FAQs

In normal situations, individuals can also take counseling from non-professional counselors like friends, relatives, colleagues in certain situations, but they will have varying degrees of wisdom and skill and may or may not be able to help with problem solving. A Counseling psychologist on the other hand is educated and skilled to provide assistance on both a preventive and a remedial level.

Counseling psychologists can help individuals dealing with problems of stress, anxiety in career, and/or concerning relationships, intra and inter personal concerns, related to finding meaning and adjustment in various settings of society.

A counseling psychologist may draw from a number of theoretical approaches including those that are cognitive, affective, behavioral and systemic and thus arrive to the most effective method that helps in resolving the extant problem. Sometimes, one may identify the root cause of a problem to be completely different from what the client had imagined it to be as the psychologist is skilled for such a task.

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. It is also defined as intensified worry or unbearable stress. People with anxiety disorder usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat. A prolonged condition of anxiety disorder may have physical manifestations in form of a disease.

Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed (or do not meet) the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize. Potential signs of stress are – angry outbursts, lack of concentration, decreasing work performance, lack of enthusiasm, forgetfulness, irritability, frequent headaches, unexplained body pains, increased smoking, drinking, missing deadlines, zoning out for hours in front of the TV and general frustration.

Stress on a continuous basis has detrimental on the physical, social and mental aspects of an individual. It can manifest in the form of diseases like hypertension, diabetes and cancer. It adversely affects work performance and causes imbalances in inter and intra personal relationships. Stress depletes energy and too much stress can also cause depression.

Depression is defined as a feeling of extraordinary sadness and dejection. Such individuals remain in a sad and dejected mood throughout the day. They have markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, almost all, activities most of the day. They may have significant weight loss or gain and suffer from insomnia or hypersomnia. There is a general feeling of worthlessness or excessive guilt. The individual may have recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. This is a relatively new field that searches for those qualities that allow individuals, communities and societies to thrive and flourish, focusing on three major dimensions : positive subjective states, positive traits and positive institutions.

Subjective well being is a feeling of happiness and life satisfaction in an individual. Researchers have found several variables that are predictors of subjective well being, including high self-esteem; positive relationships; optimism; a sense of control; extraversion; and a sense of meaning and purpose in life. Although earning more income is related to higher well being, the relationship between these two factors is complex and nonlinear. In general, gender, age, race and geographic climate account for small portions of subjective well being.

Total well-being is an interaction of physical, emotional and spiritual well being. The new researches in health psychology and psycho-neuro-immunology have begun to change how scientists believe mind and body interact. Psychological factors have a direct influence on physical processes such as our immune system responses. Various psychological factors impact health such as positive emotions, social support, optimistic orientation and confidence in one’s ultimate ability to bounce back from temporary difficulties. Positive coping strategies often involve interpretation of the events of our lives and the meaning we give to them. Coping is personal. What strategy works for each person is determined by a unique combination of personality and situational variables. An individual who has the capability to cope with his/her life’s problems on her own is said to be in positive health.