Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) include all forms of abuse in childhood, recognising emotional, physical, sexual, verbal, and neglect.

Were your basic physical or emotional needs neglected, perhaps your parents or care givers were emotionally unavailable towards you ?

Did you witness domestic abuse or unhealthy dynamics between adults within the home ?

Did you grow up in a dysfunctional or chaotic home environment,  such as alcoholism, substance misuse, absent parental support or guidance, separation or divorce?

Have you yourself grown up feeling invisible, ignored, vulnerable or even bullied, did you feel you were on the wrong path but yet felt powerless to change your situation?.

Were you confused or questioning your norm when your peers seemed to be living very different lives to you?

Poor emotional regulation is also linked to childhood trauma and poor attachment style.

Bereavement, grief and loss can cause many different symptoms and will affect people in different ways.

Whether you have experienced a sudden unexpected loss in your life, or a loss through illness and suffering, you are entitled to your individual emotions. Such as shock, numbness, overwhelming sadness, anger, feeling stuck, even guilt, all these and more are ‘normal’ in such circumstances.

There are also other types of loss, such as the end of a relationship or losing a job or home, all are valid and important life events that can be difficult to manage and often require support to navigate your way through these heavy emotions.

Domestic abuse (sometimes called ‘domestic violence’ or ‘intimate partner violence’) is an incident or a pattern of behaviour that is used by someone to control or obtain power over their partner or ex-partner, or even family members.

Domestic abuse could involve…

Physical, Sexual, Emotional (including gaslighting), Economical, (financial)  Tech abuse (tracking) Controlling and Coercive behaviour, Stalking and Harassment.

Sexual abuse can also be perpetrated by persons unknown.

Mental health conditions may be life long or temporary.

There is a vast range of feelings and symptoms associated with mental health, to name but a few –

Anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, stress, panic attacks, social isolation, depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Exploring the personal difficulties and challenges can often increase a sense of empowerment and self agency.

Are you the one perpetrating abusive behaviours towards your partner, ex-partner or family member, or have you developed unhealthy behaviours yourself ? This could be as a consequence of being on the receiving end of abuse or you may have grown up in an environment, where you witnessed repeated unhealthy relationship dynamics and abusive behaviours and this became your norm.

Do you experience difficulties within your own relationships, have you noticed you have a pattern when choosing partners?

Do you find you quickly and easily become emotionally dis-regulated, and struggle to manage your feelings of anger, frustration, jealousy and become controlling within a relationship?

People can make changes if they choose to, would you like to be able to learn new skills and change your behaviours?