Any questions?

SO you want to get fit, but don't know where to start. Or perhaps you feel depressed as the nights draw in, but don't want to bother your GP about it. Maybe you are wondering whether something you are eating is making you feel tired or giving you headaches. Or you seem to be arguing more with your other half but don't know why. Perhaps you feel bored and undervalued at work, but don't have the confidence to change jobs.

These are just some of the myriad of worries we face every day in our increasingly busy and stressful lives.

And that's why the Evening Press is today launching a new weekly feature, drawing together a series of experts who can answer your questions on a wide range of health matters, hopefully giving you useful advice and peace of mind.

Our panel consists of a GP, a nutritionist, a fitness trainer, a complementary therapist, a relationships counsellor and a personal development coach.

Each week, one will step into the hot seat, answering your questions and giving you their best advice.

So let's meet The Experts...

Fitness instructor

Pat Issitt is a fitness leader and gym instructor with a wealth of qualifications and eight years' experience of helping people improve, maintain and achieve their fitness objectives. Besides being part of the workout team at Courtney's Fitness Centre, Monk's Cross, York, where she can be found working out in the Fitness Studio or advising clients about their fitness problems, she can also be spotted at various centres throughout the city egging on participants in a variety of classes from aquafit to bodypump. Pat, 45, teaches around 12 classes a week, is married with three children and says she is stronger and fitter now than when she was 21.

GP

Dr Andy Field originally trained as a surgeon before becoming a GP. He has also trained in homeopathy and is interested in all forms of complementary medicine. He is currently training in Core Process psychotherapy which is unlike western psychotherapy in that it is based on Buddhist philosophy and psychology.

Andy has been interested in yoga and Buddhism for many years and these interests affect his views on health. He is committed to a holistic outlook and stresses the importance of proper diet, exercise, relaxation, breathing and spiritual integration. His main emphasis is to allow the body's own healing energy to flourish through healthy living and stresses the importance of calm and inner peace. He strongly believes that prevention is better than cure.

Andy lives in York with his wife, Rebecca, who is also a GP and their daughter Ella. He works three days a week as a GP in Driffield.

Personal development coach

Clive Gott is York's very own Mr Motivator. A former Evening Press columnist, Clive makes a welcome return with his positive insights into how we can reach our full potential. A former fire fighter, Clive, 42, now runs Lighthouse Training, specialising in personal development. He helps people with goal setting, career advancement and life-improvement skills. He lives in Tadcaster, is married and has a 15-year-old daughter, Laura.

Relationship advice

Counsellors from York and Harrogate Relate will be answering questions about relationship difficulties. For more than 60 years, Relate has been helping couples and individuals with a wide range of problems. It offers counselling to anyone who needs it, whether married, single, separated, divorced, gay or heterosexual. Sex therapy is offered, where the difficulty is of a sexual nature. Relate-teen provides help to young people affected by the breakdown of their parents' relationship. Relate also runs various training programmes such as marriage preparation and parenting skills.

Complementary therapist

Pippa Watt is the principal of the York School Of Complementary Medicine. She is a professional practitioner in reflexology, aromatherapy, massage and diet and nutrition and also teaches these subjects at vocational level. Pippa has carried out workshops in hospitals and health clinics and has been teaching in adult education for three years. She also runs baby massage courses. She is married with one son and lives in Newton-on-Ouse.

Nutritionist

Dr Damien Downing started in medicine when he was 13, in a mission hospital in Africa, where he was another pair of hands to help in surgical operations. A former York GP, for the past 20 years he has specialised in nutrition, allergies and environmental damage to health. He is now the editor of the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, the author of two books - on ME and on the health benefits of sunlight - and runs a private medical practice. Read his first column today in The Experts, right.

u If you have a problem you think one of our experts could help you with, send your question to The Experts, c/o Maxine Gordon, Features Department, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN or by email to: maxine.gordon@ycp.co.uk.

Please give your name, address and daytime telephone number, although these details will not be published.

All letters for publication will be treated in the strictest confidence.

We regret that none of our columnists will be able to reply to individuals.