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Dundee Counselling

Self Help

Table of Contents

Mental Health Self Assessment

The following questions may help you reflect on your own mental health. It’s not diagnostic but can help you evaluate your own well-being.

Answer the frequency for your experience of each of the following with “Never,” “Rarely,” “Sometimes,” “Often,” or “Always” How often do you:

  • Feel overwhelmed by emotions?
  • Worry about the future?
  • Avoid daily activities?
  • Feel tired or low on energy?
  • Experience sleep disturbances?
  • Feel isolated?
  • Experience sudden mood changes?
  • Lose interest in activities that you once did?
  • Struggle with self-esteem or self-identity?
  • Feel nervous or anxious without cause?
  • Have difficulty concentrating?
  • Become easily irritated?
  • Have physical symptoms like headaches or stomach aches without a clear medical cause?
  • Have you noticed any significant changes in your appetite?
  • Rely on substances to feel better?

Please note that this is not a substitute for professional advice but if you do have any concerns about your mental well-being do visit your GP or contact any of the counsellors on our page.

Self Help Resources

Self Help Tools

Self help tools have been written on more topics than we can even list. Though the materials you need are bound to exist somewhere in this information rich time in history, finding the time to locate and read the information may end up causing additional frustration. We believe that the dialogue of therapy is the most effective means in dealing with individual and relational issues and this is why we provide the service.

Nevertheless, we have collected some of the top useful guides and share them here. Occasionally during therapy we will use these tools to accompany the therapeutic work. Here are some short summaries of the tools you can investigate.

Feeling Words List

Dundee Counselling has developed this list of feeling words in their emotional state categories in order of intensity. This is a helpful tool for anyone wishing to become more descriptive with their feelings. This is particularly helpful when using the Awareness Wheel.

Feeling Words

Relaxation & Mindfulness

It is known that it is impossible to feel anxiety when our bodies are relaxed and we are breathing in a controlled and calm manner. This guided relaxation is helpful for practising between sessions and “learning” how to go to a more positive experience.

Relaxation & Mindfulness

Awareness Wheel

This tool was developed in the book called Talking and Listening Together by Sherod Miller et. al. to help couples communicate better. The Awareness Wheel will help you improve your speaking skills so that you can be more easily understood by others.

Awareness Wheel

Listening Cycle

Along side the Awareness Wheel, the Listening Cycle is a tool developed in the book called Talking and Listening Together by Sherod Miller et. al. to help couples communicate better. The Listening Cycle will help you improve your listening skills so that you can actively assure others that you understand, provide empathy, and resolve conflict.

Listening Cycle

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is a large focus of counselling though it is not “taught” but rather “caught” in the process of self exploration. The tutorial on this topic explains the process of understanding emotions in yourself, how to deal with intense emotional reactions and how to switch emotional states in order to improve communication.

Emotional Intelligence

Personality Type

A personality type test can help you understand why you think, feel and behave the way you are naturally drawn to. A number of personality type tests are available to try and you can take a free one online using this resource.

Personality Type

Exercise and Mental Health

Regular exercise positively impacts mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving mood, and enhancing overall psychological well-being.

Exercise Benefits

Helpful Printer-Friendly Handouts

We’ve gathered a variety of resources that can enhance your understanding of numerous aspects of emotional intelligence in a printable format.

Helpful Handouts

NHS Scotland Resources

If you are looking for help individually, we suggest the tools developed by the NHS Scotland. Their website helps you eliminate issues in a systematic way to help you optimize your efforts in getting to the heart of the issue.

NHS Scotland Resources

Care for the Family Resources

If you are looking for help relationally, (either within or out with the family) we suggest the tools developed by Care for the Family. They have written on topics like: marriage, parenting, divorce recovery, money issues, losing a loved one, etc.

Care For The Family

Help in Crisis - Tayside

If you are in a particular time of crisis and need help, please search these pages for type of help you need.

Crisis Contacts - Tayside and Healthy Minds

Anger and Conflict
Conflict in relationships escalate through three stages: complaint is expressing dissatisfaction, criticism involves identifying recurring behavioral patterns, but contempt, the most toxic stage, attacks a person’s character, leading to a destructive ‘you versus me’ dynamic
Awareness Wheel
When discussing an issue, start with sensory data (what you see, hear, feel, etc.), then share your thoughts, feelings, wants, and actions, using “I” statements to provide a clear and complete understanding of your perspective to your listener.
Care for the Family
On the Care for the Family website, there is a wealth of support for family life, focusing on the couple relationship building, parenting challenges, and bereavement assistance, with each section delivering tailored practical and emotional aid.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is crucial as it enhances our ability to understand, manage, and express emotions effectively, fostering better personal and professional relationships and decision-making.
Exercise and Mental Health
Regular exercise positively impacts mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving mood, and enhancing overall psychological well-being.
Journaling for Theraupeutic Purposes
Journaling provides a therapeutic outlet for self-reflection, emotional processing, and personal growth, enhancing overall mental well-being.
Helpful Handouts
Here, we’ve gathered a variety of resources that can enhance your understanding of numerous aspects of emotional intelligence in a printable format.
Feeling Words List
A Feeling Words List enhances emotional articulation by expanding vocabulary beyond basic terms, enabling more precise emotion identification and improving communication in relationships.
Listening Cycle
As a listener, maintain a caring emotional state, focus on summarizing and understanding the speaker’s message without interrupting or offering your own thoughts, and encourage further clarification through open-ended questions.
NHS Scotland Self Help Guides
On the NHS website, you can find self-help guides for a range of issues including anxiety, bereavement, chronic pain, depression, OCD, panic attacks, phobias, anger management, PTSD, self-esteem, sleep problems and more.
Personality Type
The Myers-Briggs personality type indicator is a helpful tool for articulating your perspective, tendancies and interests. It can be particularly helpful in choosing a career: a useful aid in career counselling.
Self-care
Self-care involves intentional practices to maintain and improve physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It includes activities like exercise, mindfulness, and social connections, essential for reducing stress and enhancing life quality.
Relaxation - Mindfulness
Mindfulness, aided with the use of a guided relaxation can significantly reduce stress and anxiety by promoting a calm state of mind and helps you practice mental toughness as you train your mind to be able to relax.