Mental Sunshine

The days are getting shorter and darker And for a lot of people that can really affect their mood. When there’s less literal sunshine, it can feel like we have less mental sunshine available to us. For many of us, we’ll soon be leaving for work, and coming home, in the dark. That can really

The clocks went back this weekend; we (in the UK) are now officially in Greenwich Meantime… and there’s no denying it’s autumn, hurtling towards winter! A lot of people struggle over the darker winter months, and I think it’s times like this where little moments of Mental Sunshine really come into their own. It’s hard

For this week’s Mental Sunshine I want to talk about smell… Did you know that your sense of smell bypasses your brain’s main sensory area, and goes straight to the part responsible for emotions and memory? That’s why a smell can instantly take you back to a favourite memory or remind you of times past

Can you believe we’re halfway through October already? Time certainly flies when you’re having fun doesn’t it! For this week’s Mental Sunshine, I want to make a suggestion that might cause a bit of resistance in you… This week, to improve your mood a little, I want you to do something you’ve been putting off.

This week’s Mental Sunshine is really simple; something you can probably do right now. It’s really easy, but something that can help your body to release feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. These can help to lift your mood, boost your energy and reconnect with feelings of happiness and comfort. So what is it? Put

How is your internal weather these days? Is there much mental sunshine going on in your head? For this week’s Mental Sunshine I want to talk about the idea of focusing outwards, in order to improve our inner world. It sounds counterintuitive, right? Surely if I’m feeling rubbish, I need to focus on myself if

For this week’s Mental Sunshine, I want to talk to you about the concept of “forced consistency” I know that doesn’t sound very “sunshiny” but bear with me! I saw someone on social media the other day say that when you’re consistent, your days all look the same – but if you’re not consistent, your

September can feel like “back to school” time – even if your kids have grown up and left school Shops and businesses everywhere are promoting “back to school” or “back to uni” deals and there’s a buzz of people going back to a new school, new uni, new year of study. For this week’s Mental

For this week’s Mental Sunshine I want to suggest something else that sounds a bit silly. And feels a bit silly the first time you try it… But it’s super quick and there is some science behind it, so bear with me! This week we’re going to try cyclic sighing. Cyclic sighing is a specific breathing

Can you believe we’re in September already? It’s “back to school” season – I often find that even people who don’t have children heading back to school or university this month still feel that “fresh start” feeling as the season begins to change. For this week’s Mental Sunshine, I want to make what might seem