How I can help
Counselling for long term health conditions in Pontefract
In the words of someone living with a long term condition
It is not only the symptoms. It is everything they have changed. The things I used to do without thinking, the plans I had, the version of myself I assumed I would always be.
Much of how I saw myself, capable, active, independent, the strong one, feels out of reach now, and that loss can ache like grief, even though no one has died. On top of the appointments and the managing and the endless invisible effort, there is the worry about what comes next, and the loneliness of an illness other people cannot see.
I keep going, because I have to. But it is heavier than I let on.
If this feels like you
Living with a long term condition asks a great deal of you, far beyond the medical side, and the emotional weight of it is rarely talked about. Those feelings are valid. If any of this is familiar, it may help to know what counselling can offer.
How counselling can help
Counselling is not about fixing your illness. It is about supporting the person living with it.
Together we can make space for the grief and the frustration and the fear, and for the parts of yourself you are mourning. We can look at the worry about the future, the strain on your relationships, and the quiet mental load you carry every single day.
At your own pace, you can find ways to adjust that do not mean giving up on who you are. Your condition is part of your life. It does not have to define the whole of it, or your worth.
I'm Alison, a BACP registered counsellor. I offer counselling in person in Pontefract and Wakefield, and online across the UK. We can start with a free, no pressure 20 minute call so you can decide if I'm the right counsellor for you. Sessions are 50 minutes, at a pace that suits you.
If this feels familiar and you'd like support, please get in touch. A short, no pressure call or a simple message is enough to start.