Our Latest News and Blog Posts

Some people are surprised when they hear of the overlap between my massage therapy work and Ann’s stress management work and yet each of us meets clients who can benefit from the other’s approach. The reason for this overlap is the body’s response to stress. The stress response prepares your body...

I read in the news recently that anxiety in children, particularly in teenage girls, is increasing significantly. Although saddened to read this, I wasn’t surprised as I do a lot of work with children to help them learn to manage, and then lose, anxieties which are affecting their lives – at...

I’m fascinated by the different ways in which people use language. For me, understanding how and why a person is using the words they are is key to really understanding the meaning of what is being said. In fact, many conflicts are based on misunderstanding of another person’s vocabulary. One of...

Recently I bought myself a fitness tracker (the Jawbone Up3 in the photo) which tracks, amongst other things,  the quantity and quality of sleep.  The sleep results have been particularly fascinating and very revealing.  They've certainly made me realise that I don't prioritise my sleep as much would be good for me I’ve also been...

I’ve always loved stories (factual as well as fictional) – reading them, listening to them and watching them. Humans from across the world and throughout history have understood the power of a well-crafted tale, using them to illustrate ideas, concepts and even to communicate news. We enjoy them from as soon...

I was amazed when I first learned that IBS affects up to 1 in 4 of the population. That’s a lot of people experiencing not only physical health problems, but emotional problems due to the effects of the problem. In IBS, there is often a vicious circle in which anxiety and...

Are there people in your life – at work or at home – with whom you always seem to clash? Perhaps it feels that you are frequently misunderstood by an individual (or you frequently misunderstand them). In this situation we often get frustrated, assuming the other person is “difficult” and knowing...

Have you noticed how some people seem to have good opportunities open to them wherever they go? Do you wonder why the same chances don’t come your way and think that those people are just lucky? How would you feel if you learnt that luck has little to do with it?...

How many dreams or hopes do you have, that you've had for years and yet don't seem to be any closer to achieving them than when you first wanted to?  Have you noticed that, no matter how much you want something, you somehow seem to get de-railed on the way to...

Do you enjoy summer? That might seem a silly question to those who do – after all, what’s not to like? Sunny days, holidays, picnics and barbeques are all things which are portrayed as fun, happy times that everyone looks forward to. Some people though feel like there is a real...

Last blog I wrote about the link between our body posture and facial expressions and our mood and thoughts. I mentioned that there had been a simple experiment done which demonstrated this link. This week, I’ll describe that experiment – and say a little more about the benefits of smiling. The...

Have you ever noticed how your mood is reflected in your body posture? Or that, the body postures associated with particular moods are much the same for everyone? Because of this we are often able to recognise a person’s mood before they even speak. We can tell that if someone is...