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Resolve issues related with OCD. A person suffering from OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has excessive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviours (compulsions). This disorder is characterised by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) which make them do certain activities repeatedly, such as a fear of germs resulting in washing hands all the time or the need to arrange objects in a specific manner. Symptoms usually begin gradually and vary throughout life. OCD affects people from all walks of life and all age groups when unwanted, obstinate, intrusive thoughts attack the mind and result in compulsive behaviours. It causes great distress that triggers certain behaviours in order to get rid of the negative thoughts. There is suffering at mental, emotional and physical levels. An OCD person is always doubting as they have difficulty in tolerating uncertainty. They live in fear and insecurity about their wellbeing. They often get depressed, remain alone and avoid socialisation as it might trigger unwanted thoughts. OCD gives rise to a constant chatter in the mind wherein the person repeats certain numbers or words thinking to neutralise the obsessive words. The counsellor understands the problem in detail with patience and compassion and helps them to overcome the problem by recognising and changing the way they think. The most effective therapy used by most counsellors is Exposure and Response prevention (ERP) along with Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The client has to have patience and faith in the process that takes a minimum of 12 sessions that are one hour long each week. Practical ways will be suggested to change the thought process and adopt new behaviour. Counselling also helps in overcoming depression and stress accompanied by OCD.

Resolve issues related with personality disorders. Each individual is different. Their way of thinking, feeling and acting is shaped by their genetic influence, childhood experiences and socialisation process. When an individual differs significantly from an average person, in terms of how they think, perceive, feel or relate to others, then there are chances of personality disorders. As a result there is distortion in the belief system that affects emotionally and mentally leading towards odd behaviour, which can be distressing and may upset others. These disorders are long-term patterns of behaviour wherein a person has significantly different inner experiences from an average person, because their expectations from the society are not within the expected social structure. People suffering from personality disorders have their own way of thinking about oneself and others. They also respond emotionally in quite different ways that causes disharmony and inner conflict. It's not clear exactly what causes personality disorders, but they're thought to result from a combination of the genes a person inherits and early environmental influences – for example, a distressing childhood experience (such as abuse or neglect). Personality disorder is now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder and was earlier called multiple personality disorder (MPD). This is because many people experience the changes in parts of their identity as completely separate personalities in one body. The different types of personality disorders are: Antisocial personality disorder, Avoidant personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder, Dependent personality disorder, Histrionic personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder, Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and Paranoid personality disorder. Counselling someone with personality disorder requires talking to them compassionately and calmly by listening to their thoughts and feelings. During the session the counsellor makes the client aware of his/her condition and talks about their moods, feelings, thoughts and behaviours. The counsellor also guides them to cope with stress and manage the reactions. Certain social skills are imparted to manage the symptoms and reduce behaviours that interfere with day to day functioning and relationships.

Resolve issues related with panic attack. During a panic attack, a person experiences a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. It is accompanied by sudden and intense anxiety. These attacks have underlying stress and anxiety which the person undergoing is not aware of. Panic attacks can also have physical symptoms, including: shaking and feeling disorientated. There is always a sense of impending doom or danger, fear of loss of control, fear of death, rapid pounding heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or tightness in your throat, chills and hot flashes. The causes of panic attacks vary with each individual. It could be due to a combination of things, including: a traumatic or very stressful life experience, such as death of a near and dear one, having a close family member with panic disorder, insecurity due to sudden financial loss, separation from a person with whom you are emotionally dependent, an imbalance of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) in the brain. When sudden unexpected changes occur in life, then some people are not prepared to face the situation. They experience a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger. Counsellors use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help overcome panic attacks. They make the person understand behaviours and ways of thinking that might contribute to the onset of attack. Counsellors also train clients to develop coping mechanisms such as mindfulness to help them remain calm and feel more in control in the event of a panic attack. Relaxation and breathing exercises are part of the treatment process.

Resolve issues related with stress. Stress is understood by our reaction to the situation when we feel threatened by a situation. It could be while spotting a tiger in the jungle, or a social event, job interview or study related pressure. People are often stressed when they have to make a decision regarding career, choosing a life partner, getting married or migrating to a different country for work or studies. It affects children, adolescents, young adults, home makers, employees, CEO’s of the company etc. In short, everyone feels stress at some point in their lives. Stress affects our mind, heart and body. It may come gradually due to responsibilities of work or suddenly after the death of a family member, diagnosis of a chronic or serious illness, loss of business, loss of job or any unexpected event. Acute stress lasts for a few days or weeks, but chronic stress lasts for months and years. Basically stress is due to a lot of pressure on the mind, because it feels that the work or responsibilities are too much to bear. We know that our mind and body are connected. Due to the intense pressure, stress affects the vulnerable part of the body. In the long run illnesses affect the heart resulting in blockage, high B.P., diabetes, frozen shoulder, cervical pain etc. Along with stress there creeps in anxiety and depression which the person is not aware of. The symptoms are overthinking, negative thinking, nervousness, restlessness and indecisiveness. A stressful person suffers from an eating disorder, either eating too much or too little. Due to stress the person cannot sleep well and feels tired, unenthusiastic and dull throughout the day. Stress affects concentration, results in dullness and loss of memory. As a result, stressful people are often irritated towards people around them. It can be handled successfully by the counsellor who guides the person to cope up with the situation by making them understand their nature, habits and weaknesses. Practical steps to work on the body, to exercise, to relax the mind and ways to feel joy in the heart will help full recovery.

