Simon Cassar Archives | Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy

June 22, 2018 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

What is Existential Psychotherapy? An interview with Dr. Simon Cassar – VLOG

Recently Mark Vahrmeyer interviewed Dr. Simon Cassar on the topic of Existential Psychotherapy. This is the first in a series of interviews and VLOGS into the topic of psychotherapy generally. So, please check out the interview and we would welcome any feedback or suggestions for future VLOGS.

Dr Simon Cassar is an integrative existential therapist, trained in Person Centred Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), and Existential Psychotherapy. He works from our Hove and Lewes practice.

May 29, 2018 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, previously known and manic depression, is a mood disorder that is thought to effect about 1% of the UK population.

Typically, the onset of Bipolar disorder is at around 15-19 years, although some may develop it later on.

What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

The symptoms of Bipolar disorder are mood related, and range from feeling high (manic) and very low (depressed).

Manic phases

In the manic phases, you can feel euphoric, have a great sense of wellbeing, have racing thoughts, a feeling of being invincible or special and have increased sexual energy. A manic phase can last for a week or longer and during that time you may end up losing your social inhibitions, take serious risks with your safety and take on big projects with extensive time and financial commitments.

During a manic phase, you may also experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. In a manic phase, your daily life is likely to be significantly disrupted and at the severe end, you may need hospitalisation. A lower threshold of mania, called hypomania, may also be experienced which is typical in Bipolar II disorder. This phase generally lasts less than a week and the symptoms are similar to those of mania, but to a lesser degree and without the psychotic features. Hypomanic phases can also be disruptive and there will be a noticeable change in your behaviour, but normally you can still continue your daily routine.

Depressive phase

The other side of Bipolar disorder is the depressed phase. In this phase, you can experience a lower self-esteem and lack self confidence.

You can feel hopeless, tearful and agitated, and sometimes feel suicidal. Often the depressed phase can feel harder to deal with than the manic phases, and the contrast between the two can make the depressed phase feel much worse.

There are three types of Bipolar disorder: Bipolar I, which is where you experience more manic episodes, Bipolar II, which is where you experience more depressive episodes and experience hypomania, and Cyclothymia which is where you experience both manic and depressive episodes, but at a lower threshold than you would if you had Bipolar I or II.

How to manage bipolar disorder

When given a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder, it is important to take some time to notice how you feel about it. Some people will reach with relief as it will give context and understanding to the difficultmood swings.

For others, the diagnosis can be hard to accept and indeed they might not agree with it. However you feel about the diagnosis, it is best to get informed about what the disorder means, how it can be managed, and to get some support.

Medication will often be offered in the treatment of Bipolar disorder to manage the depressive episodes, keep your moods stable and sometimes antipsychotics will be needed during manic phases. In addition to medication, psychotherapy can provide a very good way of coping with Bipolar disorder. It can help you gain insight into the triggers, and the warning signs that you are entering a manic or depressed phase and help you to deal with the complex and often painful emotions that can accompany them.

The supportive therapeutic environment can enable you to process and make sense of what you are feeling and to understand the affect it is having on you and those around you.

April 3, 2018 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

Managing Work Stress

Most of us have to work in order to live. For many, work can take up a large proportion of our waking lives with up to a third of our lives being spent at work.

While the primary reason for working is to make money, our work life can (and should) be much more than that. Working and having a career can become an intrinsic part of our identity and can indeed give us meaning and purpose in the world.

When we meet a new person, one of the first questions we often ask them is: “What do you do?” We can identify ourselves by our work and the position we hold within it, and our work can become one of the most important aspects of our life.

When our work life becomes stressful, our emotional response to it can become out of proportion to the actual situation. We can feel that our livelihood is jeopardized and at a deeper level it may feel like the very core of our being is threatened. Stressful situations at work can soon spiral out of control as we lose our clarity and our ability to stay objective in the face of these perceived threats.

What is stress?

