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...

AFFORDABLE, SUSTAINABLE, BEAUTIFUL CANDLES. Candles are more than just a fragrant piece of decor. They have multiple benefits, which have been particularly useful since the pandemic began. Not only do they smell and look lovely when lit, they can also effect the way we feel. Candles and our sense of smell play an important role in the physiological effects of mood, stress and working capacity. Their scents can help to create specific feelings in the body.  They can help create ambience, whether in the bath, in the bedroom or centred on the dining table, they can enhance and change the way we feel in a space. Their aromas can help calm the mind and have been proven to help with various psychological and physiological disorders, particularly anxiety and depression. It's also been found that their scents can improve our mood and enhance memory, some scents have been proven to lower cortisol- the hormone released when under stress, and also activate chemicals in the brain including dop...

This month we celebrated International Women’s Day, within the same week we heard from a woman who faced suicidal thoughts as a consequence of being targeted by the media and press, victimised, accused of lying and admitted to feeling trapped in a system. Simultaneously, a young woman was reported missing, investigations soon revealed that she was sexually assaulted and murdered by a man when walking home. Allegations were made that it was her fault for walking home alone late after drinking, and a police officer whose responsibility is to protect has been arrested for her murder. Despite the progressions we’ve made on the treatment towards women throughout the 20 th and 21 st Century, there are still major changes yet to occur. But it shouldn’t take a tragedy in order to acknowledge them. There are many behaviours that have become the norm for women through both fear of safety and what’s taught growing up, whether it be taking the longer route home, holding keys between her finger...

                                                   'Taking a minute to reflect on how you're getting on, can help you cope when getting through.' Amidst the news, current affairs and global pandemic, despite being stuck in our homes it can often feel we're stuck on a hamster wheel. Whether that's physically or not, it can certainly have an effect on us mentally. With a lot of unknown regarding when lockdown will end and specifics surrounding definite deadlines, vaccinations and transmission rates, our minds may be finding it difficult to switch off. Whilst it's helpful to take a minute to stay updated, it's just as important to take a minute for yourself. Just you. No kids, no news, no work, no social media or external distraction. Allowing yourself to just be with you and you thoughts to really tune into how you're feeling. With an inability to meet up with ...

              Perhaps we should reframe the phrase 'New Year, New Me'. Every year as we get closer to New Years Eve on the 31st of December, considering our 'New Year's Resolutions' becomes a common tradition, thinking about what we would like the New Year to bring us, or perhaps certain behaviours or habits we would like to alter or work on. Personally, I have always found a certain pressure comes with this outlook, and instead of being something to question optimistically, it can often become stressful and slightly anxiety inducing as our minds can focus on what we may view as negatives regarding ourselves and set certain goals for the New Year to change ourselves as if we are magic or superhuman, setting our standards too high. Sometimes, with this mentality comes the term 'New Year, New Me', the idea that we are going to become someone new as one year ends and another starts, someone better or perhaps closer to the 'ideal, perfect human'. However...

                    'Further restrictions for London and South East resulting in a Tier 4 Christmas.'  On the evening of the 19th of December, Boris Johnson announced that due to rising cases and level of infections there will be further restrictions in place for London and South East areas from Midnight, resulting in the original plan of a little more relaxation and mixing households over the Christmas period to be cancelled. You must remain with only the people in your household when indoors, or those in your existing bubble. Outdoors, you can only meet one person from another household. Three households are able to mix on Christmas Day alone, rather than the original plan of 5 days (23rd to the 27th.) Further details are on the Government website:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home . Of course, this is extremely frustrating and upsetting for us all. Christmas will not be the same this year, and unfortunate...

'Although we may not all be in the same boat, we are all in the same storm'   Although a second lockdown is no plain sailing for any of us, we are all in the same storm of what we now know to be 'Coronavirus', a 'global pandemic' or 'Covid19'. That's something to be reassured by in this chaos, you are not alone.  However, the boats we sail through this storm in, are all different. Some boats are sturdier than others, despite the storm being the same. Everyone has their own battles throughout this challenging time and it has affected us all in a variety of ways. But, the important thing to remember is a second lockdown means we made it through a first, and there is no doubt we can make it through again. There is no 'perfect' way of living through a lockdown, we all have own our coping mechanisms, circumstances and preferences, but in having experienced a lockdown back earlier in the year, we can reflect and think about what wasn't helpful ...

‘Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness and still become something beautiful’ – Beau Taplin.  Coronavirus and it's rising cases has brought our country to a point of a difficult decision, the thing is, unfortunately there is no 'right' or 'perfect' way to tackle this pandemic as we do not yet have the vaccine or magic powers to make it all go away. It's about managing and saving as many lives as we can. Reducing cases, yet also working to maintain the economy, stability and caring for our mental and physical health as much as possible. It's now in the known that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made the choice to enter a second lockdown of at least a month, and as overwhelming and frustrating as this is, it's the decision that has been made and we now have to stick to in order to hopefully reduce the cases. Of course without the vaccine we cannot yet remove the virus completely, but in sticking to the proposed gui...