If you’ve been following me you’ll know that I started a very low dose of HRT in the form of a patch in February this year. At the same time I had the mirena coil (do you say implanted / inserted?) to see if it would help with heavy and prolonged periods that I wasContinue reading “Beyond HRT- does it help?”
Tag Archives: stress
Here it comes again. Mother’s guilt
Here it is, that familiar feeling. “Sorry honey mum’s got to go to work, I have a meeting I can’t rearrange and I’ll be quick as I can”, justifying the decision you’ve made to go, to not let the other party down, to not set yourself back because that’s the only time they could makeContinue reading “Here it comes again. Mother’s guilt”
Little things….grounding techniques
Grounding techniques are things that you can do when the world around you seems unreal, if you feel disconnected from yourself or are overwhelmed and distressed. Grounding techniques are especially useful for people who experience dissociation (the brain’s way of coping with high stress, where you switch off from reality and your surroundings temporarily). DissociationContinue reading “Little things….grounding techniques”
Managing the self critic during Perimenopause
You may or may not be aware of your inner self critic but we all have one. It may shout loudly and harshly like a bully or it might simply sound like your own inner voice. It might sound like someone else’s voice… from a long while back, a harsh parent or teacher or bully.Continue reading “Managing the self critic during Perimenopause”
The psychology of the Perimenopause
There are two sides to this; the obvious one being that I am a Clinical Psychologist and so tend to look at things through a certain lens and attempt to develop a better understanding. That lens is a scientific, evidence based lens that looks at biopsychosocial factors that contribute to a situation or issue. It’sContinue reading “The psychology of the Perimenopause”
Little things… that can help…Soothing rhythm breathing
There’s so much advice out there on how to breathe to facilitate calm- box breathing, star breathing, one nostril or two, 4-7-8, do I sit or lie, hold or let it flow, that you could be left feeling pretty perplexed about whether there’s a right or wrong way to breathe. Fundamentally, when you are tryingContinue reading “Little things… that can help…Soothing rhythm breathing”
Little things series…coping with morning anxiety
Do you wake up feeling anxious or nauseous? Not everyone realises that there is a biological reason for this, namely the cortisol awakening response, and it’s perfectly normal. The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is an increase in the stress hormone cortisol peaking 35-40 minutes after wakening. This occurs on top of the highest increase inContinue reading “Little things series…coping with morning anxiety”
Little things series: STOPP technique
Over the next few posts I’m going to write about little snippets of things that I and others have found useful and can help to improve the moment. I’ll give some rationale and some instructions but this is not supposed to replace psychological therapy. These things are best couched within a clear understanding of yourContinue reading “Little things series: STOPP technique”
Self compassion – 5 things it is and 5 it isn’t
After training in the Compassionate Mind approach (Gilbert 2006) several years ago, I became somewhat evangelical about it and immediately started applying the principles in the therapy room. Compassion focussed therapy teaches skills of self compassion and this has been linked to greater wellbeing, reduced depression and anxiety and increased feelings of connectednes and calmness.Continue reading “Self compassion – 5 things it is and 5 it isn’t”
I’ve lost myself where did I go?
Think about it, if you grew up in the UK and many other western societies, when you leave school you’re just expected to know what to do next. Of course you don’t so you maybe choose the subject that you were good at at school and do some further study in that. Or you chooseContinue reading “I’ve lost myself where did I go?”
Sea change 