On engaging with curiosity and kindness
January is a time for change. Let's engage with ourselves with kindness and empathy
January's community challenge: Kind accountability
It's January, a time for change for many of us. Let's start it with kindness and curiosity.
Let's do some reflecting and a small announcement
The announcement is I'm taking time off for Christmas, no big.
Affirmations
Future compliments, prompts to buiild affirmations, and workshops!
It's my birthday
So here's a post of some things I've been enjoying recently
I've bought a cane
AKA mobility aids, disability, and my relationship with my body
SCB Holiday questions post 2: How do I deal with being alone?
Want me to answer your festive question? Fill in the google form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLPKrft5a3SMNovmQWbZxykPxG8KY-...
Putting the theory in my practice
I'm in my next stage of therapy training and things are starting to come together
SCB Holiday questions post 1: How do I deal with a family I hate?
For the past couple of years, I've invited questions about survivng/enjoying the holiday period. I'm going to be publishing ones from last year and new ones here, free over the next month or so.
Giving In vs Giving Permission
Sometimes wew need permission to rest, even if it feels like giving in to our feelings
On sobriety
I've not really spoken about my sobriety online yet, until now
Holiday season preparation
The holiday season is upon us. Let's talk about preparing for it
On the validity of instinct and feelings
"Your brain is lying to you" is a refrain often seen on social media accounts, usually ones that talk about anxiety, or anxiety-related issues. It's true,...
September is Suicide Prevention Month
TW: Suicidal IdeationI've written before how I am ambivalent to mental health awareness months/days but I've been thinking about September being Suicide...
Kind accountability and consistency
Kind accountability is a reframing exercise. It's similar to the way I use affirmations as future compliments: instead of framing an improvement or change...
September's SCB community theme: gratitude
I've started monthly themes and challenges over on the SCB discord. I wanted to provide an optional framework for people to work with if they want, and it...
The shame of housework
Almost 1000 words on housework, plus community news!
Being Vulnerable with ourselves.
Thank you so much for being a paid subscriber! I've been super busy at events this month, so here's a snippet from my book for this week's post.
Gentle redirection aka gentle parenting your brain
Thank you so much for supporting my work <3
Find your glimmers
Have you heard of glimmers? It’s a relatively new term was coined by Deb Dana, in her 2018 book The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy. Glimmers are the opposite of...
On walking and the changing nature of self care
I had a couple of revelations this week. I saw a tiktok where someone described their restful time as letting their brain be unregulated a bit. They spoke...
Working with your bullshit, not against it
The official SCB discord is open! Sign up here to join a community working on self care: https://discord.gg/B3hF5X3ZyA Let’s talk about how to know your own...
5 years
The official SCB discord is open! Sign up here to join a community working on self care: https://discord.gg/B3hF5X3ZyA On 23rd June, it’ll be 5 years since I...
Sometimes it's not that deep
Feeling your feelings will always bring some learning, but sometimes that learning is...'oh. Those feelings make sense, I don't need to act on them.', which can leave you feeling adrift a bit.
Comfort zones
We often think of comfort zones as only something to be avoided if we need to grow, but I think we need a more nuanced take, and a comfort zone is something to be strived for.
It's Mental Health Awareness Month
And it was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK this month. Here's why I've not written about it (until now)
When empathy is difficult
Figuring out where you're blocked from empathy can be an interesting exercise
Plan for bad days on your good days
This sounds obvious, and it is, but it's also a surprisingly powerful exercise
On finding and choosing joy
It can be hard to choose/find joy, because the fallout can be exhausting
Working with your bullshit
Being kind doesn't mean going easy on yourself. It means knowing yourself and working with yourself, not against yourself.
Accepting where I am
Acceptance of whereI am in my mental health journey, and what that means for me now
On writing
I'm writing a book! Because apparently a weekly email newsletter isn't enough writing for me... (this is a free version of the newsletter, please subscribe to support if you like my work!)
Empathy is something to be practiced
Thanks so much for supporting my work, I really appreciate your readership <3
Free sneak peek: Empathy, boundaries, and resilience
This is a sneak peak at a paywalled post, originally posted 2nd March. It's one I love, and it's a really good example of what you'll get every 2 weeks if you upgrade to a paid subscription
Challenging in the counselling or coaching relationship
Challenging is a really interesting skill in the toolbox of person-centred counselling and coaching
scraps #2 - Gratitude journaling
This is a free series of scraps of things I wrote that never found a home. I'm proud of them, but they didn't fit into what I was doing at the time. So I'm sharing them here.
Empathy, boundaries, and resilience
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Why I cut contact with my bio-fam
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Shame, motivation, and moving through it
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scraps #1 - from lockdown
This is a free series of scraps of things I wrote that never found a home. I'm proud of them, but they didn't fit into what I was doing at the time. So I'm sharing them here.
On trauma responses and healing
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Hi
Welcome to my substack! Thanks so much for signing up! If you like what I write, you can support my work and gain access to all my articles, threads, recommendations, and anything else I publish here
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