Tim Ridge

“I don’t want to feel like this any longer.” Or “I just want to feel better about myself and my life.”
Many of my clients will say something like this. They feel stuck. Anxieties, sadness, pain and the fears of not being good enough only grow. They can point to many good things in their lives but somehow feeling fulfilled and happier isn’t happening. Feeling ashamed to admit even to themselves or others about how hard things are while self-doubt is settling in. Perfectionism, self-criticism and imposter syndrome can tear you down inside even if no one else knows it.

Work, school and relationships require energy that is harder to find. The need to present well can be exhausting and at times even destructive. You may try to remind yourself to feel grateful or more positive but sometimes even that reinforces a feeling of shame that your life feels so difficult.

The idea of showing up for yourself starts to feel impossible; connecting with friends, family or a partner feels difficult or simply out of reach.

Sadness can show up as anger or withdrawing from activities you once enjoyed and withdrawing from people who care about you. As the need to numb yourself grows, alcohol or other addictive patterns may increase.

Anxiety, sadness, shame, medical or physical trauma, perinatal challenges, perfectionism and self-criticism, bullying or pain from childhood and family issues, relationship patterns you want to change, sports performance injuries or difficulties, negative thoughts and feelings about yourself and low self-esteem can all have origins in trauma.

Trauma may not be the word that is used. Sometimes we think traumatic experiences must be extremely dramatic but actually trauma is experienced by all of us at different times in our lives. Trauma is really anything in our past that is difficult to think about or feel, draining us emotionally.

Having a stronger sense of yourself will allow you to respond to challenges with more freedom, as well as direct your life with goals and purpose.

If you want to let go of stuff from your past but aren’t sure of how to move forward, I can help.