Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the importance of good sleep, and good sleep hygiene to help you get it. We're told sleep supports good mental health. This is absolutely true! But do you know why? There is a stage of sleep that is critical to our brain processing events of the day. It's known as Rapid Eye Movement, REM, which you've probably heard of. REM uses up a lot of energy, it's not restful sleep. So the amount of REM we get per night is restricted. If we have too

How do you love yourself? Do you love yourself? People can be their own worst critics. They use negative language about themselves - out loud or in their head. But here's the thing... Our brain hears and absorbs all the language we use - whether it's spoken out loud or an internal narrative. And the brain doesn't differentiate between fact and fiction. It takes what it hears as reality. And of course, people around us also hear the words we say out loud about ourselves, and t

Have you ever had that feeling, when you know you've had enough food, digested enough calories, and yet you still feel compelled to eat more? You might even still feel hungry? And the food you want to eat isn't an apple, or some carrot sticks. You want the fatty, sugary, carbohydrate-laden foods. If that sounds familiar, then chances are you're at the mercy of some pretty powerful processes that have started in the brain and now affect what's going on in your body. In simple

Imagine if you stopped worrying about what could go wrong and instead focused on what could go right?

Here's a surprisingly powerful and proven technique to lift your spirits immediately.

Think about all the things in our life we are taught about or have user manuals for. Most of us were taught how to drive a car and how to operate a computer. When we get a new appliance or device, it generally comes with a user guide so we can learn how to use it. And yet the tool we use all day every day to operate our entire lives - our brain – does not come with a user manual. Luckily there have been some great advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging in the last 40 or

Self-care takes all forms. My own treat to myself today was an evening walk, purposefully timed to coincide with the sunset. I understand how important it is to slow down and unwind, and I've learned that this is what works for me. For others it might be crafting, reading, baking, watching TV, playing an instrument or listening to music. It could be a bath, meeting up with a friend or going to the gym. It doesn't matter what it is we do to unwind... the important thing is t

Imagine if you fully understood why anxiety has taken control and why you think, feel and behave the way you do. Imagine if you understood how you could get back in control once and for all. Imagine if the solution was inside you all the time. Imagine you'd found someone who would coach you to access the solution yourself. How would you feel? "From the very first session, Fiona helped me stop feeling like I was in helpless freefall with my anxiety. I felt so much more in cont

As someone who helps people get in control of their relationship with food and eating, I know that some of us have a love-hate relationship with chocolate. But today is a celebration of chocolate and it's a good excuse for me to talk about serotonin. There are plenty of reasons we get pleasure from eating chocolate - I mean there's the taste and texture alone! We also get an instant energy boost which feels good. Chocolate, in particular dark chocolate, also contains serotoni

Young people have had a challenging time in the last 18 months. The teenage mental health charity stem4 produced some research in March...

It wasn't surprising to see an article today on the BBC (linked below) about weight gain during the last 16 months. It elaborated on the...

So the weather in the UK is a bit... sub-optimal at the moment. I won't lie, the weather can get to me. Our primitive response to poor...

Connecting with nature doesn't just have to be visual. On yesterday's walk I focused my attention on the sounds around me. The Malvern...

Well, I don't know how it's been for you, but it's been pretty easy to #connectwithnature today from the comfort of my consulting room!...

A lot of clients come to me for help with their relationship with food and eating. Regardless of whether they want to lose weight or not, the common factor is that they want to get back in control of what they eat and when they eat it. The other common factor is that they have battles in their head about over-eating, or making the 'wrong' choices. This battle is frustrating and baffling and causes a lot of negative self-talk. That's because intellectually we know what is

Today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, driven by the Mental Health Foundation. The theme this year is #ConnectWithNature....

❓How much time to do you dedicate to self care❓ 💭 Do you think it's essential or indulgent? Maybe even selfish? For a lot of my adult...

Life happens. Events we don't plan for and we'd prefer not to have to face come our way. But it's not the events themselves that cause...

If you have a negative physical and emotional reaction to an experience or even the thought of it, you suffer from a phobia. We can...

Image courtesy of Mathyus Kurmann Some of my clients this week are coming to the end of their therapy, which is why this quote from Jon Kabat Zinn resonated with me today. Typically, people with anxiety and depression see me for eight to 12 sessions (sometimes just six or seven). By that point they are in control of their thought processes, which means they are in control of their feelings and reactions. They are back in control of their lives. But of course... Life happens.