Addiction
Alcohol abuse causes 3.3 million deaths per year.
Despite alcohol being accepted in many cultures, it is widely cited as contributing to high levels of death, disease and injury. This is due to alcohol being a psychoactive substance that can lead to physical dependency and psychological addiction.
When we drink alcohol, it can change the way we feel. For many people, this effect of drinking is harmless, but for some of us it can lead to dangerous consequences for our physical health and emotional wellbeing.
Alcohol is a powerful substance that has a depressant effect on the central nervous system. It can alter our brain chemistry and affects neurotransmitters that govern thought, emotion and behaviour. It can be highly addictive and as a result, many people become physically and psychologically dependent on alcohol.
If left untreated, full-blown alcoholism is a progressive illness that worsens over time and can cause enormous harm, both to the sufferer and to their loved ones.
Eating Disorders
According to research highlighted by the "National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders" (ANAD), Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rates
of any mental illness.
Estimates suggest that between 5% and 10% of anorexics will die within 10 years of contracting the disease.
Eating disorders can affect people from a wide range of backgrounds and problems may start at a young age. Difficulties can stem from a fear of growing up. Others may experience trauma through social interactions or through sexual or physical abuse.
Once an eating disorder takes hold, it creates a perpetual cycle of anxiety and isolation.
It requires repeating behaviour to achieve the desired effect. This can involve the use of diet pills, binging, laxatives, excessive food intake and over-exercising.
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Mood Disorders
Individuals who suffer from depression can experience feelings of hopelessness or guilt and they may blame themselves for their predicament.
In reality, depression is a treatable illness that approximately one in five of us will experience at some point in our lives. Symptoms may persist for many months or even years, and depression can affect the way a person thinks, and behaves.
A study by the World Health Organization estimated that over 320 million people are living with depression.
According to the "Anxiety and Depression Association of America" '...at any given moment, between 3% and 5% of the population are suffering from major depression.'
Depression can develop from a combination of factors that are physical, psychological, biochemical or genetic.
It can also be triggered by social factors and adverse life events such as bereavement, sexual or physical abuse, and severe stress. However, depression can also develop and persist for long periods of time even when no apparent trigger is immediately obvious. It is therefore vital to seek professional help
Integrative Psychotherapy
Integrative psychotherapy relies upon the importance of the relationship between the therapist and client to enable mind, body, feeling, soul and spirit to come together as a whole.
Both the client and the psychotherapist are actively engaged in shaping the processes of assessing the client’s problems or issues, working out what will happen in
therapy and evaluating the outcomes.
Integrative psychotherapists believe in their client’s ability to take responsibility for themselves and their choices, and their capacity to fulfil their
talents.
The psychotherapist works with the client to realise these potentials..