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Health Anxiety: When Worry About Your Body Takes Over
You notice something. A sensation in your chest. A headache that feels different from the last one. A mole that maybe wasn't quite that colour before. And your mind goes somewhere dark. Fast. Google opens. You type in the symptom. You find the page that confirms your worst fear. And for a few hours — or days — you can't think about anything else. Tests come back clear. The doctor says you're fine. And for a little while, you feel better. But then something else appears, and i
Ian Smith
4 hours ago4 min read


Grief Counselling: You Don't Have to Do This Alone
Grief is not a problem to be solved. It's not a phase to push through as quickly as possible. And it's not something you should be over by now. But it can become something you carry a little more easily — especially when you have the right support. What Is Grief Counselling? Grief counselling is a form of talking therapy for people who are experiencing loss. It gives you a space to feel what you're feeling without having to manage anyone else's reaction to it. A grief counsel
Ian Smith
2 days ago4 min read


Generalised Anxiety Disorder: What It Is and How to Get Help
Everyone worries. That's human. But for most people, the worry is about something specific. A problem arrives, they worry about it, the problem resolves, and the worry eases. For people with generalised anxiety disorder — GAD — it doesn't work like that. The worry is always there. It moves from one thing to the next like water finding a new container. The job, the money, the health, the relationship, the kids, the future, the past. Something is always going wrong, or about to
Ian Smith
4 days ago5 min read


Depression Counselling: What to Expect
Depression is hard to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. It's not just sadness. It can feel like flatness — a kind of grey absence where feelings used to be. Or exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix. Or a voice that says nothing you do matters, and there's no particular reason to try. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. And it's not something you have to manage on your own. What Is Depression Counselling? Depression counselling is a talking therapy for people e
Ian Smith
Oct 14 min read


Anxiety and Physical Symptoms: What Your Body Is Telling You
Anxiety isn't only in your head. These anxiety physical symptoms are real, even when your body checks out fine. If you've ever felt your heart hammer before a difficult conversation, or had to rush to the bathroom before something nerve-racking, or noticed your shoulders are permanently up around your ears — you already know that. But for some people, the physical symptoms of anxiety are so prominent that they become the main story. The headache that won't go. The chest tight
Ian Smith
Sep 295 min read


Anxiety Counselling in Dorset: What to Expect
Anxiety is exhausting. And when it's been going on for a while, it can be hard to imagine that anything could actually shift it. Anxiety counselling Dorset can help you get there, whatever's been driving it. Counselling doesn't promise to make anxiety disappear. What it can do is help you understand why it's there, change your relationship to it, and find ways of living that aren't shaped by it at every turn. If you're thinking about anxiety counselling in Dorset and you're n
Ian Smith
Sep 274 min read


Anxiety at Work: When Stress Becomes Something More
There's a version of work stress that most people know. A deadline piling up. A difficult conversation to have. A week where everything lands at once. That's normal. It's unpleasant, but it's the kind of thing that passes when the pressure eases. But some people find the pressure never eases. The worry follows them home. It's there when they wake up at 3am. It stops them enjoying their evenings, their weekends, their time away from work — because their mind is never away from
Ian Smith
Sep 204 min read


Anxiety and Sleep: Why Your Mind Won't Switch Off
It's 2am and you've been awake for two hours. Anxiety and sleep feed each other, and breaking that cycle starts with understanding it. Your body is exhausted. Your mind is going at full speed. You're running through something that happened yesterday, planning tomorrow, worrying about next week. Or sometimes there's no specific thought at all — just a low, humming sense of unease that won't let you settle. By the time you do fall asleep, it's almost time to get up. And you sta
Ian Smith
Sep 135 min read


GCSEs and Mental Health: What Parents Need to Know
GCSEs are the most academically pressured two years most teenagers will have experienced so far. And the pressure doesn't just come from the exams themselves — it comes from everywhere. Teachers. Friends. Social media. The general sense that what happens in a few months in May will define what comes next. Most teenagers carry some GCSE stress. But there's a point where stress tips into something that affects sleep, physical health, mood, and the ability to function — and that
Ian Smith
Sep 84 min read


What Anxiety Counselling in Wimborne Can Offer
Anxiety counselling in Wimborne offers confidential, relationship-led support to understand worry, reduce overwhelm and build tools for everyday life, too.
Ian Smith
Sep 66 min read


Separation Anxiety at School: A Guide for Parents
Separation Anxiety at School: A Guide for Parents
Ian Smith
Sep 35 min read


School Refusal (EBSA): When Your Child Won't Go In To School.
School Refusal (EBSA): When Your Child Won't Go In To School.
Ian Smith
Aug 274 min read


Back to School Anxiety: What's Normal and What's Not
Back to school anxiety affects most children. How do you know when it's more than nerves? Wellbeing Practice counselling support explains the signs to watch for.
Ian Smith
Aug 255 min read


What Actually Happens When You Get in Touch With Us
Not sure what happens after you send that first message? Here's exactly what to expect, step by step — no surprises.
Ian Smith
Aug 141 min read


Sleep, Movement, and Stress Hormones: The Lifestyle Side of Anxiety
Sleep, exercise, and cortisol are genuinely linked to your baseline anxiety. What actually helps, and how long it realistically takes.
Ian Smith
Aug 132 min read


Why Depression Often Feels Like Nothing, Not Sadness
Depression isn't always sadness — for many, it's a flatness called anhedonia. Understanding the difference is often the first step toward feeling better.
Ian Smith
Aug 112 min read


You Don't Need a Crisis to Deserve Support — Signs It's Time to Reach Out
Wondering if things are “bad enough” to seek therapy? They almost certainly are. Signs worth paying attention to, and why you don't need to wait.
Ian Smith
Aug 102 min read


The Physical Symptoms of Anxiety: What's Actually Happening in Your Body
Racing heart, chest tightness, dizziness — anxiety's physical symptoms are real, not imagined. Here's what's happening, and when to get checked.
Ian Smith
Aug 92 min read


In-the-Moment Anxiety Relief: Grounding Techniques That Actually Work
When anxiety hits right now, you need something that works in the next ninety seconds. Evidence-based grounding techniques for the moment it strikes.
Ian Smith
Aug 62 min read


Starting Therapy in Dorset: What to Expect, What It Costs, and How to Choose the Right Fit
Wondering what therapy actually involves, which type suits you, or what it costs? A clear, honest guide to starting counselling with Wellbeing Practice in Dorset.
Ian Smith
Aug 43 min read

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