We all experience stress from day to day, it's something we can't avoid! But to have any chance of handling your stress, it helps to be able to first identify it.

Though stress can be experienced in different ways, having a basic understanding of the various types of stress that impact you, can give you a head start in learning to manage your relationship with stress more effectively.

In this video, I share four common types of stress identified by Dr. Karl Albrecht, and suggest some simple and practical tips for managing each of them.

In this episode, I talk with Gym Owner and Strength Coach, Dan Frammingham. Dan has worked within the fitness, wellbeing and educational space for well over a decade, and has been on his own journey of fitness since his early teens.

During our conversation, we talk about the challenges of navigating personal and professional ambitions alongside family life, and the importance of personal discipline, self-control and mindset.

We also discuss some of the shifts the fitness industry has seen over the last two decades, and the role social media has played in shaping people's attitudes, behaviour and relationships within gym spaces.

Thoughts are also shared about the benefits of small wins when working towards fitness goals, the unhelpful effects of comparison, and where competing with yourself can be a powerful approach to making progress.

We all struggle with moments of self-doubt or of not feeling like we're good enough from time to time. Though this can be the result of various things, at some level, it's usually tied to self-confidence.

Growing to be more confident doesn't need to be hard. By following some practical steps you can increase your confidence, and in doing so, improve your wellbeing, relationships and chances of success.

In this video, I share three things you can start doing right away, that with practice and patience are guaranteed to help you become more confident.

Have you ever considered what happens in sex therapy? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. However, in my experience as a therapist, there are varying ideas people have about the nature of a sex therapist's work.

Similarly, over recent years there's been lots of discourse about race, racism, power and white privilege. Yet, though ideas about these issues are being heard in political arenas, how many people are speaking about them in safe spaces?

As a therapist, I find myself having conversations with clients about these issues on a fairly regular basis. In some cases they express feelings of guilt or shame. Why? For various reasons, which relate to their own experience and worldview.

I also have these discussions as a trainer where I've known people express frustration, anger and fatigue at having unfair assumptions and judgments placed on them because of the colour of their skin or gender.

In either context, I think it's helpful to invite and engage in open discussion...

If you want to increase self-awareness, get better at managing stress, and becoming a better problem solver, journalling could be for you.

Additionally, if you want to improve your emotional and mental health, and the chances of accomplishing your goals, journal writing can be an effective and low-cost practice to help you on your way.

In this video, I share five benefits of journal writing that have the potential to help you improve the quality of your life and see lasting change.

Do you ever hear people saying they struggle to set aside time for themselves because they're too busy? Or, how about describing "me time" as being self-indulgent or selfish?

Thing is, these ways of thinking are often associated with self-care. Which for many, can be an unhelpful barrier to taking better care of themselves.

Overview

Self-care is a conscious decision to act in ways that support and promote your health and wellbeing. A holistic approach will likely cover the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of your life.

Though varied, self-care can include more than just those commonly known activities such as exercise, eating well, meditating, and journaling.

What is self-care?

Though it’s become more popular in everyday conversations, the idea of self-care isn’t new. However, when mentioned nowadays, we assume people are talking about engaging in activities that are healthy and good.

The Self Care Forum describes...

We all have rituals of some kind. These could be described as routine tasks or activities we do on a regular basis; more often than not, on autopilot. Showering, exercising, and drinking a morning coffee, are typical examples. 

Some of your rituals occur by default, as they'd have been ingrained in you from an early age. For example, bed making, teeth brushing, and locking the front door at night. Possibly!

However, there'll be others you might've introduced in later life. Which I suspect, in most cases would've been incorporated in an effort to improve your lives in some way shape or form.

For example, a daily exercise schedule, self-care practice, or productivity routine, are each forms of rituals you may have introduced into your life to either improve yourself, or how you work.

But with time, what can happen if we're not careful, is that our rituals can become an obstacle to our wellbeing and progress, rather than an...

For some people, just the idea of being ‘more productive’ can either feel intimidating or cause them to shy away from it altogether.

And this is because productivity is one of those things that, although you know it has huge benefits for achieving important things, it can be difficult to maintain.

But if you’re willing to take some achievable and effective first steps, ‘being more productive’ doesn't need to be too difficult.

In this video, I share five simple steps to being more productive that can help you to start making better use of your time and energy today!

In processing too much information we limit our ability to perform at our best and increase the risk of decision fatigue. This is why finding ways to avoid brain overload is key to our effectiveness.

Each day we’re faced with making thousands of decisions. Some are mundane, like what cereal to have, while others are more serious. For example, whether to sell our home or undergo surgery.

Decision making is also taxing on our working memory. That is, our ability to hold, process and use new information to guide our behaviour (Hall & Jarrold, 2015).

Similarly, as we use our decision making muscles, our ability to self-regulate and make sound choices reduces. This results in an increased risk of making poor, unethical, and possibly costly decisions (Kouchaki & Smith, 2014).

So what can we do?

The mental demands of responsibility

It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed or stressed by the number of decisions you need to make on a daily basis. Some may also find...

The connection between your thoughts and feelings can be so strong that you respond to events on autopilot.

These default responses can develop into unhealthy thought cycles, which result in you becoming more and more tense and anxious.

In this video, I share three basic distraction techniques you can use to overcome worrying thoughts that might be preventing you from performing at your best.