Resolve issues related with your spouse. These days we witness a lot of couples getting separated after years of being together. They may be dating or married or living together. Healthy relationships are characterised by honesty, trust and open communication. Issues between two persons result in mental conflict, emotional trauma and in the long run affects physical health. The issues need to be addressed at the right time otherwise the small day to day conflicts result in full fledged disputes that land up in the lawyers office. One of the major causes of issues between couples arise due to financial survival, especially after covid when many have lost their jobs and had to close business. Economic survival poses a great challenge to harmonious functioning if not settled by mutual agreement. The next significant cause is lack of communication. A constant dialogue, openness to discuss and arriving at a win-win solution for both parties is needed to resolve the conflict. Lack of communication gives rise to several other problems like lack of sex and intimacy, constant arguments and irritation. Many times it results in anger and aggression which has to be handled again as a separate issue. Due to conflict both partners succumb to depression, stress and anxiety. Besides, there is a feeling of restlessness, nervousness and anxiety about the negative outcome of the conflict. Fear and insecurity arises for oneself, children or elderly persons in the family. Due to the preoccupation with social media couples are not able to give quality time to each other which ends up often in extramarital affairs which have their root cause where couples do not provide the basic emotional and physical nearness to each other. The counsellor understands differences between two persons and helps them to arrive at a consensus thereby accommodating their needs and preferences.

Resolve issues related with fear and phobia. Fear is an emotion that is experienced by almost all of us at some point in life. It is an intensely unpleasant emotion. Phobias can be associated with many different objects or situations, such as a fear of heights, flying, spiders, needles, or vomiting. Fear could be real or imaginative. We experience fear due to a threat or harm at the physical, mental, and emotional levels. We need to understand other emotions that are linked with fear, such as nervousness and anxiety. Some people perspire profusely when in fear, experience a parched throat, while others feel numb in the legs. We feel fear because of our psychological make up. The cause of fear could be real or imagined weakness, lack of confidence, poor motivation to attempt tasks that need courage. The tasks could be of the physical kind like climbing a peak or mental like fulfilling a target in the workplace or emotional such as facing conflicts, disputes in a relationship, witnessing heated arguments filled with anger and hate. Each one of us is fearful of something or the other. In other words fear is a common emotion that comes due to the inability to cope up with harm or threat real or imagined. There are times when we can deal with fear, and that experience makes us learn lessons for similar incidents in future. A counsellor can help overcome fear by identifying the triggers causing fear. Next the person will be helped to discover his/her hidden strength to confront and control fear, negative thoughts and feelings. Certain practical steps will be given to completely overcome fear permanently.

Resolve issues related with anger and aggression. Anger is a common emotional outburst. We have observed that everybody experiences anger in everyday life. For example, frustrations about not getting enough money or the right job, traffic on the road, bad roads, misunderstanding at work, being neglected or taken for granted by spouse, children, friends, colleagues or the family. Anger is an impermanent emotional state brought on by disappointment and frustration. It is an emotion characterised by hostility toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong. It is a strong feeling of being upset or annoyed because of something wrong or bad. In such a mood, you feel like shouting or throwing things around you. Aggression is a decision. Just because you feel angry and furious, it does not give you the authority to hurt a person or to destroy property. The obvious signs and symptoms for aggression are many. Sometimes aggression occurs because of an apparent unfairness, insult, or wrongdoing. Verbal types of aggression involve making threats or demands. It includes abusing or putting the other individual down. Physical types of aggression may include tossing things, breaking things, hammering things, or physical assaults. The causes of aggression include social pressure due to traditional roles of men and women. Men can feel under peer pressure to 'man-up', particularly in male-dominated environments, stimulants like alcohol and abusive childhood experiences or, if you had an aggressive role model as a child, you are more likely to react to anger in the same way. Certain events trigger anger and aggression such as job and business loss, disappointment in office or relationship. Counsellor helps make the person aware of the triggers, guides a new and better way to deal with stressful situations. Shows how one can become aware of thoughts, feelings and impulses and learn to control them. Certain self-help techniques of relaxation and self-observation are given to overcome anger and aggression.

