Category: Self Help

Anxiety, Health, Mindfulness, Psychology, Self Help, WellbeingLeave a comment

Calming anxiety quickly

Change Therapy

Anxiety. A word that I hear more and more of as each week passes by. Some people have common anxieties about the cost of living or the plethora of viruses circulating in the community. Some have anxieties concerning their own lives and how they can deal with things troubling them. There are self-help books, websites and experts all over the place that promise to help you deal with your anxiety, but what if you do not have ready access to a book, website or a professional to talk you through what to do in the moment that anxious thoughts appear … Continue reading Calming anxiety quickly

Health, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Self Help, Wellbeing4 Comments

Botanic Gardens

Change Therapy

Following on from the last Mindfulness Walk in collaboration with Get2gether, we chose Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens as the ideal location for our Walk in September 2022. This fabulous place is very popular for locals and tourists alike, and has so much space to walk around in, with plenty of benches for the weary traveller too. The massive greenhouses that hold hundreds of species of plants from around the world were closed for maintenance when we visited, yet we found that everything around us in nature was plentiful and free. Some fortunate couples choose this location to get married at, and … Continue reading Botanic Gardens

Anxiety, Health, Psychology, Self Help, Wellbeing2 Comments

Optimism and Wellbeing

Change Therapy

Optimism is about having a positive outlook for the future. Optimism is having the belief that this future will be positive. Optimism reflects hope and faith which in turn promotes a perception that world is and can be a better place to live in. If we focus on what is good about a situation and how to do things better, having this optimism releases stress from within our body. The release of stresses associated with negativity, enables us to live a more manageable existence, confident that the future will be positively good. Are people naturally optimistic or pessimistic and can … Continue reading Optimism and Wellbeing

Anxiety, general health, Health, Mindfulness, Nature, Psychology, Self Help, Wellbeing2 Comments

Post Cardio Therapies

Change Therapy

If you have had a Heart attack or similar cardio event, recovery can be slow and frustrating to many people. You can change your life around and become more optimistic about the future. I am walking breathing testimony that this is possible with some guidance and a determination to succeed! When I first created Change Therapy many years ago, the aim was to provide extra support to survivors of cardio events by introducing gentle therapies that we could work through together, to benefit your overall wellbeing. This includes altering your outlook on life, and learning how to be more positive … Continue reading Post Cardio Therapies

Anxiety, Diabetes, general health, Health, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Psychology, Self Help, Wellbeing3 Comments

Mindfulness

Change Therapy

The term “mindfulness” refers to a compassionate and clear-headed awareness, or the awareness of what is occurring simultaneously in the external and internal worlds. The majority of us are more accustomed to its opposite: mindlessness, which refers to situations in which we are not fully aware of what is happening and are therefore more likely to make mistakes. In order to make informed decisions, mindfulness entails waking up and paying attention to the present moment. A specific method of being present in the moment is mindfulness. The mind is less prone to become ensnared in negative thought and emotion patterns … Continue reading Mindfulness

Anxiety, general health, Health, Mindfulness, Self Help, Wellbeing3 Comments

Mindfulness of Anger

Change Therapy

Anger is an unpleasant feeling. It is like a blazing flame that burns up our self-control and causes us to say and do things that we regret later. When someone is angry, we can see that they are in a form of hell, a cycle of never-ending rage. Anger and hatred are the materials in which hell is made. A mind without anger is cool, fresh and rational. The absence of anger is the basis of real happiness; the basis of love and compassion. When our anger us placed under the spotlight of Mindfulness, it immediately begins to lose some … Continue reading Mindfulness of Anger

Health, Inspirational, Mindfulness, Self Help, Wellbeing3 Comments

Distractions

Change Therapy

How many of you reading this get distracted? Whether you are reading, talking or listening, many a time you will have experienced being distracted. It can be annoying, frustrating and takes you out of your stride until you can focus again. What about when we are listening to someone speak. It can take a lot of concentration to hear their voice and what subject they are talking about. Listening takes a lot of effort, and sometimes it is hard to shut out other noises. Can you think of times this happens to you? Sometimes it is not just noises that … Continue reading Distractions

Inspirational, Self Help, Wellbeing2 Comments

What are you worth?

