Daily Compassion (Guest Blog)
This was a guest blog that I wrote for the brilliant 365 Days of Compassion Blog It’s early February and you can’t quite fathom that you are breaking all your New Year’s resolutions. You are a month in and you are already overeating, missing the gym, drinking a glass of wine, the house is a […]
Bullet Ants, Vision Quests and Mental Health Recovery as an Endurance Event
The Sateré-Mawé tribe of the northern region of the Amazonas in South America have a sacred ritual for young warriors that is quite unique. They have to prove their worth to the tribe by remaining in a calm state whilst suffering agonising pain. The tribe sow sedated bullet ants (named as their sting is said […]
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’
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 […]
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 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 […]
Behavioural Activation Part 1 – A Common Sense Approach to Mental Health Your Gran Would Agree With
I think the best psychotherapy and well being programmes have common sense overflowing from each practice, intervention or tool. Would your Gran have told you to do this when you were a child? Did the Greeks, Stoics and indigenous cultures do these things either consciously or as part of ‘the Good Life’? If the answer […]
