History of mental health

As a work experience student hoping to explore mental well-being and counselling, I see that mental health can come across in different shapes and sizes and has a long and intricate history. For many people coping with or hoping to talk about mental health, they can struggle to find an environment where they feel safe and able to share past experiences about mental health openly. Many can find refuge in one-on- one session but others feel comforted in a group environment where they can relate to others.

Sitting in on a group well-being session -led by Dafna Bartle- and being able to observe the connections the group of 60+ women had formed over some time, made me realize that these women had formed a friendship that made them feel warm and secure and able to share deeper and meaningful things about themselves to others that might feel the same way or have similar opinions

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From schooldays onward, there is encouragement for us to be kind to others. But what about being kind and understanding to ourselves? Is self-compassion even desirable, or is it a selfish excuse to let us off the hook? Is this a worthwhile quality to aspire to? I’ll come back to these questions. But first, what is compassion and what is self-compassion?

Compassion means to ‘suffer with’. So, to have compassion for someone, first we must notice their pain. We are able to do this because we can imagine their suffering for ourselves. And we want to respond with kindness to help ease their suffering if we can. To have self-compassion is to respond in much the same way when we recognise our own suffering. We too are a person deserving compassion, as much as anyone else. But why focus on self-compassion? Is there not a danger of becoming too self-centered?

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Grief can come in circles, in spirals, in tangled lines, in the outline of a broken heart, in the jagged profile of a mountain peak or of an iceberg in a frozen sea.

Grief, in my experience, has never come in a straight line, in a series of stages that we progress through, one after the other, until we are done.

I see it most often as a circular path. The first time we struggle, stumble around it, it is crowded with rocks, with great gaping holes, with brambles, thorns that tear at our hair and skin, with a whistling wind, with dark clouds and soaking rain. Sometimes we collapse in despair, think this journey will never be over. Sometimes we force ourselves to keep walking, taking step after step. Sometimes we wish we could turn and run the other way, undoing whatever has happened in our lives to cause us such pain. Eventually, whatever our approach, we find ourselves at the beginning again.

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At times we can all feel that we have no choice. But that couldn’t be further from the truth of who we are. As each of us is an unique aspect of the Divine and this sacred self within is always absolutely free. In our humanness we can create experiences which might make us feel stuck or trapped and although the experience itself can feel very real, it is still based in illusion and there is always a way out. You only need to remember that in fact you are free. So anytime you feel limited or restricted you could start reminding yourself silently: I am free.  

Your focus is like a magic wand. Certain thoughts activate certain energies. And the thought I am free starts gently untangling you from any illusionary limitation you might have temporarily placed on yourself. Allow this to be a gentle process.

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As a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Five Element Acupuncturist, I receive acupuncture myself on a regular basis in order to maintain my health and wellbeing and I am conscious of the surprise of some of my friends when I explain this, as it appears to be a common belief that acupuncture is only used to treat physical conditions or disease.

During my first year of studying Chinese Medicine over 10 years ago, I was fascinated to learn that, historically, each village in China would be under the care of a Chinese physician whose job it was to keep the village well so that villagers could continue to work and, in return, the physician would be fed and clothed by the village. It, therefore, benefitted the physician to practise preventative medicine!

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One of the things I love about Shiatsu is that having treatments helps me stay in tune with my body, which helps me take the best care of myself on a day-to-day basis, in response to what my body needs at the present time. 

By having regular treatments, I am always deepening in listening to my body, getting to know my body as a precious being that for many years I ignored but with whom I am now in a loving relationship.

One example of this is that in December, I received a Shiatsu treatment and the practitioner could see that my body wanted to move more. So, the focus of the treatment was gentle moving and stretching. 

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A normal part of life

Anxiety is a normal part of life. It can even be useful – worrying about something can help us to work it through in our minds, thinking we might have left the cooker on can encourage us to check and turn it off if necessary.

When it stops being useful

But when it stops being useful there are ways forward. Based on research, anonymised personal experiences and proven self-care tips, here’s 6 things you need to know about anxiety.

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School’s out for summer! Whatever your plans for the holidays, our resident homeopath, Jo Magowan recommends keeping a few remedies close to hand for bumps, bites, burns and more.

Here are her top ten homeopathic first aid remedies for summer.

Arnica:

The number one first-aid remedy! Best known for its healing action for bumps and bruises, Arnica can work wonders to help relieve the pain and swelling after almost any injury. It’s also useful for the shock and trauma associated with accidents, as well as easing sore and aching muscles from over-exertion and sprains that involve bruising, swelling and stiffness. And for anyone braving long-distance air travel this summer, use Arnica to help cope with the effects of jet-lag.

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WHAT IS SOUL WRITING?

Soul Writing is a method of writing from intuition, developed by Dr Sarah Walton when she was recovering from a brain injury in 2004. She now teaches it internationally to unblock her clients’ creativity and unlock their lives. Soul Writing has also helped those clients live soulfully in isolation during the COVID lockdown.

DISCOVER YOUR SOUL VOICE

Your soul voice is the voice of creative intuition. Our soul voice is often quiet or silenced by self-judgment. You can learn to trust that voice to guide your writing and life decisions. When you connect to your authentic voice and write down your feelings and imaginative visions, something magical happens. Everyone has an inner voice wanting to be heard. By expressing your soul voice, you move into alignment with your self.

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