Mental health issues should be viewed from all angles, including your relationship.
In the depths of anxiety, stress or depression, you have actually lost control. And taking the focus away from yourself and focusing on your partner instead may be the spur to move you forward.
Even if you’re single it’s a significant question. Has this issue affected your past relationships? Do you find it difficult to meet new people? Are you happier in a relationship or would you rather be single?
By considering how others are affected by our issues we observe ourselves from a dissociated perspective and this can, eventually, lead to making the changes you need to improve those relationships. Although ultimately you need to make the change for yourself, it works as a starting point for a lot of people.
While I was training, I thought I had all the answers for my clients, I thought I could give them the right advice and solve their relationship issues.
How wrong I was! Solution Focused Therapy works in a completely different way:
I now know that really only YOU can find the solution that works for YOU.
Once I have helped my client to regain control, by eliminating the symptoms of anxiety, stress, or depression, the knock-on effect this has had on their relationships has been amazing. By quickly gaining intelligent, objective control the results appear before you.
And it’s the range of those results that has surprised me the most.
Some of my clients are back in the honeymoon period, others have decided to end the relationship altogether. Single clients have found a wonderful new partner, others have been really happy to stay single and a new partner does not even feature in their lives.
I don’t really agree with Valentine’s Day but maybe we could use this day to consider our relationships.
Taking some time to work on yourself would work far better than a dozen red roses!