Tag: wellbeing
-
Pawsitive impact: How pets can improve our mental health
Pets can be a great source of joy and companionship, and research shows that they can also have a positive impact on our mental health. As an animal lover (cats in particular, my two pictured below) I recognise the impact my own cats have upon my mental health and how much I crave their presence…
-
The Empty Nest
Empty nest – a term made popular in the 1950’s, describes the sadness and loss of purpose that a parent may experience when their children leave home. The name itself evokes a sense of loneliness and sadness but can also be so accurately descriptive of the conflicting emotions we may have about this normal life…
-
Sneaky Things That Can Mess with Your Mood
By now it’s pretty well known that things like lack of sleep, elevated stress and lack of movement or exercise can mess with your mood. However, there are other, less obvious influences that may be silently wrecking their havoc as well — ones that may require just a bit more investigation. So why not start…
-
Humour is not always a laughing matter
Humour is often regarded as a superficial jab that allows us to understand our daily experiences and relationships with people. If humour is that superficial jab, then jokes and pranks are the syringe that pokes fun at and administers a dose of laughter into our lives. Yet if humour is all that trivial and not…
-
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – How can we support this?
Have you wondered why there needs to be days commemorating different mental health issues that we as humans struggle with? What is there to celebrate one may ask, or why is there a need to remember them? Isn’t it obvious when people suffer or struggle with mental health difficulties? Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or otherwise commonly…
-
Prioritising Men’s Health: International Men’s Health Week
International Men’s Health week is an annual global initiative that aims to raise awareness of men’s health issues, promote healthy lifestyles, fight stigma surrounding men’s health and encourage men to prioritise their well-being. Celebrated in June each year, this week-long initiative aims to bring attention to the physical and mental health challenges faced by men…
-
Meditation – 5 tips for starting (and keeping) a practice
According to researchers at Harvard University, our minds are lost in thought 47% of the time. These thoughts regularly stem from two sources: dwelling on the past (rumination) or worrying about the future. Meditation is a practice that helps people through training the mind to focus on the present moment and to ‘just be’. Most…
-
Happy World Ego Awareness Day!
I can imagine that many of you reading this are asking, what is World Ego Awareness Day? You may even be thinking, with all the other celebrations and days to commemorate various people, groups and events in our life, why observe this one? When I first heard about this day, I must admit that I…
-
The Birth of a Mother
We go through pregnancy, labour and delivery, and a child is born. Along with a child, a mother is born too. The term “matrescence” was coined by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael (1975) who labels it as a period of transition quite similar to adolescence where a mother-to-be experiences dramatic hormonal, physical, and emotional changes including…
-
Simple mindful exercises that can improve focus
If you are a multitasker like me, you might be used to doing many things simultaneously. While multitasking is efficient, we develop different routines and habits over time and consistently operate in the “automatic pilot” mode, which is doing something without paying attention. Our brains are wired to be distracted. A study has shown that…