Party-ing as Therapy
We had some friends and neighbours round last night – a motley crew, for sure. Not the obvious crowd I’d invite to, say, a birthday party. No, a more assorted mix; some I hadn’t seen for years, some I wasn’t … Read More
‘You have to be able to feel what you feel and know what you know’.
If you’ve read Bessel van der Kolk’s ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ you’ll be familiar with this phrase. If not, read on… If you’ve experienced trauma (defined here simply as anything that ‘overwhelms’ your nervous system’s ability to adapt healthily) … Read More
Can You Cope With Your Feelings?
Here’s what Dr Raja Selvam (Raja knows a thing or two) has to say: “Dr Robert Stolorow, who has co-authored many books on the inter-subjective approach to psychoanalysis … often made the point that the primary task in therapy should … Read More
Foetal health helped by breathing exercises?
One of the biggest difficulties I face almost daily, with patients, is this; I suggest that they learn to pay attention to the physical experience of breathing and learn to alter the breathing pattern in a certain way. They say … Read More
The Best Breathing Exercise for Anxiety
1. Ensure your in-breath is not huge – it should be ‘ordinary’. It doesn’t matter if you’re not sure what this might mean; it just matters that you begin to become aware if you’re feeling like you need a big … Read More
Re-visioning Asthma
In asthma there is both narrowing and inflammation of the lung bronchioles. The cortisol-type inhalers (‘preventers’) bring down the inflammation and the adrenaline-type inhalers (‘relievers’) promote widening of the airways. Hmm. Cortisol and adrenaline are the stress hormones. Doesn’t this … Read More
Sex is a Bonding Thing
There’s a lot of sexual pain around. That is, most of us want to do it and a surprising number have a real problem with it. Why might this be? Consider this… The act of sex is managed by that … Read More
The Restlessness Exercise
If you get a lot of shoulder, upper back and neck pain, and manual therapy or massage or stretching is only of temporary benefit, try this. It helps if you’ve had some mindfulness training. It’s not easy. But if you … Read More
Instant De-Stress
Here’s the number one technique for de-stressing and soothing anxiety symptoms – right now… You have to shut your mental chatter up, right? Nearly all thought is automated and drifts from one thing to another without you having to put the … Read More
Einstein and Anxiety
As far as I know Einstein wasn’t anxious. However he had a useful take on the definition of anxiety – doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If you have an anxiety problem, a … Read More