Once you identify the triggers that are specific to you, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is much easier. To eat less, you have to put less food in your mouth. Easy, right? If only it were that simple. People who have tried a number of different diets often realise that maintaining a healthy weight is less…
“I want to be happy,” Anne whispered, her eyes on the floor of my office. “My friends tell me that to be happy I just need to think positive, so I say positive affirmations to myself — but it’s not working!” Anne’s situation is not unusual. She is a bright, successful woman, and yet unhappy. …
We all know that exercise is good for us, but in a new book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John Ratey explains the latest research on exercise and the brain. He focuses on how exercise benefits many of the problems seen by clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals (stress,…
So often, we have expectations about how events will turn out but what can psychology tell us about managing our expectations? Recently I saw the movie, 500 Days of Summer. In one scene, after the main character, Tom, has broken up with his girlfriend and she has invited him to a party (as friends), we…
Cosmetic doctor, Dr Sarah Hart, wrote a blog for Mindfood magazine on using Botox for depression, a treatment based on facial feedback theory. The facial feedback theory states that facial movement can influence emotional experience. In this case the idea was that Botox made it difficult to frown, favouring a more neutral facial expression that…
Autonomy and a clear sense of purpose is often the key to self-motivation. Here’s a few tips for fostering autonomy at work and in the home. Sally looked glum as she came into therapy; a surprise to me as she had recently got a new job and was very motivated to add value to her…