Voltaire once said, “writing is the painting of the voice (Penny, 2013).” That was over 300 years ago, and this has still not changed. Writers and authors use words to express the art that is in their minds and you can do that too. We can all use writing to express how we feel for no-one other than ourselves. Why not grab yourself some paper or a journal - The Works sell lovely A4 and other sized journals for less than £5, settle yourself down and have a play. Maybe a few words to describe a feeling, or write with a time boundary of just 5 minutes. If your feeling more adventurous, can you find a metaphor to describe how you feel? Or try writing a scene or story with yourself as a character. Writing in the 3rd person may be a way of gaining insight from a different perspective. Remember, what you are writing about is always more important than spelling and grammar. Why not give it a go?

What do you think Henry Miller is talking about? Do you really notice the everyday objects that are all around you? Most of us are so busy in our heads, rushing onto the next thing that we miss what is around us - the beauty in everyday objects, the small worlds that may be present. Why not take a pause - grab yourself a glass of water, go out into an outside space and notice what is around you. Try focussing in on a flower, a leaf, a blade of grass, even a wall. What do you see? Maybe use your other senses - smell, listen, touch, even taste if it is appropriate. Give yourself permission to spend 5 minutes just noticing. If your mind wanders, which it does, bring it back to what you are observing. And breathe into it. Allow your body to relax into your 5 minute pause.

What do you think this Chinese proverb means? Can we really forget our ancestors - those who lived before us? What purpose is there in finding out about our ancestry? Family History Provides Connections Your family tree can show you exactly how you are related to all of your ancestors. It may help to provide meaningful connections to your ancestors. Old photos, letters and diaries give you a window into what your ancestors were really like. Stories handed down from generation to generation about something an ancestor did can be fascinating. Family history is what makes a name and series of dates on a page into an actual real person who lived like you are doing now. Family History Reminds You Where You Came From Did you grow up speaking more than one language? Those languages were handed down by your relatives who speak it. Their parents, or grandparents, taught it to them. The foods you eat together, or during celebrations, are another reminder of where your family came from. You may have learned how to make grandma’s pasta sauce, or dhal, or apple pie. Family History is Good For Your Children Children love to hear stories about how their parents met, what their parents were like when they were children and the day-to-day life of their grandparents. These kinds of old family tales, passed down from generation to the next, provides context - to know who you are and where you fit into the world, you need to know where you came from. Family history can break the cycle transgenerational trauma. Family History Informs Your Health Choices Families which recognise that heart disease runs in their family can seek medical advice about how to avoid it. Families that have a genetically inheritable disease in their genes can encourage younger generations to get tested for it. Stories about how relatives managed with a particular disease or condition may enable hope to those who have it, too. We may not enjoy talking about the diseases or conditions that caused the death of our relatives and ancestors, it is, nevertheless, important to do it. Family History Encourages Compassion Children who understand that their ancestors were immigrants may feel compassion towards their peers who are recent immigrants. Young people who know which countries their ancestors came from may empathise with the people who live in that country today and who are in challenging situations. Knowing your family history can help you understand and accept people who aren’t part of your family tree.

What did you learn at school? Maths and English? Develop your sporting skills? Make friends and taunt the teachers? Did you learn anything else? How many of us quickly realise that we like the pat on the head, the praise, the A+? How did it feel when you didn't do so well like the time you got 3 out of 20 for a spelling test? I was 8 and it was my first ever test. I can still remember it and the embarrassment / shame I felt. What about authority? The teachers and the Headteacher, even the prefects. There is a strict hierarchy in schools. When were you free? Exercise your freedom? I wonder what other 'conditions of worth' you learnt from your school experience?

