Women face a specific set of struggles.
Often we:
- Have anxious or obsessive thoughts about not being good enough
- Struggle with compulsive behaviors (e.g. sex, eating)
- Try to find value through romantic relationships and then feel dissatisfied
- Have trouble getting in touch with who we are or what we want
- Find it hard to inhabit own bodies
- Are tight or sore but don’t know why
- Feel overwhelmed by everyone’s demands on us and have difficulty setting boundaries
- Experience panic attacks
- Don’t know where to put our energy
- Struggle with disordered eating and body image
- Have unresolved trauma that lives in our bodies
Feelings of anxiety and depression, as well as thoughts of needing to be perfect, or thinking we’re not ‘good enough’ can get more intense when we’re going through life transitions such as break-ups, death, health issues, and career changes.
Many of us put ourselves through one self improvement project after another to try to feel ‘good enough.’ We diet, de-clutter our houses, start a new exercise program, buy a bullet journal, or take a class in order to ‘fix’ ourselves. When we are let down by each of these supposed ‘magic bullets,’ we feel even lower and more convinced that we’re doing something wrong. Why can’t we be happy? Why haven’t the solutions that work for everyone else worked for us?
Many of us know rationally that we deserve to rest and be happy. But deep inside we have a sense that we are failing, that we are unlovable, or that we will be rejected if we are truly seen. All of us carry unhelpful stories that cause us pain. The way to heal these wounds is to bring them to the surface, to understand them, and to change the way we are relating to them.
Through counseling, we can work together to help you release the pent up feelings you have been carrying in your body. We can identify the old stories and beliefs that aren’t serving you and identify the beliefs you want to carry forward as you develop a more loving relationship with yourself. Joy, acceptance and self compassion are possible. You deserve to love who you are and to be your truest, most vibrant self.
Women I have worked with have:
- Worked through their most disturbing traumas and are no longer bothered by them
- Ended unhealthy or abusive relationships and learned to feel happy with themselves
- Shown up as better versions of themselves in intimate relationships and friendships
- Quit jobs that drained them and moved into careers that brought them more joy and financial freedom
- Found loving ways to care for themselves and talk to themselves
- Worked through wounds that developed in childhood
- Come to see traumatic life events as not their fault after carrying guilt for years
- Stopped believing that they are unworthy
When we no longer feel that parts of ourselves are unlovable, we are free to create a life that is in line with are values and desires. We actually have energy to put into the things and people we love. We can feel feelings of peace and acceptance with where we are and what we’re doing.
If you live in Colorado or Florida and want to see if counseling is right for you, please reach out for a free, 20 minute consultation.
Check out my blog and free videos for some tips on developing more self compassion and overcoming anxiety.
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