Men and mental health: Male loneliness
Loneliness isn’t gendered. Feeling lonely is universal, and cuts across gender, age, and even relationship status. However, men in particular can tend…
Men and mental health
Mental health issues affect everyone, men and women. However, the reported prevalence of mental illnesses in men is much lower than for women. Men are much less likely to…
Managing rumination
Ruminative worry can have a life of its own, consistently interfering with all other thoughts. It is important to break this cycle. First of all…
Negative Critical Voice
The critical inner voice is a pattern of destructive thoughts toward ourselves (and others) that feels almost automated, intrinsic…
Meditation, mindfulness and the brain
Meditation can help us better manage the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that naturally rise up in the mind. This is because meditation is not a passive activity - it is actively changing the shape and structure of the brain…
Attachment 6: Attachment issues in adult life
Since the 1950’s psychologists have understood that how we relate to others and form emotional relationships starts in our early childhood developmental years…
Self Esteem – Part 2
There are lots of techniques and tools that you can do for yourself that will help you to overcome low self-esteem in time…
Low self esteem - Part 1
Self-esteem can be described as the way we perceive and value ourselves based on the opinions and beliefs we hold about ourselves…
Re-framing thoughts
Our minds are constantly bombarded with negative thoughts, visions of horrible things that may happen to us, and terrifying reasons not to do the things we want to do…
Stopping automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)
In the 1990’s Dr. Daniel Amen came up with the term Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). He said they are “cynical, gloomy, and complaining thoughts that just seem to keep coming all by themselves"…
The brain, stress, and self-comforting
Stress is the disruption of homeostasis – our internal state of being. Stress (stress hormones more specifically) isn’t always bad, we need stress to fire us up and…
Attachment 5: The brain & attachment
Our brains are stimulated, influenced and regulated by those around us – right from the moment we are born. Our brains have simply evolved to be this way…
What is neuroplasticity?
Our brains are constantly being shaped by experience. Most of us have very different behaviours and thoughts today than we did 20 years ago. This shift is neuroplasticity in action…
Feeling overwhelmed, all of the time?
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry, or fear than can range from mild and manageable, to overwhelming and debilitating. We all feel anxiety some of the times, it is completely normal to have…
About depression
Depression is common. One in three people will experience a major depressive episode at some stage in their lives. Depression affects us all differently, but some common symptoms are…
Attachment 4: Compulsive caretaking
Compulsive caregivers deny their own needs and focus on the needs of others. They find themselves as adults continually caring for, and rescuing others around them.
Attachment 3: Anxious attachment
If you have already read Attachment 1: The power of attachment styles in relationships, this article further talks specifically about anxious attachment.
Attachment 2: Avoidant attachment
As with all attachment styles, avoidant attachment tendencies are created in childhood. In childhood, the caregiver of an avoidant child was likely to have
Managing low mood and depression
When you are feeling down or depressed, it can be hard to find the motivation to do anything, and the temptation may be to retreat inwards and shun company. But these things will only make us feel worse.