The limbic system in our brain is hardwired to assess everything as a risk unless proved otherwise; Our mind is an amazing survival tool! It is equipped to help us survive even in the most extreme situations. People often underestimate the severity of a traumatic event they have experienced, but once the mind has experienced a trauma it works very hard to ensure you don’t have another similar experience. Sometimes even a event which is only a small part (sense) of the original trauma, will trigger your mind and body to react. For example, an isolated smell, sound or a feeling.  Like sitting in the park on a summer’s day without a care in the world (seemingly) and a panic attack ensues. Why would that happen? Well, the brain and body takes in 11 million bits of information every second. Its job is to pattern match everything (sight, sound, sense, taste, smell and hearing) and to alert your sympathetic system if it recognises something which maybe similar to a trauma that you’ve experienced previously (even decades ago). And no matter how severe the trauma is (being unexpectedly physically attacked for example) or how small it seems (Teacher humiliating you if front of your peers) the brain will process the trauma in the same way. 

To keep you from experiencing that trauma again your mind will create thoughts such as “I don’t like this” (low level) to feelings both physical (can’t breathe or trembling) and bodily (panic, trapped etc) (high level) or even abreaction (reliving the experience) so have no option other than to flee or to fight! 

Recommended reading: Waking the Tiger by Peter A. Levine and The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Feeling stuck, frustrated, lacking motivation or constantly worrying are just a few of the symptoms you can experience that lets you know that your emotional well being needs addressing. Struggling to understand your emotional needs can be very disturbing and frustrating. You may use distraction or denial to push the feelings and thoughts from your mind only to find they resurface time and again. Subconsciously held beliefs (‘I am not worthy’, ‘I am not lovable’, ‘I am a failure’, ‘I am not important’) are responsible for holding you back from living your life the way you want to; To have fulfilling relationships, enjoying your job, applying for the job you’d really love to do for example. 

Stress is difficult to avoid completely; in small doses stress can be beneficial, for example helping to be motivated to get a job done. However a constant source of stress can be debilitating and lead to emotional, mental and physical problems.  Because people experience stress for different reasons, not everyone experiences every type of stress symptom. For example, while one person may only experience emotional stress symptoms, someone else may experience more severe stress that can cause additional types of symptoms.

Our wide range of therapies can help you relieve or eradicate stress. Whether you choose a relaxing Massage to ease muscle tension, Reflexology or Reiki for relaxation or Counselling or Hypnotherapy to get to the source of the problem and start to change your life we can help you.

Depression symptoms vary from person to person. It’s important to realise that everyone will feel down or depressed from time to time; it’s a part of normal life flow. However if you find you’re experiencing  feelings and emotions such as hopelessness, despair or lack of motivation that just won’t go away, you  may have depression. Depression can be mild, moderate or severe. Life changing circumstances (divorce, relationship breakdown, job loss or financial difficulties can bring an onset of depression. Childhood trauma, Traumatic events, chronic illness and unexpected life changes can also bring on depression. 

Feeling isolated, not understood and lonely (even if you have people in your life) is linked to depression. This is a key element for most people and is far more contributory that most people recognise. 

There are 3 main areas to look at when dealing with chronic insomnia. By process of elimination you can discover exactly you need start in order to change your poor sleeping habits for good. 

Let’s look at your environment to begin with. We need some key ingredients to ensure we have the optimum environment for a good night’s sleep – Quiet, calm, comfort and a peaceful  mind. 

Noise. It stands to reason that we need a quiet place so not to be disturbed during the night. So if you have any uncalled for noise that wakes you, you need to take steps to eliminate the source of the noise or sound proof your room. Other people, passing traffic, pets, children, a snoring partner,  weather and suchlike can all disturb your sleep. Take action, make changes and begin to sleep better. 

Try to eliminate tech from your bedroom altogether. Blue light from devices disrupts your melatonin levels. Watching TV or scrolling through your devices before bed stimulates your brain when in fact you need to relax, zone out and become drowsy rather than alert. Recent research shows it’s been suggested that sleeping near a phone, in a home with Wi-Fi, or in an apartment building with many Wi-Fi signals can create chronic sleep concerns as the constant bombardment of Wi-Fi pollution interferes with falling asleep and sleep patterns. For many, sleep deprivation is just the start for larger concerns. The development of depression and hypertension have also been linked to inadequate sleep 

Discomfort. Aches and pains are great sleep disruptions. A poor mattress can be very uncomfortable and cause aching muscles and impact on the spine and other areas of your body. Ill health and physical pain can impact negatively on your sleep. Find ways to manage your pain. Changing medication or working with an alternative health practitioner will help you manage your pain better.  Make sure your bedroom isn’t too warm . A cooler bedroom is best for optimum sleep health (around 15 to 22 Celsius for adults).  

Irregular bedtimes can have the same effect as jet lag on our mind and body recent research shows.  Try to make bedtime as regular as possible as often as possible. Just like with other habits, the brain will create neuropathways and sleeping will be become a good habit.

And finally, anxiety, worry and stress are major contributors to poor sleep. Some people are in a pattern of not sleeping without realising their is an anxiety running in the background that is responsible. Others wake and go straight into thinking, worrying and problem solving. For some, a body feeling (tightening chest, irregular breathing or swirling or sinking sensations in the stomach wakes them. These are all ways your mind lets you know that there is something that you need to pay attention to.