Male, Age 35         Tom’s name has been changed to protect his privacy

Tom’s Journey

I struggle with a very low opinion of myself, I often feel I’m not doing enough, I have not achieved enough, and I fail at being a husband, father and friend.

I didn’t feel I was broken enough for therapy, my problems weren’t huge and I wasn’t sure how therapy could help anyway. Therapy was very different to what I expected. It fell into two broad categories; The root cause of my thoughts and opinions of myself. How to function with and change those negative thoughts and opinions of myself.

Therapy for me was not one massive breakthrough and then everything was ok afterwards. It was a series of small insights and a toolbox of techniques to make living with unhelpful thoughts easier and working to change those thoughts. I still use these tools daily, they help identify diagnose and correct unhelpful thoughts and feelings.

My therapist was Kieran. Kieran was very approachable and helped relax me at the start of the session. He was also challenging not allowing me to deflect or avoid talking about something that was important. Therapy isn’t easy and it is uncomfortable but Kieran did a great job of guiding me through it and pushing me just enough to tackle my problems.

I would see Kieran again. If you are considering therapy then you’re already halfway there – you realise you need some help. It’s not easy, it is uncomfortable but you can be happier and you can learn more about yourself. It’s worth investing in yourself. Kieran helped me explore some techniques I would never have considered before.

I would have scoffed at mantras and guided meditation before but having tried it I was amazed at the results. Give it a go and then you’ll at least know if it is for you. It was for me. I didn’t think therapy was for me and thought everyone had negative thoughts, was up all night worrying sometimes.

I was wrong. You can take active steps to improve your mood, your opinion of yourself and your sleep. But you have to invest in yourself, no one can do therapy for you.