Ever wondered what Seasonal Affective Disorder actually is? Or if it’s even a real thing? What causes it? Kate Mulcahy discusses sudden changes in hormones and light intensity to explain why winter makes us SAD. It’s perfectly normal for people to gain energy and perk up at the beginning of summer as the appearance of the sun marks the end of a long winter. For some people, however, changing seasons can have such a huge impact on their mood that they are said to be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. SAD involves the effects of depression either developing or worsening during the wintertime and it is thought to be caused by the change in light intensity as the number of daylight hours decreases in the colder months. This is due to the change in the environment causing an imbalance in the hormones that control our mood. Different people react differently to this change, consequently there are the small amount of people that suffer from SAD. This could be partly due to our ancestors hibernating in winter months. But, not to worry; if it all gets too much, just move to Arizona, the sunniest place in the world. This film is part of a series that provides the blueprint for a scientifically perfect summer. From sweating to hay fever, insects to jet lag, Kate helps us plan summer to perfection! The videos are a summer survival guide certified by science. Subscribe to keep up each week: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe​ References: Kurlansik, S.L. and Ibay, A. D. (2013) Seasonal Affective Disorder. Indian Journal of Clinical Practice. 24(7): 607-610 Revell, V.L. et al (2006) Advancing Human Circadian Rhythms with Afternoon Melatonin and Morning Intermittent Bright Light. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 91(1): 54-59 Wehr, T.A. (1997) Melatonin and Seasonal Rhythms. J Biol Rhythms 12: 518-527 http://www.currentresults.com/Weather...​ Music: Vivacity by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...​ Mining by Moonlight by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...​

Insecure relationships are “a recipe for a lot of pain,” according to Dr. Amir Levine so it is important relationships are secure. With around 50% of us having a secure attachment style, anxious-avoidant or insecure relationships are surprisingly common. This doesn’t necessarily mean that partners in insecure relationships don’t love each other. They often love each other a lot. The problem is that in an anxious-avoidant relationship, there tends to be a sense of “stable instability.” These relationships have a lot of conflict due to a reinforcement of each other’s insecurities. The avoidant partner may think, “Oh, my partner is needy,” but what they don’t understand is that it’s not their partner. It’s a pattern that is being created between two people that make it this way. It’s a never-ending cycle. When the avoidant partner senses a threat, such as their partner getting too close, they deactivate their attachment system and create distance. The anxious partner senses this distance as a threat, which activates their attachment system. So they become needy. Back and forth they go. The good news is we can learn to become more secure but first we need to discover what our attachment style is.

When two opposite attachment styles form a relationship, it can get addictive due to their push and pull nature. Avoidant people are the ones who push, anxious people are the ones who pull (or cling on.) When we don’t understand the cause of our behaviours and reactions, we may blame others. Understanding attachment in relationships is the key to changing our own attachment style. When we understand ourselves better, our relationships are healthier. We can communicate our needs more easily and take responsibility for our own happiness. It may take time to change our attachment style, but it can be done. Once you’ve experienced a secure relationship, why would you ever to go back?

Natalie Rogers, Carl Rogers' daughter, took his person-centred ideas about creativity and developed them further. Being creative is an ideal way of exploring feelings - our emotions can be an excellent source of creative expression. We create to discover our inner essence. Expressing strong feelings can be part of the process so we give ourselves permission to look after ourselves.

There have been a number of studies now in how writing affects the mind and mood – in all sorts of settings and genres. Poetry classes, writing in prisons, in hospitals and hospices, writing in rehab, bibliotherapy sessions – writing is finally being recognised as a creative therapy, alongside dance, drama, crafts and music. One significant piece of research in this field was undertaken by psychologist James Pennebaker. He asked a group of people to spend 20 minutes a day writing expressively. By expressive, he meant they had to write about something that evoked an emotional response, usually something traumatic or upsetting. He also had a control group who wrote about things they had no connection to. The result? Those writing about non-emotional subjects experienced no difference, but those who wrote expressively visited the doctors less – they literally felt better. I’m sure many of us have had the experience of release when we finally express something we’ve been holding on to whether in a screaming match, therapy session or on the page. When we let go of the things that are holding us back, when we are free to express how we feel, we feel better.

