New year. A time where we are bombarded by advertising for new holidays and gym memberships.
The articles pushing new fad diets, self improvement and the focus on the new year and a new you.
The pressure to make resolutions and to declare to all what pursuit you will make to be better, look better and do better.
In this post I discuss the damage of diet culture and the constant strive to change. And how its only now, at 40, that I feel able to say “I am enough as I am”.
Before having children and taking a career break I worked with children struggling with complex mental health conditions.
I have a degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Child and Adolescent mental health as well as being a qualified children’s nurse.
For 13 years I worked in inpatient CAMHS and the components I learnt for providing a therapeutic environment in my work, I also feel are important components for providing a therapeutic home, conducive to raising happy and healthy minded children.
In this post I am going to discuss the basic underpinning principles used in my previous work, which I find to be useful foundations to utilise in my daily parenting. In my experience they promote and foster an environment that nurtures and encourages a healthy narrative around the expression of emotion.
As a child, the constant mantra to all activities was to “be careful”.The simple activities of childhood, prefixed with fear of harm.
In this post I reflect upon the anxiety projected to me as a child, its manifestation in my own parental anxiety, the effect this has on my children, and the work I’m doing to try and end this cycle.
Like a ghost of anxieties past, haunting first our childhoods and then that of our children, the fear must be faced and challenged, to be overcome and finally laid to rest.
Like most things connected to women and women’s bodies, society has served to keep us uninformed and feeling unable to talk about it openly.
Miscarriage is not a secret burden to carry.
In silence we only serve to perpetuate the expectation that the grief of miscarriage should occur behind closed doors.
In this post I discuss the experience of miscarriage, the NHS services journey and what we need to do in society to support people in their grief.
Maternity leave is often the longest period of time we get to spend with our children. This precious time is often woven with difficulties and pressures both internal and external to be the perfect parent. For many maternity leave is when mothers first start to experience mum guilt. The constant evaluation and criticism of everythung you do and whether it may be good enough. In this post I look at maternity leave and the pressure to be a good homemaker.
With lockdown easing with social distancing and mask wearing, what is the effect of the new normal on families? For many the end of lockdown means the end of a precious period of time with their family and a great sadness at the idea of returning to life where you live like passing ships. In this post I discuss the effect of lockdown easing measures on the family unit and family emotional health
Having your first child start primary school is tough under normal circumstances but after lockdown and months in isolation, anxiety is high. Many people are considering not returning their children to school whilst coronavirus is still prevalent. With a seco f wave highly likely in the coming months should we be sending our kids to school? In this post I discuss the pride and sadness in your child’s fordt day at school and how covid19 has made this harder.
Since having kids have you noticed the slow descent into not giving a damn? Greasy hair? No bra? Looking like something the cats dragged in? Yup, that’s me!
Pregnancy is a magical thing but what people don’t talk about are some of the darker side effects and experiences people can have. In this post I discuss the funny sides of Pregnancy, the cravings and nesting compulsions. I also openly discuss the challenges of Pregnancy rage, birth anxiety and prenatal and postnatal intrusive thoughts.
Pregnancy can be a wonderful time filled with so much excitement. But despite all the wonderful dreams and fantasies of what pregnancy will be like, the reality can be quite different. From the physical downsides you aren’t prepared for through to the unexpected behaviour of others. In this post I discuss the fantasy vs the reality of pregnancy.