Fiona Matters

"Nothing I do will ever be good enough."

40 years old with a moderate combined family income, living in a 4 bedroom detached home; on the face of it, Fiona's friends and family thought everything was ok. But this couldn't have been further from the truth.

Fiona was held back by excessive levels of worry and anxiety, a lack of confidence in her ability to protect her loved ones and ensure their happiness.

And, after a major disagreement with a work colleague, who she considered a friend, Fiona was left feeling devastated and feeling overwhelmed most days.

She just wanted to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends but was sabotaged by various fears; worrying things won't get done properly if she doesn't do it, worried about the safety and wellbeing of her family, worried about not being able to cope during social events and situations involving more than a handful of people.

All this worry affected Fiona's sleep, ability to regulate her emotions, and her concentration levels at work. Fiona also experienced intrusive thoughts;

• "Everyone else copes ok"
• "I'm so selfish for feeling annoyed"
  
• "I need to double check my kids are safe and happy"
• "I must do everything for Mum because she can't manage herself"
• "People will expect everything to be perfect, what if I have a meltdown and embarrass everyone"

Fiona needed help, and so we started working together.

So what did we do?

A full assessment of current and previous experiences –

This helped us formulate and agree on an initial ‘theory’ of the cause and other factors maintaining Fiona’s issues and formed the basis of our initial strategy.

Then we collaborated on and agreed which techniques and skills would be useful to gather information so we could prove or disprove our hypotheses and help Fiona feel better as quickly as possible.  

Got clear around Fiona’s expectations, aspirations, strengths and resources -   

This made sure that we were both clear about the aim of our work together, that our strategy reflected this and would be manageable, motivational and realistic for Fiona and would align to her natural abilities.

We could use the information to evaluate the effectiveness of our work to make adjustments quickly. This meant we could make the best use of the time and money Fiona was investing in therapy. 

Provided psychological education –

Helping Fiona understand what was happening to her helped her realise that her symptoms were normal human reactions to her perception of threat.

It also provided a rationale for learning new skills and techniques. It gave her hope that with a little time and practice she could become self-efficient at overcoming current issues and achieving her aspirations.

Acquired new skills and techniques –

These helped Fiona become aware of unhelpful thoughts which were maintaining her issues. And to recognise physical sensations and emotions she could use as queues to behave in more helpful ways.

Fiona learned effective ways to maintain good sleep patterns, to relax, to focus her attention when and where she chose. She was able to take a more objective view of life and maintain a more realistic and positive attitude towards her span of control and unexpected events.

Fiona used the time she previously spent feeling worried and anxious to do things she enjoyed which promoted her physical and mental health. And she left our sessions feeling confident of dealing with current issues and other problems which could occur in future.

Best of all Fiona achieved her aspirations. She resolved her fears, reduced her feelings of stress and anxiety to healthy levels and is spending lots of time relaxing and socialising with family and friends.

And she takes, guilt-free, ‘me’ time too!

ready To matter?

You've made it this far. Why not take the next step and arrange your free, introductory call to find out more? You'll be listened to and  have your questions answered.

This will help you decide if Matter is the right fit for you. There's no cost and no obligation to proceed any further. But chances are, after our discussion, you'll be another step closer to discovering why Matter may be a better solution for you!