Your Inner Self: What Makes You ‘You’?
We have many things of our own, but not just physical possessions. We also have our thoughts and feelings, memories, body and our relationships. These are the things that we
We have many things of our own, but not just physical possessions. We also have our thoughts and feelings, memories, body and our relationships. These are the things that we
In this short post I highlight some writings of a friend of mine who writes about her experience of living with bipolar. I think what she says is very interesting
We struggle so hard to change. From all around us we hear the message that we need to change, we need to get better, and that the way we currently
When we are young and we are unsure of the person that we are, it can be helpful for us to define ourselves as the Good Kid, the Rebellious Kid,
This is the second time this has happened to me recently; I was out riding my bike and came to a give way sign at an intersection. There was a
When people come to therapy to get help, they usually have one major thing on their mind; the thing they have identified as a problem. Often this problem can be
We can often feel a great pressure from other people to change. For whatever reason, it can be hard to be accepted for who we are. We can find ourselves
When we think about ourselves and who we are, we think of the things that we are and do, feel and believe. All of these things make up the person
When we think of counselling or psychotherapy, we think of things that we would like to change about ourselves; we wonder how we might be different after these changes. But
We have all heard the expression ‘a leopard never changes its spots’; we can doubt if it is possible for us to change. If we can change, what parts of
When we suffer, we want a relief to our suffering quickly so we seek out those we think can help. When we have a medical problem, we seek out a
What happens to the lost part of ourselves? We remember ourselves being so different; happy, alive, brave, carefree, loving and generous. We seem so different to this now even though
In some ways, the analogy of a carpenter using his tools to shape wood is a good analogy for the process of psychotherapy. It also brings out some of the
We all understand that we have a conscious and an unconscious part of our mind. This distinction goes back to the earliest days of psychoanalysis. Similarly, we all know that
Mention climate change, immigration or the Occupy movement and you’ll hear a lot of strong opinions both for and against. People take up passionate positions on these and many other
Many of us know the feeling – the pull to do what another person wants and to let our own needs take a back seat. Whilst to put another person
So many people have independence, particularly psychological independence, as their goal; it is seen as the logical and inevitable end-point for the maturation of an adult. However, this ideal –
In a recent blog post I talked about the value of keeping your defences. This time, let’s reflect on what might be possible from a series of psychotherapy sessions. Many
A common controversy regarding human development centres around two opposing ideas about what makes people who they are – are we the people that we are due to our inbuilt
The topic of ‘how do you best raise a child?’ is one that grabs the attention of new parents. They find different opinions about what to do and how to do it everywhere.
It’s a common perception that our thoughts make us who we are. I believe that we are a lot more that that. The idea that we are our thoughts is a