It’s August and Summer is here! I’m reminded of being a child at the start of the school holidays, the weeks off stretching out ahead and that wonderful sense of freedom. Alas, as an adult it’s not quite the same but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the season and all that it has to … Read more
I’m getting to that time in my life where I’m finding myself having more and more conversations about ‘the menopause’. Then towards the end of last year the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) proposed an update to their guidelines to include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a treatment which can help during menopause. … Read more
Compassion Focused Therapy, or CFT for short, is a branch of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which I’ve become really interested in over the past few years. People who come to Forrest Talking Therapies find it a really powerful way of working through all sorts of difficulties, and I often use the tools in my personal day … Read more
I’ve been practising yoga for many years. When I’m ‘on the mat’ I feel centred, it’s space away from everything else in my life and a rare chance to pay attention to my body instead of my mind. Recently I’ve been attending classes led by Liz Walker. Liz is an experienced yoga teacher who specialises … Read more
June treated us to some beautiful warm weather, as we celebrated the Queens Jubilee, Glastonbury and the start of Wimbledon. The Summer Solstice and Midsummer have already been and gone so I think it’s safe to say that Summer is officially here (cue cold weather and rain!) It’s often the Winter months as the dark … Read more
I’ve written blog posts about all kinds of problems such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. What all these problems have in common is ‘Thinking Traps’. These are habitual negative ways of thinking about ourselves, others or the world which are unrealistic and lead us into a spiral of anxiety and … Read more
Philosophers and scientists have debated about the relationship between our mind and physical bodies for a long time. I certainly align myself with a holistic approach. All you need to do is think about your favourite flavour ice-cream and notice the saliva in your mouth to know that there is a clear link between our … Read more
To mark the 25th World Book Day this month I’m sharing with you a list of book recommendations which focuses on the theme of mental wellbeing. Please bear in mind that this is far from an exhaustive list as the market is saturated with wellbeing books and there are more coming out all the time. … Read more
Life has been very busy for me over the past month so last weekend I decided to practice what I preach and take a day off to relax at home. I ended up doing some baking with my husband which I really enjoyed and this got me thinking about the benefits of baking for our … Read more
Depression is the most common mental health problem, with the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics suggesting that 1 in 5 adults in Great Britain experienced some form of depression in early 2021. Depression impacts the way people feel physically, the way they think and of course their emotions. Symptoms include feeling low … Read more