A statement I hear a lot is “I shouldn’t feel this way”. Do you ever experience a valid, human emotion and then tell yourself it is wrong? When you believe you shouldn’t feel something, you resist it. You squash the...
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In my last post I described self-compassion as a life skill that we can all keep working on. But why bother? What makes a little self-compassion so important for mental health? Well, over a thousand research studies have...
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Self-compassion is a core skill for maintaining good mental health. So, what is self-compassion? Think for a moment about what makes a really great friend. Answers often include things like kindness, support, encouragement,...
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If you read my last post you know that a growth mindset is important for recovery and self-development. So, how do you actually get yourself into a growth mindset? Here are some suggestions: 1. Make a habit of looking out for...
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Does mindset matter? Yes it does. Mindset acts as an internal template for making sense of problems and responding to them. Whatever the changes you are trying to make, taking time to get into the right mindset each day can make...
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I often get asked about my opinions on medication and whether it is a good idea. I am not against medication in general. In fact, throughout my career I have seen it save lives. It can enable those who are most unwell to...
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9 key points about emotions: 1. No emotion is bad or wrong. 2. They all have a reason, a message, a function. 3. All of the emotions we experience today evolved because they promoted our survival in some way by influencing our...
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When people engage in therapy for anxiety, something they learn is this: Thoughts are not facts. Instead, thoughts are predictions, opinions, ideas and judgments. They are filled with biases that affect how we perceive things....
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Are you waiting for the time to be just right? Are you waiting until you feel like it? One of the hardest facts about mental health recovery is that you are never going to feel like it. There will never be perfect circumstances...
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When life takes things out of our hands and all the problem-solving in the world is not going to change anything, its time to prioritise the coping strategies that will help you to endure the emotional pain that you face. When...
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There is a time and a place for goal setting, planning and preparation. But the day to day business of healing and recovery demands that you focus on the here and now. When people come along to therapy, they describe the changes...
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People are gradually becoming less afraid to speak about the unspeakable. And yet, while I feel so passionately that this is an essential move in the right direction, something is missing. Building awareness of a problem is the...
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