This weeks blog post is a bit different - it's a personal reflection on practising what I preach, namely self care and taking time for yourself!

It's fast coming up to the time of year where bright-eyed postgraduates with big dreams of changing the world start their Doctorate in Clinical Psychology training courses. Inspired by that fact, I thought I'd do a post of some of the best advice I've been given over my years as a clinical psychologist.

As I've previously mentioned on this blog, I'm a runner. I started running properly in 2017 after a couple of previous shaky attempts, and since then I think it's taught me a few things both about myself, and about mental health in general. This post is about what I've learned from running.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about taking control of your finances. If you've been having a go at some of those techniques but you're still struggling with money, this week's post might be for you - we're thinking about why you're not reaching your financial goals.

It's nearing the end of March - we're three months into 2019! It seems like a long time since I wrote blog posts on both my own resolutions, and why people probably wouldn't stick with theirs. This week, I'm taking it back to remind you of why resolutions are hard and what you can do if you've gone off track - this might be a well-timed reminder for some of you!

Did you know that up to 8.3 million households in the UK are unable to pay off their debts or household bills? Scary stuff. In this blog post, I'm talking about psychological techniques that can help you to take control of your finances once and for all.

We've all bought a new bag, or a new car, or a new shiny item that we thought would make us happy. So why does that "new object" shine never last? This week, I'm going to talk about hedonic adaptation, why it might be undermining your achievements, and what you can do about it.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a runner - I did a 5k, a 10k and a half-marathon last year and, even though I'm slower than my AOL internet connection in 1998, it is something I enjoy. I also like to think that I know a bit about anxiety: I've helped lots of people who struggle with it and I've struggled with it myself for many years. For both of those reasons, when I found out there was a book coming out by Bella Mackie focusing on both running and mental health, I really wanted to read it. Having managed to get my paws on it over the weekend, this is a review of what I thought.

In my "day job," I work for the NHS in a hospital. I've worked in a variety of different hospitals over the past decade, with inpatients and outpatients, on wards and in clinics. They've all been unique - but also, depressingly similar in some very specific ways. This week, I wanted to write about some of those similarities, and the gift I've decided to give myself in 2019.

I spent New Year's Eve with some of my friends - we do roughly the same thing every year, which provides a bit of comfort and ritual to end the year on. Whichever city we're in (everyone lives somewhere different) it always involves a nice bar, some good food, then a long walk back to someone's home for dessert and singing along badly to Auld Lang Syne at midnight! It's calming and I love it.
There was a lot of conversation about resolutions and what people wanted to do differently this year, and much of it seemed to centre on spending their time in a different way. The conversation inspired me to think more deeply about how I spend my time - in this post, I'll give you some tips on how I'm (hopefully) going to procrastinate less and be more intentional in 2019!