Livecreatefeelhappy

Everyone loves the summer time, right? Well, actually that's not true. For people with a negative body image the summer weather can be triggering, creating feelings of anxiety, insecurity and low mood. We are bombarded in the media by images of perfect figures and encouraged to diet and exercise in order to find our "beach body". The pressure is enough to make anyone feel dissatisfied and inadequate. I wonder how we might feel more confident about who we are if the messages we heard about food and exercise were about fuel and health rather than the way we look. Did you know there really is no such thing as "bad" food. Of course there are some foods that are healthier to eat less of but actually these foods still form a really important part of our diet and should be included. Imagine driving a car with little or no fuel, how well would that work out?  How many of us notice and celebrate who we are inside as well as how we look on the outside? What

Expressive Art Journalling Club launches in September 2018! Need time for you? or want to help your anxious teen?  Explore creativity in order to boost well being in a calm, small group (max 6) setting. We will work through activities that will encourage you to develop the skills to use creativity everyday to help with managing stress, anxiety, depression and to aid relaxation. You might even meet a friend or two! The best thing - you don't have to be an artist to be creative! My classes for women and adolescents run weekly 6 week blocks to enable our group dynamic to develop. Venue is a purpose built therapy cabin with free parking.  Classes start in September 2018 and are only £75 for the 6 week block.  Contact me NOW! for more information before you book!  email: racheldurrantcounselling@gmail.com Hope to see you there :) 

May 14th - May 20th 2018 is Mental Health Awareness Week. Over recent years more and more people have begun to talk about mental ill health and so the stigma does seem to be starting to change. However, it can still be difficult for people to know how best to support a loved one when they are struggling. You don't have to know all the answers. Mental health doesn't come as one size fits all. Everyone is different so the best way to support someone is to find out what support they might need. Even if you can't understand how that person is feeling you can respect them enough to listen without judgement. So what helps? Kind words of encouragement and listening to what someone has to say about how it feels to them rather than making assumptions about how they might feel is really important. When someone feels low, they don't expect you to fix the problem and you don't always have to come up with a solution. Instead, being an ear to listen and asking them what t

Last weekend I was on a training course. It's been a few hectic weeks and working all weekend felt a little overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and love learning but whenever I go on training courses I end up exhausted in a whole different way to my normal working day! You get me?! It can be hard to remember to look after ourselves when we're busy. I don't know if it's a trait of being a therapist, a trait of being a Mum or just my personality that everyone seems to come before me! Sometimes I have to feel burnt out before I recognise that I've taken on too much and this is not a great trait! So when I was training last weekend and was reminded of the the importance of self care it jump started me back into caring for me.  It was a general discussion when the facilitator reminded us of the rules around oxygen masks on an aeroplane. As anyone who has ever flown will know, we are told to place our own mask on before helping anyone else. Why is

Selfies and filters are everywhere these days. We can take photos easily on our phones and edit and change our view of the world depending on our mood. However, we must not forget the creative element of taking photographs and also the power of using images to express ourselves. Using photography for well being is a tried and tested method and can be used in different ways. Whether it is making a record of positive days in a photographic gratitude journal, taking images to symbolise something of the way we experience the world or simply collecting images to escape to, photography can be a powerful way to help live a happier life. For me, I love to take photos in nature. I suppose I am actually nature obsessed and love nothing better than being wind blown on the top of a cliff top or wandering beneath a woodland canopy. I feel like I can breathe when I am in nature and taking photos allows me to see and remember, sometimes turning my experiences into other artwork that I

Everything seems to be growing at this time of year. Whether it is the blossom on the trees, new shoots peeping through damp soil or the impatient squawking of baby birds waiting to be fed, Spring is synonymous with growth. Children seem to take growth in their stride, changing so quickly from the helplessness of a newborn they learn quickly about the world around them. Infants are innately curious, soaking up their experiences like a sponge. In fact I can't think of any other time in life when we grow and develop so rapidly. What an amazing time of excitement and wonder! When brought up in a loving environment, children are not afraid to take first steps or to ask for their needs to be met instead change and transformation occur naturally. Yet as we get older, transformation gets more difficult. Our fears whisper to us that change is scary and that failure is all we can expect. For some people this stops growth. They may believe that they have learned everything they can and