Lara
“We don’t see you as adopted” and other misguided declarations of love
“We don’t see you as adopted” and other misguided declarations of love. Why is saying this a problem? Surely this is a good thing, right? Surely this means that their love for the adoptee is boundless, unconditional? Equal to the love given to a biological child perhaps? But this statement can make an adopted person…
Instinct Intuition Inner Voice 101 – their role in Happiness and Wellbeing
How does instinct intuition inner voice affect our happiness? I have been thinking a lot recently about this, and more specifically the collision between our inner worlds and instincts or intuition and the outside world, with all its rules, expectation guidelines. I see how for many people, this collision creates a conflict in the way…
6 Important Considerations | Best Adoption Parenting Practices | Adoption Research
Why research wellbeing, adoption and adoption parenting? My interest in wellbeing stems from my own struggles as an adoptee to live with wellbeing. I was adopted very soon after birth, in England in 1970. Back then there was very little education for prospective adopters and adoptive parents around how to parent a traumatised baby or…
2 tools to re-frame low mood
What tools are there to re-frame low mood? I have been thinking a lot recently about low mood. There are so many factors in life that contribute to mood, but when we feel ourselves dip, it can result in despair. For many, factors outside of our control can result in our feeling powerless and stuck,…
Somebody I used to know | Wendy Mitchell | Dementia
Somebody I used to know is a book about bravery, and about finding new meaning in dementia. Wendy Mitchell shares her journey into dementia with us. This is more than a moving, heart-wrenching story about the changes to life that dementia demands. It is a book that will educate and enlighten and one I believe…
Running for anxiety | Running as a prescription for anxiety?
How can running help anxiety? We’ve known for a while that exercising has a positive impact on our mental health (read more here). But what about running for anxiety? Gurung (2016) believes that maybe it ought to be prescribed. Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most commonly identified common psychological disorder in the UK. Those that…
8 things our children will wish we’d said
Here are 8 things our children will wish we’d said to them Parenting in 2020 is vastly different to forty or fifty years ago. These days we try to spend more quality time with our children (especially recently!) which is great for our relationships and for making memories. We also try to make their lives as easy…
Limit the doom | doomscrolling is making you anxious
Limit the doom – are you doomscrolling? Yesterday, I learned a new term. It is ‘doomscrolling‘, and it has a sister term ‘doomsurfing’. These new verbs have found their way into our vocabularies due to the seemingly insatiable appetite that we’ve developed for Covid-19 related updates. But it’s not just the endless, mindless hours that…
Plan your personal lockdown exit strategy
What do you mean, plan my exit strategy? The UK lockdown rules have begun to ease and now is the time to plan how you will exit strategically. The smart thing to do is to plan your lockdown ‘exit strategy’. Why? Read on… Why? Never before has life been so pared back. For 10 weeks…