I don’t know about you, but I’m a natural Eeyore. My glass is often half-empty – even when there’s plenty of drinking left. Tiggers – (like my husband), leave me dizzy and bewildered.  All that joy and bounce – there’s simply no need. Yet all too often, I’ll use my natural disposition as an excuse: justification for acting lumpy.   The thoughts go like this: I’m a melancholy person – not just a misery-guts.  I’m over-burdened: not over-committed.  I’m depressed, rather ... Read More

If God hadn’t declared His creation ‘good’, I’d be having serious doubts about 3 January.  It don’t feel good.  Not one little bit. It feels rainy and messy.  I’ve tried rugging up with positive thinking and, surprise, surprise, it’s still bypassed the scarf of resolution.   3 Jan, my friends, is an unstoppable trickle, running down the back of my neck and giving me spine-chill. Some people relish the challenge of the new.  I admire them…from the sanctuary of my duvet-ed bunker. Hello you ... Read More

What if you could see your life through God’s eyes? And the last year? Not how you feel about it.  Or even what others think – family, friends, strangers. I reckon it might transform the year gone by. Like - some of the stuff that I really fought for – turned out to be rubbish. but some of the things that I fought against – were lessons I needed to learn. Or gifts (albeit without  nice wrapping). And maybe the things that scare me about this year, will be steps ahead maybe the safe stuff and the routines are ... Read More

How much of our worries are in our minds? How does anxiety impact our physical health – and can it be a positive as well as a negative emotion? Research carried out in February by Oxford’s Professor Irene Tracey found that the pain we expect, correlates to the pain we experience. This is what’s known as the ‘nocebo’ effect – the flip-side to the better-known placebo.  In her study, volunteers given pain relief were told that the drug had worn off before this was the case.  Each time, their pain returned to the level it was at ... Read More

A big shout out to all the other victims of the malign force that is Monday.  Morning. Exhibit A: twenty minutes spent stalking the World’s Hugest Moth.  Only to discover that I’d triumphantly squashed what turned out to be a large piece of sellotape.   Does that warrant a back-to-bed card? I’m hoping you’re still too befuddled by sleep to spot the fact that this is very definitely an Avoidance Blog. In other words, it has no point except to defer a whole series of unappealing weekday tasks. That and the fact that ... Read More

Perhaps you’re different, but I rarely leap out of bed with a thankful heart.  My default setting seems to be somewhere between vague discontent and low-lying worry.  To top up the moods, I’ve got a series of mental checklists that include the following: Reasons to Panic, Things That Might Go Wrong, Stuff I Haven’t Done and Really Should Have, Regrets (I’ve Had a Few), and, if all else fails, My Bum Looks Big and I’ve Got Wrinkles. Instead of challenging such worries, too often I’m happy to let them simmer ... Read More

So you’ve had one of those catsickonthekitchenfloor/toddler meltdown/bumped into the ex wearing curry-stained trackies/missed deadline/I’m a piece of crap days.  You’re trying not to cry. Whatever your fix, what’s going to stop you self-harming and turning to destructive patterns of behaviour? Number One.  A prayer flare.  Like literally, ‘help Lord’. Number Two, A phone call to a friend. Talk about how you’re feeling. Number Three. A cup of tea. Preferably with sugar. Number Four: some self-talk. Here’s some ... Read More

Are women more anxious than men? If so, are we born that way or does panic just evolve, along with the wrinkles? Before you drown me out with howls of protest, let me say this : I don’t think we can characterise women like we would potatoes. We’re not all the same and thus we’re not all headless chickens. However, in my limited experience, women tend to internalise stress more than guys. Glen’s not agonising at three in the morning about whether the guy at the cheese counter hates him, just because he mispronounced ... Read More

Ever get yourself into a bit of a tizz? In fact, scratch ‘tizz’. Tizz is for part-timers. What I’m talking about here is FULL-BLOWN MELTDOWN. With enough time and effort, (particularly in the early hours of the morning), what starts as a mental hiccup can escalate into an existential crisis of global proportions. That is, if I let it. Anxiety, can often be a choice. It’s like a circuit I’ve hard-wired in my body and brain – one tiny trigger and red lights start flashing across the dashboard. But Scripture ... Read More

Fear of vomiting. Or ‘Emetophobia’, if you want the technical term. You may never have heard of it, but get this – it’s one of the top five phobias. Let’s start with what it’s not. It’s not something trivial.  Nor is it ‘not really liking’ throwing up.  (As if anyone enjoys it). Instead, this is a fear of throwing up  that can leave sufferers being desperate and even suicidal. It is - Embarrassing.  Frightening.  Little understood. And sometimes serious. Here’s how one woman describes the implications for ... Read More