What do our Covid dreams mean?
There are many reports of people having more frequent and more vivid and unusual dreams during this pandemic. Whilst I personally haven’t seen much of a change (mine are always offbeat), I began to wonder why this increase in COVID dreams might be the case for others. The main function of dreams I have always […]
Coronavirus provokes our fear of death and keeps us stuck
The coronavirus crisis is forcing us to face something which human beings excel at avoiding. Death is the biggest taboo of them all and one which we spend a lifetime denying. Many are writing about trauma during the COVID-19 crisis. We are in the midst of a trauma and that trauma is being triggered by [...]
How to put the brake on in trauma
In order to help with the symptoms of trauma we need to think of the trauma response as being an accelerator. I often remind my clients that trauma is something our body does. Our body has floored the accelerator pedal (so to speak) and we have forgotten that we even have a brake. Trauma as [...]
Regulating emotional arousal states
As we cope with the change of Covid-19 we might find our selves in strange states of emotional upheaval. Regulating our emotional arousal levels is a skill we can learn. You might be coping and working, and perhaps you are even busy. But you might find yourself alternating between anxiety and tiredness, overwhelm and lack […]
What to do when fear is all around
As we enter our eighth week of COVID-19 lockdown, fear is all around us. Not least is the concern about contagion and illness caused in humans by this strand of RNA that we have called coronavirus. Then there is the financial stress and concerns about our mental health during the isolation of the crisis. We […]
How a crisis is the end of an illusion
When we are in the throes of our problem, whether that be anxiety or depression or some other disturbance, it can be difficult to see it as something other than a terrible crisis that is afflicting us. A 'right brain' way of seeing In this respect our very way of seeing the problem perpetuates the problem. Being in the [...]
How to cope with trauma in COVID-19
We are all in the middle of a trauma situation right now. Some are coping, others are not doing so well. This has nothing to do with how ‘strong’ or otherwise we are. This is about more than having ‘mental health issues’. Trauma has an effect on all of us and if we don’t have [...]
How Yoga Is More Effective for Treating Trauma than Any Medication
Trauma and its symptoms are more prevalent in society than is often thought. Nevertheless, yoga may be one of the best treatments to help with trauma. What is trauma and how can yoga help? Trauma happens when we have an experience that we struggle to process. It can feel too overwhelming as we experience negative [...]
The war on trauma
Trauma and its symptoms are more prevalent in society than is often thought. Nearly half of us, that is about 6 of every 10 (or 60%) of men and 5 of every 10 (or 50%) of women experience at least one trauma in their lives. About 7 or 8 out of every 100 people (or [...]
Abuse from a psychotherapeutic perspectiv
Abuse is more prevalent than we realise in our society. Parents abuse children, husbands abuse their wives, women bully and abuse other women at work and children abuse children. There are three general categories of abuse: Physical abuse: physical beatings where damaging blows to the victims’ body are experienced Sexual abuse: unwanted sexual relationship or [...]