Training to become a counsellor isn’t easy. Getting out of my comfort zone, learning to be vulnerable, and becoming self-aware are the things that have pushed me to my limits. In order to deal with the last two, I’ve had to push through the first one – repeatedly. When I was on level 2, a level 3 student came to talk to our class, and he described the training as being turned inside out and back again. Someone else described…
In 2019, I took on one of the biggest challenges of my life. I went back to college and started training to become a counsellor. I’ve heard people say that being a counsellor is a second career. Something else has already come before it, and somewhere in your 30s or 40s, you realise it’s time for a change. Depending on how long you count as a career, in my case, it’s probably my third or fourth! CAD Technician, self-employed photographer…
What does self-care mean to you? It’s such a broad term – but what is it? Definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary include: The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health and the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. What is Self-Care? Although the act of self-care may look different to everyone, essentially, it’s all the same. Self-care is doing something that makes you feel…
Today is Time to Talk Day. The aim being, to get people to open up and talk about mental health, helping to break down barriers and myths. Mental health problems can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, religion, or background, and throughout the year, 1 in 4 of us will experience some kind of mental health issue. Unfortunately, there are still some stigmas around mental health, and Time to Talk Day is about encouraging people to start conversations, helping to…
Goodbye 2020. Hello 2021! Well, it’s that time of year again. Every January, I like to take a look in my rear-view mirror and reflect on the last 12-months, and crikey – what a year it’s been. I, like many others, thought that COVID-19 would never reach the UK. But when it did, I thought it would soon blow over. As it quickly started spreading throughout the country, I realised it wasn’t that simple and the seriousness of the pandemic…
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Here’s a post from my trip to Austria back in 2018, when we did a 10-mile circular hike from Strobl to Rotwandl. With the current global pandemic, I have no plans to travel anytime soon, so I’ve decided to go back through my old trips and publish stories I never got around to. After hitting the snooze button 3 times, my alarm finally fell silent and I fell back to sleep. At 7am I woke…
Follow my blog with Bloglovin With Coronavirus here for the foreseeable future, I think many people are looking for different ways to get out and about safely. For us, that means altering how and where we go out walking. I make no secret of the fact the Lake District holds a special place in my heart and has done for nearly 20-years. It’s the first place Ian and I went on holiday together and it’s the place we return to…
Follow my blog with Bloglovin If you run, you are a runner I can’t remember where I first saw this quote, but I’ve seen it several times on social media over the last few months. I’m sure many people have said it, but I think American marathon runner John Bingham, may have been one of the first. Please don’t quote me on that! It’s such a simple statement, but for me, a significant one. Because it’s taken me 25 years,…
Follow my blog with Bloglovin I’ve not written anything for over a month. When COVID-19 kicked off and lockdown first started, I found writing to be therapeutic. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, lockdown was novel. I’d been given the gift of time and I could finally do all the things that I’d been struggling to do. I slowed down and started enjoying a slower pace of life. I was writing regularly, ploughing through college work, tidying the house, de-cluttering,…
