A few years ago, while very ill with arthritis, I came across a book called Writing to Heal by James W. Pennebaker, PhD. Dr Pennebaker is a research psychologist at the University of Texas who discovered the amazing healing effect that expressive writing can have on people who have experienced trauma. His research proved that […]
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
What is Your Legacy?
When I had some Life Coaching a couple of years ago one of the first exercises I did was imagine attending a function in twenty years’ time where someone is giving a speech about me. What would I want them to say? How I Want to be Remembered I wanted to hear that I had […]
Is Curiosity the Key to Happiness?
Do you remember being curious as a child? Exploring your world and discovering new things every day? Do you remember the thrill of working out how something worked or finding out everything you could about your latest passion? Perhaps you broke things or hurt yourself along the way, but you were always on the quest […]
Lost for Words: Living with a Stammer
There’s a beautifully written article about stammering in The Guardian this week by the writer Maggie O’Farrell. Entitled ‘The monster in my mouth’ she describes how she’s always stammered and has developed coping strategies over the years that she still uses today: …regard the telephone as an instrument of treachery, exhort others to speak for […]
HRT and Me: Using Testim Testosterone Gel as a Woman
I’ve received a comment on my post HRT and Me: The Battle for Testosterone from a reader asking how I’m getting on with my Testim testosterone gel and I realised it’s probably time for an update on my experience of using bio-identical HRT. The answer, in a nutshell is, I’m feeling well but think I […]
Hypnotherapy and Wart Removal
When I was eight a wart appeared in the centre of my right thumb. It was a hard, calloused lump and I used to enjoy colouring it in with ink from my fountain pen. What Causes Warts? At the time the myth about warts was that they were caused by frog urine, but as I […]
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking – Review
Have you ever tried hard to be positive and upbeat and wondered why you still felt depressed? I certainly have and it’s left me feeling defeated by gremlins and doomed to a life of unhappiness. Happiness and Positive Thinking Happiness has become something of a Holy Grail in modern Western society. Apart from spawning an […]
2013 New Year’s Resolutions: A Different Approach
Happy New Year! May 2013 be everything you want it to be, and more. I’m writing this, my first post of the year, on a freezing winter’s day in the middle of January. I realise it’s a bit late in the month for New Year greetings but I’ve had a bit of a delayed start […]
Listen Up! My Favourite Health Podcasts
Podcasts have changed my life. Repeated trips to the gym or walks along the same route would once have driven me potty with boredom, but now I actually look forward to them. Or rather, I look forward to listening to an interesting podcast and being educated and entertained at the same time. When it comes […]
HRT and Me: The Battle for Testosterone
I’ve just taken my first dose of testosterone. Not because I want to change my gender or take up body-building, but because I would like to feel like a normal woman again. Back in August I wrote about my menopausal journey so far and my experience with synthetic HRT, namely Prempak-C. After two months of […]