A Wonderful World

      Our minds are extremely powerful. Our brain and body are connected, it’s an energy, and we can change our physical world by changing thoughts and beliefs. It begins with what our brain perceives and because we are in control of our thoughts, we can control our perception. How we perceive things directly effects how we think, which then effects how we respond and behave. It’s a cycle. Thoughts create feelings. Feelings create behaviour. Behaviour reinforces thoughts. Our bodies are direct products of our minds, though we can often mask it externally, our body holds on to and is effected by how the mind thinks. So if we take care of the thoughts, the feelings and behaviours can be altered as a consequence. This is the strategy behind cognitive behaviour therapy. We’re able to take back control of our whole being. One of the thoughts or feelings of course being ‘stress’, we often feel stressed because of how we think about something rather than how things actually are. Reducing str

                                                  UNDERSTANDING STRESS AND OUR RESPONSE ‘Stress’ is a physical, mental or emotional factor that cause bodily or mental tension. At times this response is necessary. When we are faced with a potential threat, stress can initiate the ‘fight or flight’ response, which is our body’s involuntary response to help prepare us for any necessary action that may need to be taken in order to survive.  When our brains perceive what they believe to be a threat, this response and our alertness is activated, our breathing and heart rate increases, hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released, blood flows away from where it’s not needed to assist muscles and the heart. As this response is initiated, we can take action. Ultimately, stress is what happens when our equilibrium is disturbed by what we call ‘a stressor’, this ‘stressor’ can be external or internal and not always be a bad thing, as it alarms us when there is possible danger and our bodies imme

SOME NEWLY RELEASED ENTERTAINMENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF TELEVISION, FILM AND THEATRE.                                                     NETFLIX'S 'WEDNESDAY: Tim Burton is set to make his TV directing debut with a new series for Netflix, titled 'Wednesday.'  B ased on the iconic gothic   Addams Family   character, the dark comedy spin-off series will run for a total of 8 episodes.  Each episode has an expected run time of approximately 60 minutes. Known for his quirky and slightly gothic films including ' Edward Scissorhands', 'Sweeney Todd', 'Alice In Wonderland' and ' Corpse Bride', it's likely he will bring his unique style to the upcoming television series. In a recent announcement, Netflix described the series as a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at nevermore academy.” The character Wednesday, a morbid and mysterious young girl, is to be played by Jenny Ortega. Alongside O

                                                 A SHOW THAT ISN'T AFRAID TO TACKLE TRUTH AND TRAUMA. Ola Ince directs an insightful ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre which takes to the stage from 26 September to 17 October. This production is unlike any other take on the play I have seen, despite honouring Shakespeare’s text throughout, they also step away from tradition in many ways. At moments, characters inject a few responses using modern day language, but I felt this doesn’t jar at all, it only adds a light-hearted humour and heart-warming connectivity that everyone craves when watching theatre. This company are bold and unforgiving and that’s what I loved most. Despite other productions drawing on the violence and conflict throughout the play between Montagues and Capulets, many performances that focus on a traditional delivery of the play draw on the prevalent theme of love, to shower the audience with that pure and unbreakable connection between the star-cr

                                                Channel 4 returns with another powerful piece of television. New drama ‘Help’ centres itself around the Coronavirus pandemic in its height as it first emerged in 2020. The two hour long drama is set in a fictional care home in Liverpool in the spring, and follows a carer (Jodie Comer) as she bonds with a patient (Stephen Graham), as the pandemic hits she is put to the test in horrific circumstances. This vital one off television creation shares insight into the impact Coronavirus had on care homes during its initial onset and looks at the undervalued care workers whose job was to keep the patients going. Its necessity comes with its strength at shining a light on the hard work and voices of those that continued to work and care during such a difficult and uncertain time, recognising how important the work is that these carers do and raising awareness around that. Such a harrowing topic is often difficult to watch, but equally enligh

US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has changed the narrative around mental health. In stepping away from the Tokyo Olympics final after achieving her lowest Olympic vault score, she’s sparked conversation around the importance of putting ones health first and prioritising caring for ourselves. Losing her bearings mid-air and experiencing ‘twisties’, a mental block resulting in the loss of spatial awareness, she pulled out in fear of her mental and physical state. Despite the discomfort or difficulty it may cause along the way, we have to continue to consider our mental wellbeing and the benefits of doing so. The young athlete was and is a huge name across the world, and therefore faced with a huge amount of pressure and expectation from those watching, she was expected to win gold by many as she has so gracefully many times before. She was set to succeed similarly to her wins at Rio 2016, with expectations from the nation on her shoulders. It’s this unnecessary burden and strain that ca