December's Stress Review Workshop What struck me at the start of this workshop as people introduced themselves, was just how many reasons we have to be stressed in our lives these days. In fact, I began to wonder how any of us cope at all. But, also right from the beginning, as everyone told their [...]
Mindfulness is a wonderful technique. In therapeutic circles, it is very much in fashion, and an enormous amount of research has been done on it, showing that regular practise significantly reduces fatigue and depression, hypertension, stress and anxiety, the perception of pain, fear and anger; and that it also significantly increases a sense of [...]
BEING RESILIENT For many of us, life is pretty good a lot of the time; but, for all of us, there are times when it’s really tough. And when those rough times hit, it’s good to know that we can cope, isn’t it? So, what can we do to improve our chances? According to [...]
SOME TRUTHS BEHIND ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION Worldwide, depression is the second leading cause of disability behind heart disease, and it is the most common psychological disorder. It’s growth rate is so great that there is 10 times more depression in people born after 1945 than before. This implies that depression cannot be a There’s a [...]
If you are suffering from stress, you are not alone. In fact, according to an online survey, stress is such a common condition that it's tweeted about every two seconds, making 50,000 tweets every day. Family concerns are the most frequent stressors discussed on Twitter, but body image and sleep issues are also often [...]
I was on my way to pick up my niece and switched on the radio. Kate Adie was introducing the next report from “Our Correspondent” who then proceeded to describe her recent visit to the Medicine Sans Frontier hospital in Aleppo, where she had met a 5-year-old victim of the Syrian conflict. Unable to [...]
Dementia and Alzheimer's are much in the public consciousness at the present. As people live longer, we are more aware of these conditions, perhaps experiencing them directly through our friends or loved ones. Perhaps we see their fear and confusion, and dread that that should happen to us. Of course, there are things that [...]
The author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, once commented in an interview that he was so accustomed to his wife that he had become aware that he hardly knew her at all. Because it's easy, isn't it, to not give our full attention to the familiar and everyday relationship? Sometimes, in fact, we can give more [...]
"Forgiving is the most selfish thing you can do." Hearing that from Caroline Myss certainly made me stop and think. And when I pass it on to my clients, they invariably look at me as if I'm not quite to be trusted. Because usually we see ourselves as big-hearted and giving when we forgive, [...]
People commonly describe depression in a number of ways: as a black cloud that accompanies them everywhere; a fog from which it's impossible to see out; like being stuck within a cave or cage. What's common to all of these descriptions is the conviction or fear that they cannot escape. And, because human brains [...]
When we're ruled by our fear, everyday life can feel a bit like walking a tightrope over a bottomless pit. It's a hell of a balancing act. And it's absolutely exhausting; it takes up so much energy, so much mental focus. But often the advice we get given is to push through our fear. [...]
What proportion of your life do you spend engaged in activities that are life-enhancing? You know the ones. The kind that, when you’ve finished, you’re fizzing with energy and joy, ready to laugh and love, walking on air. Is half your day spent doing things like that? The whole of your day, none of [...]