Psychological difficulties take a number of forms. People sometimes use different words and phrases to try and explain what they are feeling.
Here are a few general descriptions to help you try and make sense of your own experience. There is additional information available from your GP, NHSDirect local community mental health teams and of course on the internet. Some useful links are available on the further help page.
Stress
It´s a word that describes a whole range of emotional, psychological and physical states. Feeling “stressed” is characterized by physical tension, worry, feeling bad tempered, snappy and aggressive.
Anxiety
It´s a state that we all feel at some point in our life. It is characterized by nervousness or fear, but a fear that seems to be without reason. We don´t know why we feel this sense of fear and nervousness, we just do.
However there are times when it seems out of proportion and threatens to be debilitating. When it reaches this level anxiety can be characterized by some of the following physical experiences: heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and is sometimes characterized by fear of losing control or fear of dying.
Depression
While we know that depression is very common (and so common that it has been referred to as the ‘common cold' of the emotions) it is something that can be very debilitating – especially if not attended to early. As well as feeling ‘depessed' the experience is often characterized by changes in appetite (loss of appetite or overeating), sleep problems (insomnia or sleeping too much), low energy, fatigue, loss of enthusiasm, loss of confidence, poor concentration and a feeling of hopelessness.
Sexuality
While sexuality is frequently not the problem itself, it can sometimes be an aspect of our lives that we feel anxious or worried about. It might be about sexual identity, feeling that you are attracted to members of the same sex and worry that “everyone else” thinks you should be attracted to members of the opposite sex. Or it might be about sexual relationships – for example, the differences in sexual desire and activity may cause couples to worry about their relationship.
