Earlier this year I was introduced to the work of Brené Brown and it’s had a huge impact on my journey towards becoming a more authentic version of myself. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work who is well known for her ground-breaking research on shame […]
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Understanding Personality Types with Myers-Briggs®
One of my most memorable moments while walking the South Downs Way was a conversation we had about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) – a method of understanding different personality types. The four of us had been walking together for a few days and our different personalities were becoming more obvious over time. I enjoyed […]
HRT and Me: My Experience of Prempak-C and Weight Gain
On Sunday I took my last dose of HRT. After a couple of months on Prempak-C I decided that I wasn’t prepared to live with the side effects. Prempak-C and Weight Gain Looking through the photos of myself taken over the Summer the change in my appearance was obvious. Over the course of two months […]
Life in the Fast Lane: My Brief Attempt at Intermittent Fasting
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the saying goes. After a year or so of trying various diets without any success, and excited about the many benefits of intermittent fasting, I decided to give it a try. The idea of being able to lose weight, improve my health and increase my longevity through fasting […]
10 Steps to Happiness
I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately. Partly because I would like to feel happier than I do. It’s not that I have a lot to be unhappy about, it’s more like what Gretchen Rubin describes in the opening to her inspiring memoir, The Happiness Project: I wasn’t depressed and I wasn’t having a […]
Speak Your Truth: How I’m Learning to Speak From the Heart
I’ve been hearing the words ‘Speak your Truth’ a lot recently. From my coach mostly, but also from this little voice inside my head that’s been urging me to speak up instead of shutting up. Speak Your Truth On Saturday I attended a workshop called ‘Speak Your Truth’ run by Phil Askew and Kate Jones. […]
Is it Time to Talk About The Menopause?
Last weekend I found myself having three separate conversations about the menopause. The first was with my hairdresser. We were discussing our monthly migraines and before you knew it we were swapping stories of how we no longer recognise ourselves at times as our hormones wreak havoc with our moods, minds and bodies. I had […]
Iron Deficiency Anaemia – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
Today I celebrated my blood test results. After almost two years of being severely iron deficient, my iron levels are finally well within the normal range. What is Iron Deficiency Anaemia? Iron deficiency anaemia occurs when your body doesn’t have enough iron. Iron is a mineral responsible for the production of haemoglobin, an iron-rich protein […]
Friends Forever? When is a Friendship Over?
When is a friendship finally over? That’s the question I’ve been grappling with lately with regards to my friend Sally. When Sally (not her real name) and I spend time together it’s lovely. She’s very warm and easy to talk to and is inspiring on so many levels. But it’s been months since we last […]
Self-help Books: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
Fear is like a dirty little secret we all carry around with us. To acknowledge it is to admit weakness and vulnerability, so many of us never do. Instead we try to cover it up with false bravado, mean behaviour or drugs and alcohol. But none of these things makes fear go away. Feel the […]