Do you need someone to talk to?
I’ve just seen this interview on BBC South News with Farrah Storr, editor-in-chief on Cosmopolitan, talking about relationships, close friendships and having someone whom you can have a good chat, rant or sound off with, and it made me wonder… how many of us have a close friend we can say all to?
Making friends seems a lot easier when at school, college, university, even at work but it gets harder, I think, as we get older. There are more things we need to spend time on; children, partners, work, family, maybe even ailing parents, meaning we have less free time to devote to building that special relationship with a friend, especially someone whom you can talk easily with.
When I worked long hours in the City for a large international corporate company, I was regularly so full of stress and anxiety, all I wanted to do was to offload all of that onto someone, which normally meant my long-suffering husband, but that wasn’t what he needed or wanted. Men I have found, as a woman and as a counsellor, can’t understand or cope with ranting women, it’s just not in their psyche. If there’s a problem, the male of the species prefers to solve it. In my case, my husband’s solution was “leave the job “or “put up and shut up”. However, as a woman sometimes those are not the answers we need, we may not even want an answer, just a place to rant about the day we’ve had!As a counsellor I see many clients who are experiencing problems with work, and/or relationships, most want solutions to their situations but some just want someone they can trust to talk to about what’s going on in their lives.
Having read the above article and after having had similar experiences, it has made me wonder if there is any mileage in offering a service for those who need to talk about their day, the situations that are affecting them, or those who feel the need to have someone available that they can offload to who is trusted, confidential and supportive.
I am not here as a friend but as counselling professional, someone who you can talk openly and honestly, in a confidential and supportive environment. If you feel that this would be beneficial to you, I am available for you to talk to either in a counselling format, as a sounding board for issues that are affecting you or for a good rant about your day. I can offer daytime or evening sessions, either face to face, by phone or by Skype.
Please see my website for details.
