Journal

Of all the themes I’ve seen most consistently in practice, guilt and shame are definitely among the most common. These insidious, powerful, lurking ideas can colour one’s identity and view of the world in really limiting ways.

For many people going through a self-reflective process like engaging in psychotherapy, shame is a theme that unveils itself in many layers, often over many years, and its complexity and potential dominance over our personality and self-expression make it one of the mo...

There is growing awareness of the concept of being ‘triggered’, along with a growing sensitivity for protecting people from experiencing this if they are in a vulnerable state.

‘Trigger’ is a term in mental health that essentially refers to a sensory event which catalyses a traumatic response. A trigger happens very quickly and the person experiencing it has almost no control of their reaction. For example, a loud sudden noise for someone who has a traumatic background resonating with this s...

In our bigger, better, faster world, we tend to focus on seeking beginnings. We look for how to bring more into our lives; perhaps try to gain more friends, work opportunities and even money and possessions. But if we keep gaining without releasing we end up feeling overwhelmed and stuck. We have more than we can use and might become burdened with the attention all these functions in our life demand.

I once heard the idea of throwing out a piece of clothing you no longer wear, before buying ...

Sensitivity is the ability to detect internal and external qualities with above-average perception. Sensitive people are strongly empathic, and pick up on others’ moods easily. They may also be sensitive in other areas of interaction with the world, perhaps noticing their response to their environment is more amplified than their peers.

Sensitivity is a beautiful quality for someone to hold. When balanced with good boundaries and self-esteem, sensitivity is a superpower! Just like having a v...

There has been increasing awareness on the benefits of mindfulness. Indeed, the practice of mindfulness has much to offer including improved concentration, management of stress and anxiety, improved quality of relationships…the list goes on!

However, I have noticed how, like so many other offerings to improve our quality of life, mindfulness practice has so easily become another to-do on our life lists. For those amongst us prone to perfectionism and perhaps with an overly zealous inner crit...

Often over-thinking is experienced by those going through eating disorders, and/or anxiety symptoms. Almost by definition of these disorders there must be a strong level of cognitive over-activity. Thoughts can become so entrenched they feel like facts. They aren’t ever disputed, but form rigid rivulets in our thinking stream. From this automation we are puppetted by a creation of our own making. Albeit unwittingly. 

Body sensations and experience often isn’t in awareness when someone finds ...

We are hardwired to contract our muscles, release adrenaline and fire up our central nervous system when we perceive danger = our fight or flight response. But when not living in situations of great physical danger as our ancestors once may have, these responses are most often unhelpful to us now. However in spite of this not only does fight or flight remain as our go-to when perceiving any sense of danger, threat or discomfort, for so many it is just a permanent state of hyper-arousal, which...

The experience of an eating disorder can be dualistic, a sense of opposing selves and values. So often for someone experiencing an eating disorder or disordered eating there is a sense of fragmented self. A sense of holding more than one view, wish and desire within life. The stress of a dichotomy between these opposites can dissolve any sense of internal trust and knowing. As if the very nucleus of that individual’s being is stretched in an internal tug-of-war.

Self-compassion is often sugg...

What does Vulnerability really mean? For me it’s a quality of being that is gentle, that doesn’t harden and contract from life. When we are uncomfortable and our reactions are coming up, when there is strong emotion, vulnerability allows feeling this, being fragile, being delicate with ourselves.

Letting the feelings be, without getting caught up in them, but also without trying to take ourselves away from them. To stay in our body. At a somatic level letting our body stay gentle and soft, a...

In the process of endeavouring to heal ourselves and create a way of living authentically, a playful approach can create more fluidity, innovation and ultimately allow for more growth. So often we approach our own healing with a to-do mentality.

We come from a culture so embedded in productivity, outcome, stimulation and doing – that it can feel uncomfortable to allow a mindset of willingness to fall or not know what to do, to be vulnerable, to ‘get it wrong.’ Yet ironically that drive to he...

In facing challenges, our protective layers come up in abundance. Whether it is day to day stress or a big event that really throws our balance and rhythm, we can easily feel lost in emotions and reactions that come up. This is often when our unhelpful patterns are reinstated, and surface with an aggressive pull to return to the familiar, what’s comfortable, what’s numbing or distracting.

But if we can take even a little bit of space from the momentum of what’s going on and recognise the pow...

If we think of the potential and infinite complexity of our human body it serves as a wonderfully accurate mirror for the human psyche. Both have universal attributes that connect us as similar beings, yet each is so unique there are never two the same. Whilst we can learn so much from those who have lived before us and with us, we also have to learn where we are different, and need to tailor approaches to life for our own situation – our physical and psychological profiles. 

The body seems ...