When someone asks you where you're from … do you sometimes not know how to answer? This marvellous, thought provoking TED talk was introduced to me as part of my work on my MSc Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. Writer Taiye Selasi speaks on behalf of "multi-local" people, who feel at home in the town where they grew up, the city they live now and maybe another place or two. "How can I come from a country?" she asks. "How can a human being come from a concept?" What are your thoughts? Where do you feel local?

Since commencing the MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes course at the Metanoia Institute, I have acquired a number of Gillie Bolton's books and have become familiar with her excellent, ground breaking work. Dr Gillie Bolton is a renowned therapeutic writing practitioner and author of many Jessica Kingsley Publishing books, including 'Write Yourself: Creative Writing and Personal Development'. In this interview, Dr Bolton discusses her book - in the Writing for Therapy or Personal Development series, of which she is also the series Editor - and shares some of the experiences that brought her to the growing field of therapeutic writing. She also shares some of the writing exercises that she returns to again and again for her own personal development and talks about the importance of hearing your own internal mentor. If you would like to have a go, try starting with a sentence stem. A simple one might be 'Today.' Begin every line with Today and just see where it take you. My offering is: Today is bright with light and energy. Today offers opportunity. Today is a cake making day. Today started slowly. Today my eyes are tired. Today I need kindness. Today is a bread, butter and jam day. Don't forget afterwards to read through your writing asking yourself 'what do I notice?' and 'when I read this how do I feel?' Give it a go!

I had the pleasure of chatting to Dr Leonhardt recently. In this video Diane Danzebrink talks with GP and Menopause Specialist Dr Mandy Leonhardt about hormones, lifestyle, stress and the part they can all play during peri menopause and menopause. They also discuss some of the things that we can do to help ourselves. Even the word 'menopause' often causes confusion so watch, learn and get the support you need. Changes to women’s moods and emotions during the perimenopause and menopause are extremely common; it is often the main reason menopausal women first go to see their GP. Is low mood during the perimenopause and menopause the same as depression? Can taking antidepressants help this type of low mood and/or treat other menopausal symptoms as well? Feeling down, sad, and upset can be very common symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause. Other psychological symptoms include a drop in self­-esteem, less motivation or interest in things, anxiety and panic attacks, irritability and mood swings. It is easy to see why these feelings could be mistaken for depression, therefore, understandable why a doctor might prescribe antidepressants. In the same way that women experience premenstrual syndrome or postnatal depression, significant shifts in your hormone levels, particularly estrogen, can cause marked changes to how you feel. Some studies have shown it is the reduction in estrogen that leads to a lowering of mood, other studies have shown it is the fluctuations in hormone levels that cause the problem. Estrogen helps regulate several hormones, which may have mood­ boosting properties e.g. serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Estrogen also helps to support the sharpness of your thinking skills and when levels reduce, it can lead to forgetfulness or brain fog – which can in turn lower your mood. Testosterone is another important hormone produced by the ovaries and it can also have important effects on the brain. Some pre-­existing conditions may put women at greater risk of developing mood changes during the menopause, these include a history of premenstrual syndrome or postnatal depression, high levels of stress, and poor physical health. Research suggests that more than half of all perimenopausal women report an increase in depressive symptoms. It is therefore important that GPs have an awareness of these symptoms in women from this age group and the possible underlying causes, in particular, hormonal causes. Healthcare professionals may not think of hormones as the primary cause of symptoms for women in their late 30’s or early 40’s for example, but it is not unusual for menopausal symptoms to start as early as this, for some women. Menopause guidelines are clear that antidepressants should not be used as first ­line treatment for the low mood associated with the perimenopause and menopause. This is because there is no evidence that they actually help psychological symptoms of the menopause. References: https://hormoneequilibrium.co.uk/what-i-treat/ https://www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/topics/symptoms SHOW LESS