There is no clear medical definition of stress, but generally speaking we can say that stress is our body’s natural response to demands or threats that are put upon it. The stress response is usually the ‘fight or flight’ response that can help protect us in dangerous situations.

Under normal circumstances, stress is healthy and can help us stay alert, focussed and be more energetic. It can give us the motivation to get up in the morning and get on with our day.

However, if we have a demanding job or there are conflicts at work we can end up in a heightened stress state for a prolonged period of time. This can have a negative affect on both our physical and emotional health and we need to be mindful of the signs that we are becoming too stressed.

What are the common symptoms of stress?

Cognitive symptoms: Inability to concentrate, constant worrying, racing thoughts, seeing only the negative in situations.

Physical Symptoms: Frequent colds of flu, aches and pains, nausea, dizziness, chest pains, rapid heart beat, loss of sex drive.

Behavioural Symptoms: Changes in sleep pattern, using alcohol or drugs to relax, changes in eating habits, withdrawing from other people.

Emotional symptoms: Depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability and anger, feeling overwhelmed, loneliness and isolation.

What is causing your stress?

As well as noticing the signs and symptoms stress, we also need to identify the situation that is causing us stress. Some of the main work issues that can cause stress are: being overloaded, conflict with colleagues, management style of the organisation or our line manager, change and personal factors such as work/life balance. Some of these will be easier to address than others, but as a starting point, don’t carry the stress alone.

What can you do?

If possible, speak to colleagues and your line manager, and to your HR department if you have one. Letting others know that you are stressed will enable them to step in and help if they can.

Additionally, think about your work/life balance. Are you spending too much time at work with not enough down time? It’s easy to fall into the trap of needing to work more because you are stressed, which means you have less downtime and hence more stress. Re-addressing priorities in an important part of dealing with stress – make some time for yourself. If you able, do some physical exercise to help you unwind the physical tension. Start a mindfulness practice to allow your mind some ‘time off’. Speak to your GP if you are experiencing the physical symptoms mentioned above. And finally, if it becomes overwhelming, consider speaking to a counsellor or psychotherapist to help you process the emotions than can arise from feeling stressed.

October 9, 2017 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

Student mental health – how to stay healthy at university

After the long summer, thousands of new students are heading to university. The start of the academic year is an exciting time for many, but it can also be a difficult, worrying time for some. Students today are subject to different pressures from earlier generations – financial, academic, social – that didn’t affect previous students to the same degree. Higher study costs means that an increasing number of students have to balance their study with part-time work. This means that they have less time to form and nurture close friendships and a social support network with their peers.

For those leaving home for the first time, it can be a stressful transition towards independent adulthood. If we look to wider society, the uncertain and competitive job market can put an inordinate amount of pressure on students to perform well as they face an uncertain future. In addition to this, many serious mental health conditions manifest themselves for the first time in young adulthood. The Higher Education Statistics Agency recently revealed that the number of students who drop out of university with mental health problems has more than trebled since 2009-10, with a record 1,180 university students with mental health problems abandoning their studies in 2014-15, the most recent year for which data was available.

It is important, therefore, to keep yourself healthy if you are heading off, or back to university. There are many good resources out there that will give good tips on how to look after your mental health while studying at uni, and here are a few tips that might point you in the right direction.

Physical health

Looking after your physical health is key, especially when you are entering a potentially stressful situation and experiencing big life changes. Having a regular routine of physical activity can be a great help in maintaining good emotional health. This could be team sports, the gym, walking rather than getting the bus – whatever works for you. Also, having a healthy diet and adequate nutrition will also help maintain the energy level that is needed when you are studying and partying hard!

Social health

Going to uni is a social experience. Creating new social networks is part of the attraction of studying in a new area. It can be a lot of fun, and a good social network is intrinsic to having good mental health. But don’t underestimate the impact of not being around your close friends. Keeping in contact with your existing friends who know you well is important too, as building deep friendships where you can open up about your inner world takes time.

