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Working through Grief at Christmas

I remember the first Christmas after my eldest daughter, Jenna, died  … I was dreading it. Christmas, festivals and holiday times can feel so brutal when you’ve lost someone you love. This is traditionally a time of year when people get together with family and friends to celebrate, and joining in can be extremely difficult. […]

Crossing the finish line

It feels like everywhere I turn at the moment, I’m hearing people say ‘Can you believe there are only 8 Mondays till Christmas!’. Which immediately makes me think, ‘where the heck did the year go to?’, closely followed by, ‘And thank GOD it’s nearly over!’ However, maybe your thoughts are more in keeping with many of my clients who […]

Rewiring your relationship to pain is powerful…

Pain comes in many different guises – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual – and there is no life on earth without it. Moving from bracing to embracing is an important part of dealing with pain and building our levels of Authentic Resilience. Leaning into pain, paying attention to what it is, and how we respond […]

Comfort Food for Thought

I’ve been thinking a lot about comfort food recently (ok, let’s be honest… I’ve been doing more than just thinking about it…!). And I’m not saying comfort food when I’m really meaning junk food. I mean the food that we really want to eat, need to eat, during our most difficult times, that brings us […]

Feeling on the Edge of Despair?

Here are some of the things we’ve learnt from feeling ‘on the edge’ of despair… Firstly, as tempting as it is, to simply ignore our emotions and get back to work is not helpful in the long run Secondly, puffing ourselves up with superficial Pollyanna optimism doesn’t work And thirdly, allowing yourself to fall into […]

What we need most in this uncertain time…

Uncertainty, turbulence and unpredictability are unsettling, overwhelming and scary. Right now what we need most is to find ways to remain calm and productive. Stop catastrophising – do not be derailed or seduced by fear… Don’t feed the drama by sharing fake news or devastating videos. Choose credible media sources and (if you can) limit […]

Radical Acceptance

The Resilience Factory - Thrive in life

I recently came across this excellent article about ‘Radical Acceptance’. This is such a huge concept, hard to come to terms with, but nevertheless one which is absolutely crucial in developing Authentic Resilience.  As the author of the article says, “..the more we try to evade or avoid painful realities, the more entangled we become […]

The Gift of Perspective

One of the greatest gifts to come from times of great hardship (and yes – there is more than one) is that of perspective. Of being able to stand back and see a situation with far greater clarity, holding it in balance with everything else you have known and been through. I’ve been thinking about […]

Exhaustion Depletes Your Resilience Reserves

There is no doubt that exhaustion depletes your resilience reserves … everything looks and feels better on a good nights sleep. When we are under pressure, however, we often tend to give up (or let go of) things we feel are less urgent or important, things that seem ‘optional’ and yet all too often these […]