The economic downturn is hitting Singapore in a significant way especially in the oil and gas, banking and shipping industries. For many individuals and families who are employed in this industry it is a very stressful and anxious time as people do not know how safe their jobs are.
Anxiety is a common issue when we are facing an unknown future. Many individuals who are not secure in their jobs or financial situations can face increased symptoms of anxiety such as difficulties in falling asleep, racing thoughts of terrible events and inability to focus on task at hand. Other people may even experience more extreme symptoms of anxiety such as sweaty palms, increased heart rate, shortness of breath and very catastrophic thoughts about the future.
When an individual is struggling with anxiety that affects his or her performance at work it can then also leaking into his or her relationships at home with his or her partner. There may be increased fights as the couple struggle to deal with the uncertainty in their life around finances, housing and quality of life. The individual struggling with anxiety may find they turn more to alcohol to help manage their stress which can further lead to impairment the next day and more fights at home.
All in the Family Counselling Centre, Pte Ltd specializes in a variety of ways to help individuals and couple deal with anxiety especially in this time of economic instability in Singapore.
To the help the individual, we provide Anxiety Counselling, a comprehensive treatment targeting the sources of anxiety and examine unhelpful self-talk and beliefs that are contributing to the individual’s anxiety. We teach people more realistic ways to evaluate situations, see more choices and learn better ways to reduce symptoms of anxiety. We also help people examine their life from a holistic point of view to help them finds ways to improve self-care around exercise, sleep and nutrition.
If one person in the relationship is struggling with anxiety, especially if it related to how secure their job and income is, this has a direct impact on the relationship. Couples often struggle to discuss financial matters effectively and create unified goals about what is the “right thing to do.” Common issues that arise when one’s job and income is insecure is about whether or not the stay-at-home spouse should go back to work part-time or full time. There are often issues around schooling, whether or not to keep the car and how to manage disposable income around entertainment, vacation and other quality of life issues.
Often couples are not working as team and do not have an agreed upon common goal and then fail to find solutions. They are trying to use compromise and other negotiation tactics that leaving them in a heated argument feeling upset, misunderstood and disconnected. These conversations are often very emotional and couples struggle to stay calm and hear each other out.
All in the Family Counselling Centre helps couples by providing a new frame and tools to learn to communicate better, act as a team and solve couple problems. We provide a safe environment that teaches couples how to manage emotion so that they can be heard and understood. Counselling can be very practical and does not have to take many sessions when couples seek help early enough and still have plenty of good will.
Economic downturns have been shown to place huge stresses on couples and individual and can further deteriorate a relationship. Counselling is a cost effective to learn communication skills and anxiety management skills to help couples stay a team and face difficulties.
If you are struggling, call us to learn more about how we can help you.
call +6590307239 or email us