mindfulness

How resilient are you?

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day – an appropriate time to think about how we are looking after ourselves and each other right now, and how resilient we feel.

Have you found yourself (more than usually, on occasion, or more often) off-balance or overwhelmed this year as a result of life events that you may (or may not) have anticipated – plus, on top of all of that, everything we’ve all been dealing with/are still facing to do with covid-19?

I know I have, and that it’s also true for many people I know, personally and professionally.

How do you rate your own resilience amongst all this? Are you the ‘Weeble that wobbles but doesn’t fall down’ (maybe I’m showing my age here with this example…?). Or are you worried that you might actually fall down? Continue reading “How resilient are you?” →

September 2020

Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?

Lockdown, though necessary to contain the initial spread of Covid-19, was hard for a lot of people. In most parts of the UK now, (and in some other parts of the world, too), restrictions are starting to ease and we’re now entering a different phase, a slightly revised ‘normal’.

Whilst these changes are extremely welcome for some – particularly those whose income has been adversely affected and who are now able to resume work – for others, this brings a new level of anxiety in terms of deciding which activities feel safe to resume, and which don’t.

In many ways, full lockdown is easier and clearer to navigate in terms of understanding what we each can and can’t do. It removes most of the element of choice and individual decision-making. Now we’re starting to have to consider different possibilities and to interpret advice and rules which are, to many of us, less clear cut. Continue reading “Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?” →

Disrupted lives – what next?

Our lives and our world have been well and truly disrupted by coronavirus and all that it entails.

We have each been living our own ‘temporary normal’ in order to survive and cope.

Many are already talking about what our ‘new normal’ will look like afterwards.

All we do know, for sure, is that no-one is unaffected and that we can’t go back – we can only go forward. Continue reading “Disrupted lives – what next?” →

May 2020

Sticks and stones – and the power of words…

I’m thinking today about this old adage which used to be chanted by children in the playground:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones

but words will never hurt me.”

I know differently now, of course – unkind words can really hurt a person.

And, by the same token, that a kind word or two can be really healing, too. Continue reading “Sticks and stones – and the power of words…” →

December 2019

Thinking Inside the Box…?

Most of us are pretty familiar with the phrase ‘think outside the box’ in terms of taking a more creative approach to something.

But there’s an article in today’s Metro which I saw being discussed on the Jeremy Vine show on Channel 5 about a company selling boxes to put over your head and help you think inside the box.

The panel on the show had some boxes similar to those being sold and put them over their heads while they discussed it.

The discussion was pretty light-hearted and did make me smile – and I leave you to form your own views as to the usefulness and pricing of the article in question.

face-with-tears-of-joy_1f602 Personally, I have a vivid image in my mind, now, of a person in a the middle of an open plan office with a box on their head covered in rude and funny Post Its from their mischievous colleagues…

But, of course, there’s a serious point here, too – about how we can all benefit from taking a break, ‘unplugging’ every now and again. Continue reading “Thinking Inside the Box…?” →

January 2019

CLANGERS for all…!!!

CLANGERS

I saw Dr Phil Hammond (doctor and comedian) on TV recently. I love this concept of his – simple and memorable.

As he says:

“The daily habits of healthy, happy people are easy to say but harder to do. Try to do your daily CLANGERS, and help others to do theirs. Changes in lifestyle are far more powerful than any drug we have to offer.” Continue reading “CLANGERS for all…!!!” →

October 2018