Bernadette Ainsworth who is based at The CBT Covent Garden  Practice in Central London WC2 is an experienced and highly trained psychotherapist who has an outstanding record in successfully treating Depression. Symptoms of major depressive disorder include loss of motivation, loss of pleasure in previously enjoyed activities, thoughts of loss or failure, a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, loss of sleep or hypersomnia (increased sleep), it can also include suicidal thoughts or suicide. And it has to be experienced for a period of at least two weeks consecutively.

Depression knows no boundaries, anyone can experience it but women on average, are two times as likely to experience it as men. 

Despite its positive impact social media can negatively affect mental health through cyberbullying, FOMO, struggles with sleep caused by blue light or stuck scrolling well into the early hours.

Selected highlights create unrealistic standards and frequent use of platforms like Instagram and TikTok are correlated with much increased rates of Depression and Anxiety fuelled by negative comparisons.

As teenagers develop their identity, this process can become distorted as their sense of self-worth is too often tied to likes, follows, or views. "Sad aesthetic" trends glamourising serious mental health problems like Depression and Anxiety, can leave teenagers struggling and stuck in a dysfunctional cycle.

Signs to look out for include being withdrawn or irritated after being online for a specific period, constantly checking their phone at inappropriate times, struggling with sleep, becoming overly focused on their appearance, or observing a significant dip in their confidence. 

A particular sign to look out for is regularly deleting posts if they don't get 'enough, likes or comments. 

It's a very common and serious illness, affects one in four people at least once in their lifetime. It doesn't mean we're weak or failing in any way. Fortunately, it's a highly treatable condition using CBT with and without medication. 

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress which can be beneficial,  but which becomes a problem when it interferes with our daily activities. Symptoms can include a number of bodily and physiological responses, sleep problems, rapid breathing, palpitations, dizziness, headaches, stomach churning and nausea, among others. Anxiety also includes your thoughts and images.

We bring to a situation in which we feel Anxious a pre-existing, general related belief that renders us vulnerable to Anxiety and inclined to assume something is a threat to us, whether it actually is or not. This inference has an important impact on your subsequent feelings, the way you behave and its consequences. The way you behave can elicit  a response from people and your environment that you are likely to interpret in ways that increase your Anxiety.

There is  a tendency for people experiencing Unhealthy Anxiety to develop safety-seeking behaviours  that may seem helpful in the short-term but increase your Anxiety in the longer-term.

Causal factors of  Anxiety are thought to be a combination of genetics and environmental stressors, both psychological and developmental. Anxiety disorders commonly run in families, suggesting that a combination of genes and environmental stresses can produce the various related Anxiety Disorders.

It is the most common of the mental health disorders and affects around 30% of people at some point in their lives. It includes Panic Attacks/Panic Disorder, Generalised Anxiety Disorder( GAD), Phobias, Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia, Hypochondriasis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and OCD among others.
The most clinically validated treatment is Cognitive Psychotherapy, which helps most people to lead a normal and productive life. Make that all important introductory call now 02072401535 / 07723957100 or leave a WhatsApp message for a call back.

Sleep Disturbance: Mental health conditions such as Anxiety Disorders or Clinical Depression can affect our sleep, so that as a consequence of the condition people have disturbed sleep. 
Sleep Anxiety: is fear or worry about going to sleep which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy making it difficult to fall or stay asleep, which can be caused by stress or unresolved worries, it can even cause fear of sleeping (Somniphobia).
Insomnia Disorder: is a standalone diagnosis. Diagnostic Criteria in accordance with DSM-5 guidelines, includes considerable sleep disturbance about one or more of the following - difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep or extreme early morning waking which occurs at least 3 nights per week for a period of at least 3 months, causing significant distress or impairment in daily function despite an adequate opportunity for sleep. 

Spielman created a conceptual model for chronic Insomnia known as the '3P' model (Spielman et al 1987). According to this model there are several Predisposing (eg anxious personality traits), Precipitating (eg difficult life events), and Perpetuating (eg disrupted routine, day napping), factors involved in the development of Insomnia. Regardless of the factors that set off insomnia, as a consequence we develop psychological and behavioural habits which combine to maintain the Insomnia. CBT=I is a multimodal treatment which mainly addresses the maintaining factors for Insomnia, with considerable success. It is now the first line treatment for  Insomnia ( Edinger and Means et al. 2001).

It is a common trend for people to enquire about ERP (exposure and response prevention) psychotherapy. Exposure and Response Prevention is not a psychotherapy in its own right, but it has become a trendy sound bite for people to sell books about. ERP is a basic principle of CBT as advised by the NHS Treatment Guide or OCD-UK which involves you making a  deliberate choice to confront your fears and resisting compulsion or safety seeking behaviour in the face of those fears so that you learn to tolerate the feelings of anxiety, which paradoxically become much less with our help at the The CBT Covent Garden Practice in managing this.

The main symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), are Obsessions- which are unwanted recurrent intrusive thoughts, urges or images, which cause significant distress and can seem impossible to get rid of and Compulsions which are actions linked to your Obsessions. These might be in the form of behaviours or as mental activity in the form of constant repetition of certain thoughts, images, or rituals. People with OCD tend to avoid anything which triggers their obsessions. One of the most helpful things to do in order to overcome OCD is to understand how your OCD works. It is a condition which affects thousands of people. It is extremely upsetting and isolating,  but it is important to remember it is nothing to be ashamed of. It is not your fault that you have OCD and as debilitating as it is, you can overcome your OCD. The two most effective treatments for OCD are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy( CBT) and SSRI medication. It is not one disorder but a complex range of disorders that can be placed under a broad obsessive compulsive umbrella.

Bipolar Disorder can have a devastating effect on the careers, family and relationships of the person with the affective mood disorder. Bernadette Ainsworth at The Covent Garden Practice has a wealth of experience and  specialist knowledge of the condition,  so that with an individual personalised, patient plan it is possible to understand how to manage the episodes of hypomania or mania, the depressive phases and the accompanying anxiety  that underpins the disorder so that you  learn how to predict and use early intervention to prevent  setbacks to achieve a far better outcome and greater quality of life experience in all areas.

Bipolar Affective Disorder is the term used to describe a range of illness in which there are disturbances in mood of both elation and depression, the poles of Affective Experience. 
Bipolar I Disorder - requires simply a single episode of Mania (Hypermania), a more severe mood state than Hypomania on the poles of Affective Experience. It is generally the rule however, that the patients who experience Mania  also experience major Depression. 
Bipolar II Disorder - combines both Hypomania and Depression, but is less impairing than Bipolar I. Both Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorders require treatment with a mood stabiliser and a combination of psychoeducational work and psychological therapy to help understand and manage the condition.
Bipolar Disorder is a long term mental health condition causing significant mood swings between extreme elevation (Mania/Hypomania) and low mood (Depression). It is an Affective  illness which runs an episodic course.