Savouring the Present Moment: Mindfulness of Pleasure, Enjoyment and Happiness
‘The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.’ Albert Einstein, My World View (from a […]
Take a Walk on the Grateful Side – The Gratitude Walk
As the great stoic philosopher Epictetus said: ‘He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has’
The Dialectics of Being Lost at Sea – Differences between Acceptance and Distraction
Marsha Linehan developed Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as a way to help treat the most suicidal patients. Having lived through this wretched place in her own life, she was deeply empathic in her quest to aid these people.
Lost in Oblivion – An Exploration of Adverse Meditation Experiences
(Please note this is a long blog post in order for me to do this subject justice. It’s likely to be of most interest if you have experienced adverse meditative affects) Meditation is not all spa music, oxytocin, sandalwood and light! There can be stages that are like arduous rights of passage. A shamanic vision […]
Getting Your Five a Day of TLC
I am a big fan of the short mindfulness practices that you can integrate into your day. Exercises like the STOP practice, the 3 minute breathing space and the self-compassion break. I often say to participants in our 8-week courses to try to get your ‘five a day’ of these short mini-mindfulness practices. A lot […]
Behavioural Activation Part 6 – A Tool for the Future and a Promethean Act of Will
William James (1842 – 1910), the philosopher and pioneer of American psychology (teaching the first psychology course in the USA at Harvard) suffered bouts of depression throughout his life. At times they took what he described as a ‘Promethean Act of Will’ to overcome this ‘crisis of meaning’. BA is a tool that you can […]
Behavioural Activation Part 5 – Lets Get Physical – Activate Through Activity
If you look at many high functioning people who have experienced depression, you often find exercise is part of their recovery. The likes of Tim Ferris, Stephen Fry and world class endurance athlete Christopher Bergland all have credited exercise to helping them maintain and improve their mental health (if you do a little more research […]
Behavioural Activation Part 4 – Actions Speak Louder Than Thoughts and Emotions
Our feelings have evolved to hijack our attention, behaviour and motivational systems. At times this can be incredibly useful, even lifesaving. But there are times when the better-safe-than-sorry ‘smoke detectors’ in our brain produce feelings that drive behaviours that don’t help us! There is a level of sadness which can be useful in helping us […]
Behavioural Activation Part 3 – The Internal Saboteur
Its official – there are parts of us that are not in our own corner. In the clasp of depression this can show up as an internal voice or feeling that sabotages our efforts to make positive changes. It might be that heavy thick feeling of pain or it might be the voice telling you that […]
Behavioural Activation Part 2 – Why You Need More than Common Sense
As I wrote in part 1 BA is a common-sense approach to mental health. The problem is when you are in the depths of depression and anxiety the logical common-sense part of your brain is inhibited. You also struggle to hold on to the positive experiences in this state. In fact, at times your brain […]
