Category Archives for "abuse"

Feeling empty inside? Here’s what to do

As the day ends, you start to notice a gnawing inside. The busy-ness of chores, work or meetings ebbs away to be replaced by a growing sense of dread. Who are you when you’re not busy? Whether alone or with family or friends, you feel like you are going through the motions. It’s difficult to […]

On shame and its antidote

As the world around continues its unstable lurching from one crisis to another, with acts of violence, despair and splitting, I’ve been thinking about the role of the shame in all this. Anyone watching the Brexit debates in the UK and the fall out from the vote, or the 2016 US Presidential contest will have […]

Is this the hardest thing you could ever do?

A man staggers out of the shop holding more than his arms can cope with. He moves towards his car and stumbles; a cascade of vegetable tumbles on to the ground and rolls away. ‘You stupid idiot’, he mutters to himself. A mother carries her screaming child out of the coffee shop. 10 minutes later […]

When the world feels unsafe

Ever have that feeling, that whatever you do with other people, you’re bound to be let down in the end? Or do you often think it’s easier to get things done yourself, rather than be disappointed or frustrated by someone else’s endeavours? Life can feel lonely or heavy when you it’s hard to trust that […]

When depression won’t go away

These may be your darkest days. When it feels like there is no reason to get out of bed, no point in getting dressed, no purpose in speaking to or being with anyone else. Life feels heavy. Your appetite might have gone. Or gone into overdrive. Your sleep may be broken or you might find […]

5 questions to ask if you feel like running away

There are these moments in life when it all starts to feel too much. Perhaps it’s the continual work demands, stresses and requests that play havoc with your sense of wellbeing. Or maybe your relationship and family life keep going around in circles, the same old arguments, routines. Nothing ever seems to change and you […]

10 ways to manage feeling overwhelmed and anxious

I’m writing this at a time of great change and huge-scale upheaval. 1000s of people are fleeing their homes and risking their lives to find a safer place to live. People are dying in the most awful of circumstances, trapped in lorries, drowned, crushed, starved, falling ill, being asphyxiated. Solutions are both simple and deeply […]

How to stop rescuing a moody parent or partner

You’re out having a meal together. So far the evening has gone well. But then something gets said. The atmosphere chills and your partner goes silent on you. It’s a familiar experience by now in your relationship.  The thing is, you’ve tried hard in the past to get him / her back to be present […]