Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

5 Tips for Coping with the Festive Season 

#MondayMotivation Hope you all had a good weekend. This week's #MondayMotivation is below. This will be the last #MondayMotivation for 2018 (we finish up here on Wednesday afternoon). Hope you like! Enjoy your day. All the best, Alexandra :-)    

I remember having a Sooty soft toy that I lost on a walk when I was about 4 years old that I still remember to this day (so that would have happened about 36 years ago!). Did you have a favourite toy that helped you through the tough times and that gave you comfort? Maybe you still have it and it still helps you.  The middle teddy in the picture below looks a bit worse for wear....poor guy! Alexandra :-) https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/12/still-have-childhood-teddy-psychological-power-toys-we-keep?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR0tf_F9FtKfjfWzdWxLaq7U4hUEcE6Vu5SdkAGmf9sW-p5KGYUEWeSvV0A  

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others. People of any age can have BDD and it affects anyone of any gender or sex. Having BDD does not mean you are vain or self-obsessed. It can be very upsetting and have a big impact on your life. Low mood, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, stress, trauma, self-harm and eating di sorders are some of the other conditions that can co-occur with BDD. Some of the symptoms of BDD include:  * worrying a lot about a specific area of your body (particularly your face) * spending lots of time comparing your looks with other people's * looking at yourself in mirrors a lot or avoid mirrors altogether * going to a lot of effort to conceal flaws – e.g. spending a long time combing your hair, applying make-up or choosing clothes * picking at your skin to make it "smooth"...

#MondayMotivation Hope you all had a good weekend. This week's #MondayMotivation is below. Hope you like! It's a beautiful frosty winter's day here in Glasgow. Hope it's a lovely day where you are. Take care and wrap up if it's a cold one where you are! I've got my extra pair of socks on today! All the best,  Alexandra :-) www.eatingdisorderscotland.co.uk www.citizen17therapy.co.uk www.cbtersclub.co.uk

# FridayFacts Good morning everyone. This week's #FridayFacts focus on 'Grounding Techniques'. Grounding techniques are a set of tools used to assist you to stay in the present moment during episodes of intense anxiety or other over-whelming emotions.  Staying in the present moment allows people to feel safe and in-control by focusing on the physical world and how they experience it.  Grounding is easy to do. Just focus on some aspect of the physical world, rather than on your internal thoughts and feelings (see some suggestions in the info-graphic below). Focus on the present rather than the past. Practice your grounding techniques so that they will come naturally when you are upset or anxious.  Try a variety of techniques and rate the effectiveness of each technique in keeping you calm. Have others assist you in using these techniques by reminding you to practice them and use them as soon as you are feeling emotionally. The info-graphic be...

I really like this article. In fact, I was discussing some of these ideas with a group of therapists a few days ago (before I had even read the article). I have said some of these things for a long time. Many people come to therapy and the 'standard 12-sessions of CBT' approach just isn't going to touch their experience of depression. That's why I am an integrative cognitive behavioural therapist. Of course, everyone's experience of depression and low mood is different and what helps one person will not necessarily help another. However, I believe that many of the ideas surrounding depression are outdated now and need to be updated. This article captures this need for 'updating' in many ways.   Please click on the link below for the article. Thanks, Alexandra :-) https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/07/is-everything-you-think-you-know-about-depression-wrong-johann-hari-lost-connections?CMP=fb_gu&fbclid=IwAR0wDvDU2...

# MondayMotivation Hope you all had a good weekend. Hope you like this week's Monday Motivation! It's a lovely winter's today here in Glasgow - hope it's a lovely day where you are. Take care and wrap up if it's a cold one where you are! :-)