Posted on Leave a comment

Sunny’s Case – Anger

Sunny’s Case – Anger

Do you find similarities between yourself and Sunny?

Sunny is 32 years old and has a few friends at his workplace. He has had 2 relationships in the past but both of them ended due to his anger issues. Both of them were initiated and ended by the girls. He lacks confidence when it comes to relationships but also claims that they would argue a lot in both the relationships. He is close to his sister’s children but has issues with her as well. He had a volatile relationship with her over the past 4 years.

In his relationships he recounted patterns of jealousy and anger. He constantly thinks that his exes cheated on him and hence, left him. He claims to love nobody because nobody loves him.

Previously Sunny tried to seek help from his family doctor concerning recurrent feelings of anger but wasn’t taken seriously. The anger is sometimes directed at his partner or random strangers. He says it could be stemming from the relationship issues between his mother and father. In addition, there have been prolonged period of rumination concerning his appearance in front of other people. He says, “I can’t control my anger. People don’t like me.” A similar theme appeared at his workplace where he pushed a colleague when he brought up a sensitive topic regarding his mother. This was an instance when Sunny acted on his anger at work. His other memories recounted of verbal anger instead. He admitted to frequently feeling like smashing someone when they annoy him. He believes that people’s actions are usually designed to provoke him so they could talk about him later behind his back. He constantly feels that people are talking about him. He harbours negative feelings towards his mother since he was a teenager. At the age of 16 he told her that he ‘hates’ her. He is often disturbed by this memory. He hasn’t been able to distract himself successfully and ends up screaming and shouting or punching walls. He feels unable to handle distress. He wonders if there are hormonal imbalances which makes him so angry.

Sunny is seeking anger management which usually lasts for 12 weeks. He seems motivated to engage with therapy. His sister’s children are a major factor towards working on his mental health as he would like to have his own kids someday. He tries to be reflective and insightful to new psychological approaches which gets him out of his comfort zone. If you found similarities between your case and Sunny’s, our team would be able to help you.

Personal details have been changed to preserve confidentiality.

Posted on Leave a comment

Anna’s Case – Health Anxiety

Anna’s Case – Health Anxiety

Do you find similarities between yourself and Anna?

Anna is a 33 year old Russian woman who has been living and working in Bangalore for 5 years. She originally came to therapy with signs of health anxiety and preoccupation with physical symptoms, which seem to have been triggered by her boyfriend of four years deciding to go to Amsterdam for a year and a consequent fear of losing the relationship. It seemed in the initial session that Anna was focusing and worrying about her physical health instead of having to deal with her feelings about her boyfriend leaving. However, when the therapist asked whether this might be possible, she denied this and was in the process of undergoing repeated medical tests and scans to identify a cause for her physical symptoms. It was discussed that therapy would only be helpful for Anna when she saw at least some of her problems as being linked to psychological factors.

Six months later Anna contacted the therapist again and arranged another consultation. She was now under the care of a psychiatrist, who had started her on antidepressants and suggested she try therapy again. Anna’s boyfriend had gone to Amsterdam and the relationship had ended. She felt abandoned and empty and deeply missed the friendship. Although she felt that the relationship had probably not been right for a long time, she had stayed in it so long because she was afraid of being alone. She realized she had been dependent on her boyfriend for validation, attention and acceptance, and was struggling to adjust to being single. She noted a pattern in all relationships (with both family and past partners) of being dependent on others (for advice, looking after, self-esteem, etc.) and described herself as an “egoist” who tries to manipulate others to get what she wants and never being happy with what she gets. She had no strong hobbies, interests or passions. She had a small but good circle of friends in Prague and often spent time socializing with them. She also had regular contact with her family in Russia.

Although, Anna wanted to learn to be comfortable being alone, within a few weeks she had started flirting with colleagues in whom she had never been interested previously, in order to distract herself and get attention. Despite being insecure about her appearance, she also placed a lot of value on it and used it as her main way of interacting with males. Se described multiple instances of binge drinking, sometimes to the point of vomiting and memory loss.

Anna is under the care of a person-centered therapist. She is doing better now compared to when she started therapy. If you found similarities between your case and Anna’s, our team would be able to help you.

Personal details have been changed to preserve confidentiality.