You’re a few days into your holiday. This break has been long awaited. The thought of getting away from work / home life has been in your mind for weeks, if not months. So here you are. It should all be hunky dory right? And yet it doesn’t quite feel that way. It’s a […]
Read more
I’m sitting at my desk, laptop infront of me. To my left, my work phone; to my right my personal phone. In my browser window behind, my social networks spew their messages out. And here I am contemplating loneliness. There are times, in what seems to be an increasingly ‘connected’ world where life can feel […]
Read more
The brave face, the disarming smile. On paper Ellie* has a lot going for her. She’s the kind of person everyone wants to be friends with. People gravitate to her and have done throughout her life. She describes herself as driven, in all she does. Work has gone well. She studied hard at school and […]
Read more
‘She’s bound to let me down’ ‘He doesn’t really like me’ ‘She’s only saying that because she feels sorry for me’ ‘That’s not what he’s really thinking about me.’ Do you ever have any of these narratives go on in your head? It’s a bit like watching TV. On screen the people are saying one […]
Read more
I was walking to work this week and two adults on bikes swerved passed me on the pavement narrowly missing me. Not anything unusual in that. I see it happening all the time. But I noticed my chest tightening, my breathing become shallower. In my mind, all sorts of thoughts were popping up, most of […]
Read more
Sometimes the world feels a scary place. And I’m not talking just about floods, famine, wars, random acts of violence. Even the day to day can feel overwhelming and anxiety making. Do you find yourself worrying what might happen when your family gets together,and who might say what to whom? Or your colleagues want to […]
Read more
You bump into a friend and they ask ‘how are things?’ ‘All good’ you respond. Never mind that you had an awful morning, a terrible night’s sleep and you are stressed about x and y. There’s this thing, in British culture particularly, of never saying what’s really going on, a bit like talking about the […]
Read more
Picture the scene. You’ve just been out for lunch with a group of friends. Yes it was great catching up with your amigos. But funny how it also felt like a bit of a slap in the face. Fran has just had her second promotion in a year and has almost doubled her salary. Jen’s […]
Read more
You probably already know, deep down, that something has to change, that you’ve got to a place where things are can’t go on as they are. But at the heart there’s this niggling question, a fear even. If I change, will people still like me? Will those I’m close to still love me? I’ve been […]
Read more
When you look at yourself, you wonder are you really that broken? Or you think, Counselling? That’s way too self-indulgent. You can sort yourself out. You should be able to get through this (whatever this is) without help. I mean, only people with ‘serious’ problems go to counselling. Anyhow, what would your family think? It’s […]
Read more