Happy Holidays! See you in 2026

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2026 is the year of positivity

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Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash January and February passed in a whirl. I started my counselling training and I am doing group therapy at a local charity. I was invited to join a US male mental health foundation called The Real - women are welcome as allies. For the first time in my life, 2026 started with 0 anxiety. I am hoping through training and therapy to find out what happened to the internal critic who ruined my daily life since my adolescence with his confidence-bursting comments.  I now know it's my father's voice internalised. Growing up with a bipolar father who had narcissistic traits is not easy, even if you are a happy, loving child to start with. So I'd like to share three things that helped me navigate cyclical depression bouts. I get these spells, they vanish, then something triggers them again so I relapse. No amount of therapy can totally cure you, you are aiming to manage your disfunctional self. Prescribed drugs are not the only way to do it, ...
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Mindfulness: can it help?

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I attended a group yesterday to practise my listening skills. We were talking about small actions that can change deeply ingrained habits we want to challenge. Through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) I discovered the power of Mindfulness. I had heard of it and of meditation before but felt they were not for me. I am restless, energetic and have a lot of thoughts. However with CBT you want to change behaviours, hopefully rewire your brain a little bit... Through CBT and a stress-mindfulness course I recently completed, I found out about Jon Kabat-Zinn, who defines Mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally". We live our lives on automatic pilot, ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Mindfulness does not erase negative thinking, it makes you accept it and move on. You can practise mindfulness when you wash the dishes, brush your teeth or, even better, in nature. You focus on the moment, wh...
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Volunteering: good for you, good for others

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  I find keeping busy helps to manage negative thinking. I have volunteered for so many different causes and it always made me feel better. When not in employment or waiting for the next freelance contract, I volunteered. I now work part time and volunteer. When working full time I also volunteered. One of my 'jobs' is to lead walks for newcomers to my city. Walking also benefits my health and it's lovely to share history, anedoctes and beautiful places with people. If you want to try and see if it works for you, find a charity or non profit organisation and share your skills. You might even acquire new ones. This happened to me a lot, I managed to get paid jobs using those skills.
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