Anxiety – Not Me!!!

So much is said about the question of anxiety and its profile has certainly been raised recently.  However, it can be misunderstood, feared and unfortunately still comes with some stigma!  Isn’t anxiety something ‘weak’ people suffer from?  Well guess what, no it isn’t!  All of us experience some levels of anxiety at certain times in our lives and we are all vulnerable to its power over us.  How come you may ask?  Well let’s have a quick and very simple look at what it actually is. Continue reading “Anxiety – Not Me!!!”

Don’t Panic it’s 2021!

As we leave 2020 behind, it feels for most of us, that there has never been a year we were more relieved to be rid of.  There are few of us still alive who experienced living through the terrible hardships of World Wars I & II, but nonetheless we have been living through a different type of global war.    We have been left battered, frightened, scarred by grief, anxious, depressed and lonely and although the New Year is upon us, many of these feelings have not gone away.  In fact, despite now seeing a small light at the end of the COVID tunnel in the form of vaccination, we are still going to face many more challenges until ‘normal’ service finally resumes.

So ‘don’t panic’ I say, but how can we not you might ask??    Well we can do a surprising number of things to reduce our fear and stress in these totally unknown and unprecedented times. Continue reading “Don’t Panic it’s 2021!”

Selfish? NO – Self-care

I am often asked the question ‘isn’t self-care just being selfish?’  I always answer ‘No!!!!’

It is that time of the year again when many of us have had a pretty exhausting couple of festive weeks, cooking, entertaining, shopping and looking after children etc and often we do all these things whilst struggling with winter colds and flu!  Time to really focus on self-care to restore our energies and boost our sense of wellbeing and motivation for the start of the New Year. Continue reading “Selfish? NO – Self-care”

Tis the Season to be Jolly …..err maybe!!!!!

Oh for a simple Christmas with that romantic picture of a stocking (filled with an orange or two) hanging up over the fire place, mistletoe and holly, mulled wine, a present wrapped under the tree (real of course) and all is quiet, all is calm and all is peaceful on the holiest of nights. Looking forward to it already?

This is what it will be like right? Continue reading “Tis the Season to be Jolly …..err maybe!!!!!”

Please Let Me Do Grief My Way

Death is not our favourite subject but one which few of us can avoid – it is natural part of life. 100 years ago talking about sex was taboo but death was both common place and expected, now it is the reverse. Society does not like death, as surely medicine can cure most things and certainly it is not seen as common place for younger people to die, is it? If only that were true! When it happens, we are shocked and offended by it – no-one talks about it and even the word ‘dead’ is replaced by a whole range of potentially confusing alternatives. This can be a particular problem if you are a child and someone tells you a significant person in your life has ‘passed’, ‘gone’, ‘has been lost’. Gone where! Let’s find them! Continue reading “Please Let Me Do Grief My Way”