Beautiful Minds

  It’s been a just over a year since I married my soulmate. That day was nothing short of magical. A dream. It was a kind of joy that seeps into your bones and makes you believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that love really is true. But here’s the part people don’t often talk about; even when you find that deep, soul-anchoring love with your best friend… life around you doesn’t stop. The world keeps turning. Change keeps arriving, and often without warning. And when joy coexist right alongside grief, disappointment, self-doubt and exhaustion, life can become challenging. In the months that followed our wedding, life slowly began to shift in unexpected ways. People I thought would always be there; friends I trusted, community I once leant on, started to show their true colours. Behaviours I used to make excuses for, due to always seeing the best in people, now felt impossible to ignore. It’s become harder to fake smiles or accept energy that doesn’t come from a place of integri...

The relationship between bullying and suicidal ideation is complex. It is often mediated buy a build- up of various factors such as depression, abuse, low self-esteem, isolation, poor schooling and anxiety (including health anxiety) Hence why evidence suggests that there is a higher possibility of suicidal ideation when there are co-existing risk factors.  Behavioral and emotional trauma experienced at a young age, including bullying, can persist into adulthood due to chronic exposure to negativity Therefore, exposure to bullying at a young age can have a long-lasting consequence. Deciding who is at higher risk of suicidal ideation in relation to bullying behavior- the victim of bullying, the perpetrator of bulling, or the individual who is involved with both- is an on-going debate. Children and adolescents who are victims of bullying, and those who bully others, experience a higher risk for suicidal ideation and disruptiv...

 #Mentalhealthawarenessmonth  The COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented strain on our mental health. It has increased stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, substance use, self-harm and suicidal behavior – yet access to support, especially trained support, has never been more difficult. The overload of stress & the lack of availability in services is causing many individuals with existing symptoms of mental illness to experience an escalation of symptoms while creating the addition of new symptoms too.  As anyone who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition will know, investing in our mental health is essential to returning to our full potential. From time to time, most of us face unusually stressful situations in our lives, whether because of illness, grief, unemployment, financial or legal problems, or another many other factors. The phrase "𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝑒" is true, however protection is a better stance to embra...

The main benefit of self-reflection is that it allows us to know or be aware of our real selves.  This includes not only our goals and dreams but also our weaknesses. This makes sure that we improve and appreciate the right things & become grateful for the experience.      Something I discuss with clients is the importance of prioritising ourselves. This comes in the form of self reflection to accept and understand why the journey has been the way it has or why you made the choices you did. It's hard sometimes to think through these situations due to the triggers they hold but self acceptance is really needed to move forward in life; creating the best version of you.  Dear Hannah, I know you struggled being you.  From the aged of & you struggled with being different, struggled with who you wanted to be; you became scared of people & your surroundings. It was hard growing up. Knowing you weren’t a clone of the rest of them. Friends...

 Bullying is a distinctive pattern of repeatedly and deliberately harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are smaller, weaker, younger or in any way more vulnerable than the bully. The deliberate targeting of those of lesser powerful or different is what distinguishes bullying from aggression. Bullying can involve verbal attacks; name-calling and making fun of others , as well as physical ones; threats of harm, other forms of intimidation, and deliberate exclusion from activities. Bullying isn't generational, it happens in all peer groups. Its use increases around ages 11 to 16. Overt physical aggression such as kicking, hitting, and shoving is most common among younger children (5-9yrs) in relation to aggression. Damaging or manipulating the relationships of others, such as spreading rumors, and social exclusion is more common in teen years. Bullying carries the implicit message that aggression and violence are acceptable solutions to resolving problems, ...

Crying is seen as weak, when in fact it's one of the biggest releases we have have; other than an orgasm.  So why do we link sadness with weakness? Allowing yourself to feel the pain will bring forward a river of tears. Allowing yourself to feel the pain, takes incredible strength; It doesn't take strength to bury the pain, that effectively is a weakness.  Bottling feelings gets us nowhere,  other than a life full of stress & worry. Basically suffering. I often hear others say " I cry all the time" -G ood! Yes sometimes we do, it's life. To me this means you are leaning into the pain....of  course the crying should decrease overtime, but it shouldn't ever end. Tears will always fall - We will always miss people, be hurt by people, lose people and we'll be sad people are no longer around. When we cry, we are allowing ourselves to feel what we need to feel.  Don't criticise yourself for crying, instead... give yourself some bloody credit for leaning ...

Have you ever known people who always seem to keep their cool, in the most awkward social situations & with grace?  People who always seem to make others feel at ease?  ... chances are pretty high that those individuals possess what psychologists refer to as emotionally intelligence .  Gone are the days when intelligence was a test score or a number on the IQ scale. Thanks to modern technology, from brain scans to social media, the idea that intelligence is more multifaceted than book smarts is becoming widespread. Emotional Intelligence might be the closest thing to a buzzword that 21st Century psychology has. "Emotional intelligence   is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions  in a positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict " Emotional intelligence is typically broken down into four core elements. In order to improve our emotional intelligence, it’s imp...