Change Therapy

A speaker started off his seminar by holding a £20 note in the air. In a room of 200 people, he asked, “Who would like a £20 note?”. Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this note to one of you, but first let me do this…” He proceeded to crumple up the twenty pound note. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still hands were up in the air. “Well, what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it … Continue reading What are you worth?

general health, Health, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Psychology, Self Help, Wellbeing11 Comments

Secret Garden – Mindfulness

Change Therapy

Recently I held a Mindfulness session at one of the most beautiful and serene places in Edinburgh, and it has had such an impact on many people, that I wanted to share this with you. Thankfully we arrived on a day where the weather was almost perfect, with a little frost underfoot, yet we were fortunate that the usual cold biting wind from the adjacent loch, was not present by late morning. The Secret Garden is formally known as Dr. Neil’s Garden, which lies next to Duddingston Kirk, built in 1124, at the foot of Arthurs Seat, which is an … Continue reading Secret Garden – Mindfulness

Anxiety, Health, Neurological, Psychology, Self Help1 Comment

Imposter Syndrome

Change Therapy

I feel like a Fraud. I am not good enough to do this job. They will find out. I don’t deserve to be in such a good job. Imposter Syndrome is a Psychological expression for a suppressed feeling that someone is undeserving of the position they are in and that they will eventually be exposed.  Imposter Syndrome is the persistent feeling that you’re a fraud and a fake and that someone is going to figure out that you don’t know half as much as you pretend to. This pattern of behaviour affects their performance and there is no let up … Continue reading Imposter Syndrome

Anxiety, Health, Mindfulness, Psychology, Self Help, WellbeingLeave a comment

Strategy for Panic Attack

Change Therapy

The following exercise is suggested for anyone that needs help in coping with a Panic Attack. This also works for Anxiety Attacks. This strategy is one of the best and comes with the best intentions to alleviate the stress. Being aware of your Five Senses. Look around you. Name 5 things you can Hear Name 4 things you can See Name 3 things you can Touch Name 2 things you can Smell Name 1 thing you can Taste. You can feel your Senses at work, reinforcing that you are very much alive and making connections to the world you live … Continue reading Strategy for Panic Attack

Anxiety, Autism specific, Health, Mindfulness, Psychology, Self Help, Wellbeing4 Comments

Items to help Cope with anxiety

Change Therapy

At first glance you may see a person squeezing a bunch of grapes, yet on closer inspection, you can see that these are not real fruit. I see adverts regularly while surfing the internet, for toys that help calm your kids down. Squishy balls, Chewy toys, Spinners, Fidget toys in fact anything to keep the hands busy. There are many different types of toys which are predominantly meant to distract the user from the anxieties they experience in their minds. Are they aimed at children only? No, is the short answer. They look like something that you would amuse a … Continue reading Items to help Cope with anxiety

Anxiety, Health, Inspirational, Meditation, Self Help, Wellbeing7 Comments

Being Thankful

Change Therapy

Gratitude Meditation – (Being Thankful) By taking a couple of minutes first thing in the morning when I wake, and then just before I retire for the night, I read the following gratitude statements. These help me to put life into perspective. Have a try and see for yourself? I am grateful for the air in my lungs. I am grateful for my heart that beats and keeps me alive. I am grateful for my senses that help me perceive the world. I am grateful for my comfortable bed. I am grateful for my clothes that protect me and keep … Continue reading Being Thankful

Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Self Help, Wellbeing8 Comments

Transformation

Change Therapy

I thought I would share one of my Mindfulness Meditations. Close your eyes and ask someone to read this out to you for maximum benefit. Imagine you are a bright and beautiful caterpillar. You are full and resting on a leaf. You have eaten, explored, and ready for a rest.  Now, take in a deep breath, and imagine yourself becoming more still. You feel calm and settled. Notice the gentle wind passing your body making you relax and feel sleepy. Your chrysalis is beginning to form and wraps around your body and you notice the sensation of being close to … Continue reading Transformation

Health, Inspirational, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Self Help, Wellbeing2 Comments

Online Therapy too stressful?

Change Therapy

Fed up with screen freezing or poor Internet connections? No closure at the end of a session? Missing the personal interaction? Eye contact is just not the same on Zoom or Facetime. Consider a socially distanced meet-up with me, and feel free to wear a mask too. Walk-and-talk therapy has also proven to be a stress reliever for people who don’t consider their home a safe space for online therapy — whether they can’t find enough privacy to feel comfortable opening up, or their family or partner disapproves of therapy, or someone they live with is the reason they’re seeking … Continue reading Online Therapy too stressful?

Inspirational, Self Help, Wellbeing5 Comments

A Life Journey

Change Therapy

If only life came packed, With manuals we could read, A list of clear instructions and All parts guaranteed. But oh, life’s not so simple, No useful hints or tools, We have to muddle through it Without the help of rules. Yet one thing that we do have Are others by our side, To help support and cheer us, In whom we may confide. For as we share our knowledge, So ignorance takes flight, By working close together We’ll surely get it right. Continue reading A Life Journey

general health, Health, Self Help, Wellbeing4 Comments

The first Self Help book

Change Therapy

On the days we all experience at one time or another, when one hundred and one things have to be attended to immediately, if not sooner, try keeping the following words in mind: “The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once.” Written by Samuel Smiles, a doctor, writer and social reformer. He was born in Haddington (my hometown), Scotland in 1812. His book, Self-Help, was published in 1859 and was a best seller book, selling a 1/4 million copies, to the British public. In the book, he proposes knowledge as one of the … Continue reading The first Self Help book