Do you feel as if everyone around you belongs, and yet you’re the outsider? In this blog I look at our natural need to belong and what strategies we often use to help when we feel like we don't. I explore a way forward so that we can feel connected with others without losing connection with ourselves.

We are all unique, and as such we are made up of different aspects of who we are; which I refer to as our 'parts', a term often used in therapy. In a journey of self-acceptance, it is worth spending time becoming aware and accepting all of who we are. Which parts interact well and which ones collide causing us much stress and confusion. Some parts we were born with, maybe inherited, while others we developed as we interacted with others. Some parts we embrace while others we try to deny. This blog is all about parts and I hope it inspires you to go on your own journey to identify, connect with and embrace all parts of who you are.

Play has been my passion since childhood and throughout my adult life. Playfulness, for me, is about getting in touch with that childlike urge to be carefree, living for the moment and escaping the norms of everyday life. In this blog I share what I feel it is to be playful and how this can help us connect with ourselves and others. I list different ways we can be playful and look at what can stop us from following through with that playful urge.

Experiencing a range of emotions is all part of being human; but emotions can become overwhelming. In this blog I explore the skills we can use to stay calm, connected and in control instead of reacting, by defending and attacking, wanting to run, freezing up or hiding away.

Last week my blog focused on anger which is suppressed or denied. But for some people anger has become so much part of who they are that they carry it around as a heavy load, to discard this load would be to lose part of themselves. So, in this blog I focus on my insights into why for some anger has become so embedded, why we can't just let go of it and how to find a way forward.

This is my first of two blogs on Anger; where I focus on those who try and avoid their anger, who feel it is shameful and overwhelming. Here I share my insights from my own journey and my work with clients.
In this blog I will explore how our past experiences can cause us to suppress or deny our anger and how we struggle to control the 'leakages' of anger that escape when we are provoked. By looking at anger in new ways I explore how we can use anger as our guide to protect us and help us make healthier choices.

Our emotions arise as reactions to events, situations, memories and interactions with others. It's said we have over 50 emotions that help us express how we feel; they influence our mood and can help us make healthy decisions. We can get to know our emotions through body sensations, posture, body language and facial expressions; it's like our bodies way of giving us information and guidance. That is only if we stop, listen and take notice. So often we push aside this information and focus only on our thoughts. We have leant different ways to just 'not go there' as if our emotions were out to get us instead of being on our side. In this blog I look at the alternative ways we either push aside our emotions, or can learn to connect with them.

We all respond to our shame differently. Our response can be so embedded and habitual that we are not even aware of it. In contrast our shame can be so present in our lives it can feel like a constant unwanted companion which never leaves us. In this blog I look at some of the different ways we cope with shame and how it can affect our relationship with ourselves and with others. I hope this awareness can help you learn how your shame affects you, and helps you find ways to reduce its impact on your life.

Do you recognise when you are calm and connecting with yourself and others? You feel in control. Then something happens and you react and spiral or you may want to just hide and disappear. It might be that you seem to be constantly in a spiral or feeling down. In this blog I outline ways you can identify if you are in control and connected or if you have spiralled or plummeted. We look at ways you can become more aware of your responses and start to look at tools to help you manage those ups and downs.

Shame is something that many of us face on a day-to-day basis, yet we don't talk about it. In this initial blog on shame, I cover an overview of shame, and how we can identify it. I see that taking the energy out of our shame as an essential part of the journey of self-acceptance and being the person we want to be and can be.