There are a host of reasons as to why you may not be a good friend to yourself! There’s no need for me to list any, just think of them as personal mind-debris, and we know about rubbish; therefore, it’s not always us that dumps the bags in our heads! But why should you allow [...]

Whilst most of a Pufferfish is toxic to humans, part of the flesh is edible, delicious apparently, although I’ve not tried it! Yet we can liken this to the misplaced anger that some of us endure: firstly, we can recognise that every human emotion is both normal and valid. Secondly, we can acknowledge that each [...]

In exactly the same way as we might bake a cake, because we all deserve treats, you can make your own opportunities. Very often, we only need to make little tweaks in our mind set, to help shift away feelings of complacency; or to assist in heaving us out of long spells of unhelpful procrastination, [...]

Finding the motivation to do something, can for all of us, at times, be challenging… we kind of need to look for it, - as though it were a physical object. Like we might search for coins on the street, or a missing locker key. We have to make the effort, and remind ourselves that [...]

There are many factors that can make us feel physically, or emotionally unwell, or simply feeling over-whelmed by the challenges of life. Pain in the body, mind or soul, can leave us feeling washed -out; but there are several quick-fixes, which only take minutes to do, that will make you feel instantly better. I don’t [...]

Mindfulness is not easy to do, and nor is meditation. It’s because it takes much effort to clear our minds: in order to firstly relax: and then to solely focus on breathing; and then to concentrate. But I’ve been practicing both these helpful forms of therapeutic techniques for over a decade, and rather than always [...]

I’ve mentioned before that due to my disability, I have cerebral palsy, that I have to maintain a daily set of exercises, - given to me by my physiotherapist, in order to keep me mobile. I have to do them daily, and always feel more supple afterwards. Interestingly, many of them are only simple stretching [...]

I still can’t see for all the love hearts in my eyes since my wonderful daughter got married… No, I’m not going to talk about the wedding; I’m going to ask you to reflect back on a time when you’ve been in an utter state of bliss. Think of any occasion, when by you smiled [...]

According to studies a smile is contagious. When you see a smile, your orbit-frontal-cortex activates, which processes sensory rewards. Therefore, when you catch another person smiling you feel rewarded: a good feeling, which causes a smile… Having just enjoyed the best day of my life, my daughter got married last week: I thought I’d share [...]

My wonderful late stepfather said “Hooray” frequently! He’d start and end conversations with the jolly word, and in messages too; though he’d often include the nonsensical addition of the word: “sausages”. Malcolm was great fun, and permanently wore a wide grin; above it was a pair of tatty glasses held together by an old plaster; [...]