Psychological and emotional health

Looking after your psychological and emotional health is obviously a key part in maintaining good mental health. Spend some time noticing your thoughts – what are you telling yourself? Notice also your emotions – how are you feeling on a day-day basis? Being able to identify your thoughts and feelings and to express them in some manner, whether through talking to friends or writing them down, can help you maintain a healthy inner world.

Spiritual health

People often forget about their spiritual health, but this is an important part of our lived experience. Looking after your spiritual health can be simple. You could spend some time alone on a regular basis, spend time in nature, or learn to meditate. Of course, if you are religious, then engage more with your religion. Spiritual health doesn’t need to be about religion, and can be just spending time by yourself and noticing the amazing world that is around us.

Staying healthy at university

Keeping these four areas in mind on a daily basis can go a long way to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, when things get a little more difficult, then use the support services that will be available at your university. There will invariably be counselling services and learning support services who will be able to help in your university journey.

Kate Connolly and Simon Cassar

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February 6, 2017 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

Four domains – maintaining wellbeing in turbulent times

Recent geopolitical events, notably the new American administration and the Brexit vote, can lead us to ever more uncertainty about the future. Facing this type of uncertainty can lead to anxiety about what the future may hold. Alternatively, we can experience despair and ultimately, depression about our powerlessness to affect what may happen in the future. While we may not be able to predict or have a big impact on what may be coming, we can do a lot to look after our wellbeing. This may enable us to face the future with a degree of equanimity.

The concept of wellbeing is much spoken about, and can be viewed from a complex academic perspective. At the other end of the spectrum, it can become a rather glib, throwaway term. However, we can look after our own personal wellbeing by paying attention to four important domains in our lives. Putting a bit of effort into each can help us to feel better in ourselves and maintain a positive worldview.

The Physical Domain

Looking after our physical health is a key part of wellbeing. For some, this is a part of everyday life. Going to the gym, running or playing team sports are great ways to increase physical fitness, and all enable us to feel more rooted in our body. However, this level of physical effort is not for everyone. We can do a lot to increase our physical health by simply walking a little more than we might do normally. This is promoted actively by the NHS, which outlines the positive physical and emotional benefits of being more active each day.

It may seem daunting to reach the desired goal of 10,000 steps per day. However, merely increasing how much we walk each day takes us a long way towards increasing our physical health and fitness. For example, we might choose a longer route when we have to walk, stroll around the block after dinner, or walk up stairs rather than using the lift.

Of course, increasing our physical activity is only part of the matter. We also need to consider our diet and aim to eat as healthily as possible, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The Emotional Domain

Looking after our emotional health is also very important in improving our overall wellbeing. This can be as easy has having open and honest conversations with those who are close to us, which is a great way to deepen our relationships. Alternatively, writing a daily journal to explore our deepest thoughts and feelings can help us understand ourselves better and make sense of our inner world. Seeking professional help from a therapist is also an important step if our emotional world becomes overwhelming, or if we are unable to make sense of what is going on for us.

The Intellectual Domain

Our intellectual health is another very important area. It can often be overlooked once we have finished with formal education. However, keeping our minds sharp and alert to new ideas can be very inspiring and satisfying. It also helps us to approach the world from a fresh perspective. We can look after our intellectual health by taking a course (there are many free online courses available), reading an inspiring book that gives us new knowledge, or even by watching some of the short, powerful talks we can find on websites such as TED.

The Spiritual Domain

The spiritual domain can often be overlooked, but can be hugely important to our overall wellbeing. For those who are religious, this can consist of spending a little more time in contemplation or prayer. For those who are not religious, spending a few moments each day in quiet meditation or practicing mindfulness (or even taking one of the many available mindfulness courses) can be very beneficial and can help to attain greater inner peace and an enhanced perspective on the world. If none of these appeal, you could simply spend a few moments each day noticing the beauty of the natural world around us.

Actively working for a short while in each of these domains every week can do a great deal to improve physical and mental energy levels. It can also give a sense of control of one thing we can have a huge impact on… our own wellbeing.

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