The Life Design Studio

Depressed at Christmas

If you are depressed at Christmas-time it can be especially difficult because all around you there is excitement and fun.  The TV is full of advertisements for games, depicting happy families at play and romantic comedies that seem to rub salt into the wounds of those who are finding life a struggle.  So what can you do?  What steps could you take to ease your pain just a little.

What we class as “depression” can take many forms.  You might be very stressed at work and feel depressed there but you’re still able to function within your family or leisure time – or vice versa.  You may be feeling extremely negative about life and your place in the world but still able to go to the cinema or out with a friend.  Or your depression may be rock bottom, where you’ve gone into the realm of locking yourself in the bedroom with a duvet over your head for most of the day, not seeing anyone or doing anything much at all.  By the time you’ve got to this level you may be classed as ‘clinically depressed’ and hopefully you are under the care of a doctor.

Is Laughter the Best Medicine? | The Natural Way to cure the Blues

When was the last time you had a really good laugh?  Do you laugh every day?  Once a week ... a month?  There's lots of evidence to prove how good laughter is for our health and wellbeing.

Where do you Start?

Where do you start if you're out of practice with laughter?  Where can you find inspiration?  Has life become too serious?  It’s easy to get into a pit of worry with all the doom and gloom news on the TV lately, so think what would tickle you.  Learning to laugh again takes practice.

Personal Development: Our gateway to Success

STOP not doing what you know you should do!

Powerful ideas are at the very heart of success and the single most useful tool in my personal development is, without doubt, the CD player in my car.  My glove compartment is never without a CD set by Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy or one of the stable of self development superstars. 

My regular commutes have become the gateway to success, my car provides an honors university education and my trunk holds a whole library of titles by the mentors who influenced and helped shape our unique brand of therapy at The Life Design Studio.

We have always believed that thoughts and ideas are our most powerful possessions.  An idea or a different way of viewing our life can change the way we look, act and feel at the blink of an eye...

Worry, worry, worry

A client said to me this week that she gets upset by all the obesity in the world today.  She said it bothers her whenever she sees overweight children and she worries about it.

You might agree.  It is a problem, at least in the wealthier areas of the world.

Maybe you worry about other world issues, local issues or personal issues on a regular basis.  But is it a useful way to spend your time?  Do you realise what it’s doing to your health?  Is it going to change anything? 

Procrastination - the Thief of Time

Procrastination can mean Depression.

Procrastination affects us all from time to time.

You know what to do – so why don’t you do it? 

When someone asks why didn’t you do that ... pay your taxes on time, or finish that project when you said you would, (fill in the blank),  how often have you said ‘I didn’t have the time’?

Of course we all do that - I do - but when you do that you risk two things...

How can we choose our feelings?

"Choose our feelings!”  They just turn up don’t they?  We can’t help it if someone upsets us, causes us to be angry or hurts us.

Well, to some extent we can.  I know I’ve covered this ground in several ways before but that’s my job as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist and Life Coach.  I help people to learn how to be happier despite what happens around them.  Despite what they have no control over…

Shedding a little light on Phobias

What is a phobia?

A phobia is a fear that is out of control.  The difference between a fear and a phobia is just the intensity of fear. 

If you are frightened of something you may find ways to get around that.  Once it turns into a phobia, your heart starts racing, your palms become sweaty, your mouth goes dry, your mind becomes a mess and you cannot find ways to lessen your anxiety until you are out of the situation again.

It is your mind’s way of telling you that this situation is dangerous even when it isn’t.…         

Reflections

I love this time of year.  Most of the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over; an old year ending and a new beginning just around the corner. 

It’s a great time for reflection.  A time for re-enforcing the lessons learned in the year gone by so that the year ahead can be even better.

One way to use this reflective time is to separate your thoughts into the various areas of your life.  So you might reflect on your health for the year, your finances, your relationships – which you may wish to separate out into different categories such as family, friends, someone special.  Then there is education, personal growth, leisure, spiritual growth.  You choose what’s important to you in your life.

Also, do add in those areas that you want but haven’t got.  One of the areas I love to help my clients with is relationships, particularly ....

Lonely at Christmas?

I’m very lucky that I don’t have to cook Christmas dinner this year. 

My son and his girlfriend have invited Tony and I for two days, along with my daughter and her husband.  A nice rest for Mum?  Well, maybe not!  I expect I’ll be helping just a little!!

We’ve already sent a shopping list and detailed time-table of what to cook and how to cook it.

It’s easy to forget how many different stresses there can be around this time of year.

There’s the stress of shopping, choosing the right presents, juggling the finances, worrying about credit-card debt, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, card writing … and if you have all those stresses you may just be one of the lucky ones

Weight Loss tips 2

Hi Again all you slimmers.  I know losing weight can be harder as you get older ... I'm 60 and I've definitely thickened out around the middle in the last couple of decades.  But I have managed to lose 2 stone by following my own advice.

So here are the last 5 Top Tips I promised you which are all about raising your awareness.  They are excerpts from my e-book "Losing Weight Needn't be a struggle"

Tip 6
Get conscious of your starting point:  What have you got now?  Let's get real about all the details.  This doesn’t just mean your weight and size but the effect of overweight on your health, your emotions, your family, your social life, your work life and your future.  Be realistic about what this excess weight is costing you.  This can then give you a more powerful motivation to start the process.