Resolve issues related with depression. It is very important to know that depression is just a condition, not an illness. It is a temporary state of weakness or ill feeling just like a toothache or cough and cold, but it may prolong if you don’t do anything. Depression is just another name for a feeling of sadness which continues for a long time. Nothing seems to be going right, as if the whole world is alien. You feel that you have no friends who can understand you or any family to support you in this state. There is loss of interest in all activities. Throughout the day you feel tired, sad and lonely. Occasionally you cry and feel that everyone has abandoned you. After a few weeks the mind becomes dull. Depression results in loss of concentration and poor memory. This results in poor performance at work, school or home. As a result people feel low confidence and suffer from poor self-esteem in the long run. Depression occurs when you cannot accept certain changes in life like loss of job or business, failure in exams, divorce or break up in relationship, death of a near and dear one, chronic or serious illness etc. The inability to come to terms with reality due to poor coping up skills invites depression. People with depression think about their own self all the time, have negative thoughts and negative emotions. This happens because there is too much focus on one’s likes and dislikes, one’s preferences and comforts. Depression is always accompanied by stress and anxiety because of the inability to perform tasks. It also results in eating and sleeping disorders that further damage the body and invite illnesses. In this situation, counselling helps the person to get on with life by first listening to the problem in detail. Next step is instilling faith and hope to recover from depression. Apart from listening, the counsellor prescribes exercises and guides the person to follow therapies that do not involve medicines. With regular practice, depression can be overcome completely.

Resolve issues related with anxiety. Anxiety is a normal emotion. It’s your brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting you of potential danger ahead. You feel excessive, unrealistic worry and tension with little or no reason. Everyone feels anxious now and then. For example, you may worry when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. Occasional anxiety is OK. You need help if anxiety is constant and overwhelming accompanied by fear. The excessive anxiety can make you avoid work, school, family get-togethers, and other social situations that might trigger or worsen your symptoms. Anxiety may bring panic when the situation becomes overwhelming. It is also caused due to being too self-conscious and obsessively worried about your looks or performance. You may have specific phobia of a crowded palace, heights or water etc. that may cause anxiety. When children leave for school for the first time they have separation anxiety. Before an interview the candidate feels anxious or the student prior to the exams feels agitated. The main symptom of anxiety disorders is excessive fear or worry. Anxiety disorders can also make it hard to breathe, sleep, stay still, and concentrate. Your specific symptoms depend on the type of anxiety disorder you have. Common symptoms are panic, fear, uneasiness, sleep problems, cold, sweaty or numb or tingling hands or feet, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, tense muscles, dizziness, thinking about a problem over and over again and unable to stop (rumination), inability to concentrate, intensely or obsessively avoiding feared objects or places. The counsellor will: - Help you to understand the triggers for causing anxiety - Listen at length to your history to understand your situation thoroughly - Guide you to recover completely by helping you to discover your inner powers. - Teach you how to remain mentally calm and emotionally stable. - Continue to help until your coping skills are developed.

Resolve issues related with school children and adolescents. Book this counselling session for your child. School children need help for academic and behavioural issues. Study related issues may be due to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), learning disabilities or dyslexia. Performance anxiety, and difficulty in concentration, comprehension and retention of learned topics are most prevalent. School children often spend a lot of time with mobiles, playing games thereby wasting precious time for studies. In all these issues the counsellor helps the student and parents to understand and cope up with the difficulty. Psychological issues are anxiety and stress with underlying depression. Bullying is one of the major issues that create emotional disturbance in children. Social anxiety too plays a major role when the student is unable to make friends or take part in group activity like sports or cultural events. Behaviour related issues are anger, aggression, being argumentative and non-compliance to the discipline. In other words, the issue is known as oppositional defiant disorder. Adolescents have all the above issues along with identity crisis, relationship problems, gender confusion, alcohol or substance abuse, online games, social media exposure, eating disorders and general anxiety disorder with stress. Adolescents also suffer from loneliness, mood swings and laziness to conform to the discipline at home and school. Counselling can help in guiding the child and the adolescent to understand and accept the problem of the student and adolescent and not dismiss it as irrelevant. If needed the counsellor will discuss the issues with parents or any other family member who is close to the student to understand the issues and take help from the person. Next step will be to make them calm, relaxed and instil hope and faith in their own powers to face and overcome the situation. Third, certain coping up skills will be taught for daily practice. Thereafter regular follow up by the counsellor will be done to monitor the progress and guide the student and adolescent till full recovery is made.