Feeling “stuck” is common among men grappling with day-to-day pressures and challenges. ColWen Counseling specializes in counseling men about their lives and relationships so that they can live a happier and healthier life.
Separation and Divorce
Separation and/or divorce presents many unique challenges and hurdles to overcome. When relationships end, often painful and difficult decisions need to be made that cause a lot of emotional stress and pressure, especially when children are involved. If you’re struggling to adapt to co-parenting; deal with financial stress; manage a blended family circumstance; or remain connected with your children post-divorce, we can work through these obstacles and develop strategies for managing them.
Midlife Transition
If you’re in your 40’s or 50’s and are feeling unfulfilled, dissatisfied with where your pathway has taken you, or longing for a happier self, you’re not alone. Midlife transitions tend to have significant emotional impact as a result of discontentment or boredom with people, activities or careers. Accompanying these emotions are feelings of stress, unhappiness, depression, irritability, low sex drive, confusion and general anxiety. Our 20’s and 30’s were all about strategic milestones all focused on building careers, starting a family and settling down often not stopping for introspection or questioning if what we are doing is really what we want to do. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we’ve rarely paused to think and question.
Self-reflection may be achieved through the counseling process and thus allow you to figure out what you want and how you want to live the rest of your life.
Relationship Challenges
Whether it’s a parent-child, sibling or spouse/significant other, relationships are complex. Many factors impact your adult relationships, including your family dynamics and the environment in which you grew up in; unrealistic expectations of yourself and/or others; as well as significant life altering circumstances such as growing up in a physically or emotionally abusive environment; parents who divorced when you were young; a parent/sibling estrangement or death; or a long-term relationship that resulted in a break-up. Through individual counseling, we can explore your relationship issues and work towards developing a better understanding of your role in the relationship; build a healthier perspective; and formulate options for managing and/or making changes.
Anxiety and Depression
Adults experiencing bouts of worry or sadness and hopelessness may find their feelings are so severe that they interfere with their ability to work; find it difficult to maintain relationships; become irritable and angry; take irrational risks or display reckless or impulsive behavior. Overwhelming emotional stress and conflict can become so intense and debilitating, it can prevent you from overall enjoyment of life. If you’re experiencing any of the below symptoms, counseling can help you uncover underlying causes and develop better coping and problem solving skills to overcome your anxiety and depression.
Signs of Anxiety
•Obsessive thoughts or irrational fear and worry
• Increased heart rate, fatigue, sweating, and difficulty breathing
• Difficulty in making decisions or unable to focus
• Excessive nervousness
• Unable to relax or feeling agitated
• Panic attacks
Signs of Depression
• Inability to control negative thoughts or being drawn to negativity
• Unable to concentrate or be productive at work and home
• Loss of interest in friends, activities and thing you used to enjoy
• Irritable, short-tempered or aggressive
• Consistent feelings of sadness, worthlessness or hopelessness
• Fatigue and sleep problems
Stress Management
When the pressures surrounding you overwhelm your ability to cope with them, stress can lead to short- or long-term repercussions, including damage to your mental, physical and sexual wellbeing. Many factors impact stress, including work-related challenges, parenting, financial distress and struggles with relationships. Often times, we feel we’re unable to make changes to our situation and don’t know what we can do to change our circumstance(s). Through counseling, you may be able to identify the areas that are causing unrelenting stress and anxiety and learn how to set healthy goals and boundaries as well as develop realistic expectations and responses to stressful situations.