Mental illness now accounts for nearly half of all ill-health in the UK, but its share of the budget is so small that only a quarter of sufferers get any help on the NHS. Private therapists talk about what their clients are worried about.
Internet porn addiction - (how many? "a lot of") young men make daily use of porn on the internet. They don't see it as a problem. It is for their girlfriends (if they have them.) "it is a problem because it interferes with people's ability to form genuinely intimate, erotic and satisfying sexual relations."
Young person's depression - "young people have a discourse of success around having a well-paid job, but house, nice car, and that's hard to achieve..." this generation (in their 20s) has a strong sense of entitlement.
Relationship breakdown - people in mid affair or dealing with the aftermath of an affair.
"Across all cultures, hardiness and adjustment to life is very dependent on having good relationships. whatever the stressors or conditions, you can resource yourself - or not- by having open mutual relationships that can make you feel OK about life." Can be one partner "but many good relationships - friends and family - are even better. Some people choose to be on their own, but it is often a question mark that people bring to me: "If I can't be in a relationship, why not? - and can I live with that?" (Janet Reibstein, psychologist, Exeter)
Body dysmorphia - dieting and size, bags under the eyes (that the therapist can't see!) and thinning hair. Asian people who are worried about racism whenever anyone is talking to them.
Internet stalking - people who don't want to check on their ex. (or whoever they are obsessed with) but it's too easy and people can't stop themselves.
Insecurity - there's an economic term - "radical uncertainty" that you can see emerging in people's daily lives. People realising that their future is very uncertain. Linked with this is domestic violence and alcohol and drug abuse. Families are stressed and are facing too many pressures.
Multiple relationships - people are experimenting with all kinds of relationships, threesomes and foursomes, Also BDSM or kink. These also cause anxieties.
Social anxieties - expectations and social pressures conflict with real needs. From around 30 yrs of age. women demanding too much of themselves.
Existential crises - who am I? what am I doing?
Social media addiction - porn, gambling forums, Youtube. More male than female. the therapist works on 1. How to manage the addiction and 2. what the client is avoiding.
Harshness in the workplace: there is a fear of asking for help. A fear of colleagues. Overwork and stress caused by having to meet expectations, targets and deadlines.
"There's so much adrenaline that you have panic attacks, or get weepy, or can't sleep... Everything that used to feel comfortable doesn't any more, such as socialising, shopping, driving, going to work. Your brain associates that as a threat, and people feel as though they are going crazy." Nicola Blunden, psychotherapist practising for 15 years, Aberdare, Wales.
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