In our teens and twenties, it is not unusual to drink alcohol, take drugs in social settings, place a few bets here and there, focus on looking good and feeling good in our clothes, or buy something we cannot afford on credit. Who amongst us has not done one or more of these things?
But for some people, it goes too far.
What was once carefree or fun can become an obsession and a noose around your neck. Life starts to feel hard and complicated. Maybe drinking is starting to creep into the working day. Maybe you have trashed your credit rating and cannot qualify for a mortgage. Perhaps you have emphatically promised yourself you will stop using drugs, but only after the next big event in the diary.
When drink, drugs, gambling, food, shopping, sex, debt, and more lead to life crises, that is how we know there is a problem.
This problem only gets worse with time. If there is a reprieve, it’s only ever temporary, before the using resumes and the consequences start ramping up again.
Consequences leading to life crises can be physical, relational, emotional, financial, educational, work-related, or legal. They can be saddening or frightening. You might not understand why it is all happening, but there is often an instinctive sense that something is not right, and you do not know what to do about it.
For many people, the hardest part is the private chaos. One area of life might still look fine from the outside, while another is quietly collapsing. That can bring a deep sense of shame, especially if you are competent and successful in most areas and cannot understand why this is the one thing you cannot fix.
If you are in a life crisis, you do not need to have it neatly explained to deserve help. You do not need to be certain about labels. You only need to know that things are no longer working the way they used to, and that you want something different.
My work is about second chances. Together, we untangle what has been happening, make sense of the pattern, and start addressing what has been driving it. Recovery is not a quick fix or a task with an endpoint. It is a process of rebuilding, one step at a time, until life starts to feel more livable again.
If you are ready to take one small step, you are welcome to get in touch
Please be aware that psychotherapy should not be considered an emergency treatment. If you are feeling suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, and contact your GP or other healthcare provider for extra support.
