Kaizen Counselling

Seems to be more people post Covid 'lost' or searching for who they are and what they want to be. Some interesting ideas here around this and linked to the focus I often bring to working with clients searching for a purpose, in looking what your values are. How often do we do things but not really wonder if they are really 'me'? Is it only when something feels like it doesn't fit that we wonder why? Finding what our values are is like being given the map and compass for your own life, and you can then navigate what direction you go in from there, but with a better idea why that feels like the right way to be heading. I have done this myself several times when I have felt the direction in my life has not been the right one, and connected or re-connected with what my values are and then used these to refocus and start to live a life which is meaningful and has purpose.

Find Your Calling: 5 Steps to Identify Your Purpose If you aren’t sure how to uncover your calling, here are some tips to get started. These ideas may help you identify your purpose to create a meaningful life.

Saw this and some of these certainly resonate with me, maybe helpful to try more !

🩷💜 Well-being Wednesday💜🩷

This was posted by the fabulous Claire Davies the other day and it’s so true so we thought we’d share again to reach even more people!

🩷💜 Well-being Wednesday💜🩷

This was posted by the fabulous Claire Davies the other day and it’s so true so we thought we’d share again to reach even more people!

Burnout – a modern business epidemic but with the right support something business owners can come back from....

Running your own business can sometimes feel like the loneliest place in the world with all the responsibilities involved in keeping it running, finding more business, and getting paid for it, looking after your workforce, never mind the red tape and increasing regulation businesses face. And very often forgotten in all this, are the business owners own family and the effect on them.

Recognising the impact of these and in a world where the pace of life keeps accelerating, Burnout, now called a ‘modern-day health epidemic’ by the World Health Organization, is an increasing risk for both businesses and business owners.

Whilst not all stress is bad, it is when it becomes a long-term and prolonged issue, that it can change to Burnout, a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, and one which impacts both personal and business life.

A recent Simply Business survey (2023) found 56% of business owners in uk had experienced poor mental health, 59% experiencing anxiety, 38% with depression, and of concern, 1 in 3 experiencing Burnout at work.

Do you or have you experienced any of the following?

• Do even small tasks feel like they take more energy than you can afford?
• Are you dreading what lies ahead today and tomorrow?
• Are you quicker to anger or have less patience with those you work with than usual?
• Are you feeling a sense of ineffectiveness and a lack of accomplishment?
• Do you feel like nothing you do at work matters?
• Is it harder to connect your daily tasks to a meaningful goal or a larger vision?
• Are you overwhelmed with responsibilities to the point where you don’t want to do anything?
• Does it feel like there’s more work than you can realistically do every day?

If you feel all, or any of these, you may be experiencing, or on the road to Burnout which can be a scary and lonely place to get to. At various times in my past business career, both as an employee and running my own businesses, I have experienced some or more of these and understand the impact it had both personally and on my business.

But I also know that with the right support, and putting in place some specific structured strategies, that it is possible to come back from Burnout, and re-connect with what is meaningful and fulfilling in both your personal and business lives.

Some of the benefits of counselling support around Burnout are : -
• Improved coping skills
• Enhanced work-life balance
• Becoming more self-aware
• Developing longer term resilience
• More emotional support

If you feel that some of the above is something you are experiencing, or starting to recognise, and want to talk to someone who both understands how this impacts business owners, but can also support you in starting to deal with this, feel free to contact me at [email protected], call me on 07544 045713 or visit my website kaizencounselling.co.uk.

Who says counselling has to be done in a 'counselling room' on;u ! Walk and talk and connecting with the natural world offers to much to so many clients and maybe should be offered more.

Walk & talk counselling - the healing power of nature & movement Explore the benefits of walk and talk therapy and learn how it could support you.

If there is one thing more than anything I see working with clients it is around low self-esteem and totally agree that counselling can help with this, and the series of sessions I do with clients called 'Celebrate your Uniqueness' is designed specifically to help with this.

Understanding low self-esteem How can counselling be beneficial for individuals with low self-esteem?

Learning to listen is a skill but perhaps one which we all need more help with. Whether supporting clients looking at their individual relationships or couples in a relationship, learning to communicate better and actually listen and hear what the other person is trying to say can be helpful just in itself.

Let’s talk (and listen) better: Communication in relationships How can learn to communicate better in relationships?

Increasingly a client group I work with and perhaps being of a similar age can empathise more with too around the challenges of how life looks as we get older. A favourite phrase I often share with clients is, ' It is not how old you are, but how you are old'! and this is how counselling can help in finding out what this means for older clients.

Encouraging more older adults to seek counselling Counsellor Vicky Harrison explores the issues that may be encountered in later life, and how counselling can improve the lives of older adults.

Some degree of anxiety and stress is normal and can be helpful, but it is when it becomes too much that counselling can help with this.

And also see https://kaizencounselling.co.uk/counselling-for-anxiety/

Anxiety and how counselling can help Learn how counselling can be a powerful tool in overcoming anxiety.

https://kaizencounselling.co.uk/stage-looking-retirement/

What stage are you at looking at Retirement? - Kaizen Counselling - Wrexham, NE Wales And none of this question relates to whether you are financially ready to retire or your pension, but whether you have given any thought to what it means to you? Did you know that there are various stages we move through in looking at retirement and once we get there, and these are ones which …

This approach underpins my practice and explains a little of who I am as a counsellor and how I try to work with clients.

Understanding person-centred counselling Counsellor Garry explains more about person-centred counselling

We all want and hope for a happy retirement, able to enjoy life.

Whilst many of us focus on pensions and finances, most forget to think about what it means for them personally to move from working to retirement, a transition which often gets over-looked.

I have worked successfully with an increasing number of clients who have found themselves retired but lost touch with who they are, and what life means for them. Whilst I can work with clients like these going forward I am also looking to work with clients who want to focus as much on their financial health as their emotional health, BEFORE they retire.

Starting to think about this as part of the pre-retirement process can and will help to make the most of retirement once you get there!

https://www.bacp.co.uk/profile/30465504-5290-e711-80e8-3863bb349ac0

Edward Hewitt-Symonds | BACP Registered Member MBACP offering support for Abuse, Addictions, Anxiety, Depression, Men's issues, Personal development, Redundancy, Relationships, Self esteem, Sexuality, Spirituality, Stress, Trauma, Work related issues

''It all could have been avoided if someone had just listened to me, and seen the person behind the trauma.'' This last sentence captures it all, and emphasises the importance of working with a counsellor who sees the person in front of them, and is open to listen to and work at their pace, not based on some 'trauma-informed medical model'.

“Trauma-Informed Care” Left Me More Traumatised Than Ever Naming something "trauma-informed" does not automatically make it so.

Something I have been advocating for the last 4/5 years, and whilst some do see the benefits of this, many business owners take a reactive approach to this, and seek out counselling as a 'fire-fighting' exercise, rather than recognising the benefits which come from counselling both personally and for their businesses.

Business owners put work ahead of well being, study reveals NEARLY two thirds of SME business owners admit to “deprioritising” their mental health in favour of financial success, according to research. A study of 500 small business owners found …