seen as wise—a storehouse of implicit knowing. Every feeling, sensation, and even vague inner tension (what Gendlin called the felt sense) holds unspoken meaning. Instead of analyzing these experiences intellectually, Focusing invites us to listen to them as though we are listening to another person, waiting patiently as their message slowly unfolds.

This internal inquiry brings into awareness different aspects of self:

• Thoughts may reflect habitual narratives or inner voices.

• Emotions can offer insight into our needs and boundaries.

• Sensations often hold the residue of past experiences.

• Subtle movements may emerge spontaneously as the body seeks release or realignment.

• Sensory perceptions—what we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell—can anchor us in the present moment, forming a bridge between inner and outer awareness.

In this way, we begin to see that the contents of our mind and body are not obstructions but elements of experience—objects in awareness, not awareness itself.

Training the Mind: From Distraction to Integration

When we bring sustained, nonjudgmental attention to our inner experiences, the brain changes. Neuroscience shows that practices like Focusing, which cultivate introspective attention and emotional regulation, activate and strengthen the medial prefrontal cortex—a brain region associated with self-awareness, empathy, and reflective thinking.

In parallel, engaging with bodily experience in this way can stimulate the relaxation response, a physiological state characterized by reduced stress hormones, slowed heart rate, and deeper breathing. This shift helps counterbalance the chronic over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system (the fight-or-flight mode) common in trauma and stress.

These changes are more than theoretical. This kind of mindful inquiry promotes healthy neuroplasticity, rewiring the brain to support emotional resilience, insight, and healing.

Focusing and Trauma: A Gentle Pathway In

For individuals who have experienced trauma, traditional meditation techniques can sometimes feel overwhelming. Dropping into stillness or observing the breath might bring up intense, unprocessed material. Focusing offers a more organic and titrated approach. Rather than diving into the full experience of pain, it encourages you to find just the edge of what feels tolerable—what Gendlin called the right kind of contact—and to stay there with kindness.

This gentle dialogue with the body can allow traumatic memory and emotion to integrate at a pace that feels safe. In time, the body may release what it has held, not because it was forced to, but because it was finally met and heard.

The Inquiry Continues

Focusing doesn’t seek to transcend the self but to illuminate it. It brings to light the layered, often contradictory aspects of our inner world—not to fix or analyze them, but to meet them with compassionate curiosity.

Thoughts, feelings, and sensations will always arise. But rather than seeing them as distractions, we can recognize them as doors. Behind each is an aspect of the self waiting to be acknowledged. In turning toward these inner visitors, we don’t just grow our brain—we grow our capacity for wholeness, presence, and genuine healing.