Problems That Hannah Brought to Therapy:
When Hannah came to see me, she had been suffering with anxiety and depression for years.
Even though her symptoms were severe, for the most part, she kept them hidden from her friends and family. She hadn’t told anyone how much she suffered. In fact, most people thought of her as being very accomplished, competent and fulfilled.
The truth was, as Hannah revealed to me in our first counselling session; she had been struggling for over 5 years. She first started sliding downhill after she had lost a child during birth.
Hannah reported that she felt like she was just “going through the motions” in her life. She felt like a zombie much of the time.
The Outcome of Hannah’s Therapy
We worked with the places where Hannah’s body was still reacting to the trauma of losing her baby. The tension in her body was so great that she constantly suffered from headaches, as well as shoulder and back pain.
After several months of therapy, Hannah had released a lot of the pent up grief in her body. She was much more relaxed. She said she felt like the weight had been lifted off of her.
She felt happier and more engaged in her life. She no longer felt like she was on the outside of her life looking in.
Hannah also told some of her close friends and family members how she had been suffering, and they were very supportive. She vowed to reach out to them more when she was feeling sad in the future in order to get the support she needed.
Hannah still felt some sadness when she thought of her baby. The difference was that she could now feel her sadness and still move forward with her life.
* The above stories are composites of several clients I have worked with over the years. Identifying details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.