“I gained more knowledge of how to handle my thoughts and feelings. I have been able to speak my mind much more clearly. ”
Anxiety
An Alternative Therapeutic Approach
Horse Sense of the Carolinas (HSOTC) offers an alternative therapeutic approach to assisting individuals struggling with anxiety. After the initial intake, all sessions are experiential and take place in a peaceful and calming natural environment that provides an opportunity for clients to investigate personal issues.
Horses are large and sometimes intimidating creatures. However, at HSOTC we have a variety of excellent therapy horses and are able to pair horses appropriately with clients based on the individual’s needs and goals. HSOTC has a client-led approach and will support a client’s growth process, encouraging safe, challenging, and rewarding experiences. Learn more about Anxiety and Depression below.
Contact us to set up your first session.
Not sure if you are experiencing Anxiety? Read on to learn common symptoms.
No horse experience necessary.
Anxiety is often a normal response to stressful situations. One might experience anxiety during important life events (getting married, moving, new job, starting a family etc.). People of all ages are susceptible to anxious thought patterns. However, when anxiety is affecting one's daily experience and interfering with one's life, it is important to seek help.
“I learned that fear can be overcome by slowly dealing with it in small steady increments.”
Symptoms may include:
Chronic, unproductive worry
Feelings of intense panic
Frequent fears of losing control
Ongoing intrusive, distressing thoughts
Specific phobias of a feared object or situation
Fear of certain social interactions
If you, or someone you know, are having thoughts of suicide, professional help should be sought immediately. Contact your physician, your local emergency room or call 911. If you feel Anxiety may be an issue for you, please seek help. Contact us to set up your first session.
Depression
“I learned I’m going to be OK, I’m not lost forever…I have value. I like myself and I want to be back in the middle of life, smiling!”
EAP is a powerful and effective therapeutic approach that has an incredible impact on individuals, youth, families, and groups. Participants learn about themselves and others by participating in activities with the horses, and then processing (or discussing) feelings, behaviors, and patterns. EAP can help address non-verbal communication, expressing feelings, coping skills, cognitive patterns and belief about self, and relationship issues.
Mood Disorders, like Depression, are divided into the Depressive Disorders, the Bipolar Disorders, and two other disorders. Each area has specific symptoms, duration, and specifiers that a person must meet in order to be diagnosed. It is “normal” to feel sad, have a change in sleep patterns and in appetite if you have experienced a loss, but it may no longer be considered bereavement if these symptoms have lasted longer than two months, include having suicidal thoughts, or if symptoms have intensified.
Common symptoms of a Major Depressive episode include:
Change in appetite and/or sleep pattern
Irritability
Sadness
Tearfulness
Feeling of worthlessness
Diminished ability to concentrate or to think
If you feel Depression may be an issue for you, please seek help. Contact us to set up your first session.