Treatment for Life Dissatisfaction by Bmindful Psychotherapists in Ottawa
We are a group of independent psychotherapists, counsellors, and coaches in Ottawa who have extensive experience in the treatment of mental health (anxiety, depression) disorders and provide counselling for chronic life dissatisfaction. If you are not happy with the way how your life is going and would like to have more meaning or want to achieve an important life goal, you may benefit from our unique approach that incorporates psychotherapeutic interventions with life coaching and mindfulness training. We encourage you to read the following information about life satisfaction and to book an appointment.
Information About Life Satisfaction
Occasionally something happens such as the death of a close friends, becoming unemployed, or going through divorce that initiates the process of taking stock of our life. Other times, stock taking may emerge as part of an evaluation process associated with future planning. Regardless of how it starts, during stock taking we reflect on past accomplishments, the current situation, and future goals. The questions we might be asking ourselves are: Have I accomplished what I wanted? Am I satisfied with my current life condition? How pleased I am with my progress? Where do I want to be in the future? and, How likely is it that I will accomplish my future goals? Chances are if you are reading this page, your life satisfaction is low. You may have concluded that your life did not evolve in the way you hoped or you are concerned about your ability to make it better.
Life Satisfaction and Negative Mood
If you are not satisfied with your life and you feel sad, it is not surprising as life satisfaction is positively correlated with happiness (meaning as one goes up the other follows).
However, it is important to know that life satisfaction is in a reciprocally influential relationship with mood, self-esteem/confidence, and amongst others with perceived ability to cope with difficulties. This means that dissatisfaction with life can increase negative mood, but negative mood also leads to interpreting events in a more negative manner, which in turn may be used as evidence that life is not going well. This also suggests that if you can improve your mood, you may view your life in a more favourable way. Therefore through counselling you may discover some of the thinking processes that may interfere with your wellbeing and learn new skills and copying strategies that can lead to improved life satisfaction.
Life Satisfaction and Values
Life satisfaction is closely associated with living in accordance with personal values. Dr. Rush Harris, an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Expert, defined values as “what you want your life to be about, deep in your heart. What you want to stand for. What you want to do with your time on this planet. What ultimately matters to you in the big picture. What you would like to be remembered for by the people you love.”
Despite the connection between life satisfaction and values, we rarely engage in the in-depth process of self-discovery required to identify the types of values Harris is talking about. Instead, our wants and needs often reflect current cultural or marketing trends, our wish to keep up with friends neighbours or is driven by scarcity thinking (sense of comparison/competition with others, with the belief that resources are limited and other’s advancement will leave us behind). Through counselling or coaching, you may discover what truly matters to you and dedicate more commitment to a value based life. We are here to help you get more out of your life.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
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