The brain naturally prefers what feels familiar. That is why trying something new can feel uncomfortable, even when it is good for wellbeing. The good news is that this isn't where the story ends. In the previous blog, Why Does Your Brain Resist Change?, we looked at why the brain often resists change. This follow-up explores what can help. Training your...
Wanting to change is rarely the hard part. Sticking with it is. New habits, new routines, even good ones, tend to meet resistance from somewhere deep and automatic — and that resistance has more to do with wiring than willpower. Why Does Your Brain Resist Change? The brain is designed to keep people safe because it is biologically wired to prioritise survival...
When anxiety takes hold, breathing often changes without being noticed. It may become quicker, shallower or feel harder to control. This is a natural response to stress, but it can also make anxious feelings seem even stronger. Breathing carries on by itself most of the time, but it can also be changed whenever needed. That bit of control turns out...
Imagine pressing pause on your day for just five minutes to sit quietly and breathe. It seems nearly too effortless to have significance, but research shows these short moments can trigger meaningful changes in both your mind and body. While meditation is frequently seen as long, quiet sessions for those with great discipline. In reality, even a short daily practice can...
We all know sadness. It’s a natural, human response to life’s disappointments, losses, heartbreaks, or even just a run of exhausting days. It feels heavy, but it usually has a story — a reason that makes sense. Depression, however, is something different. It’s not “sadness that won’t go away.” It’s a clinical condition that can reshape how you think, feel,...
As a psychologist who works with many women dealing with hormonal mood changes, I often hear the same question: “Is this just bad PMS or is it something more?” For most women, premenstrual symptoms are manageable. But for others, the days before a period can be overwhelming emotional storms that disrupt work, relationships, and self-worth. This is often Premenstrual Dysphoric...
Your chest tightens, your heart races, your breathing becomes shallow, and for a moment, it can genuinely feel like something is seriously wrong. Many people who experience a panic attack for the first time believe they are having a heart attack and honestly, the symptoms can feel frighteningly similar. Panic attacks are more common than many realise. They can happen during...
This blog is the fourth installment in our neurochemistry blog series, building on our earlier discussions of dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. Each of these chemicals does play a different role in how we think, feel, and react to things. Dopamine drives motivation, serotonin supports mood, and cortisol helps the body respond to stress. Adrenaline on the other...
When you start looking at the chemistry of how we feel, serotonin emerges as one of the most recognised chemical messengers in the nervous system. Often called the "feel-good" neurotransmitter, although it does much more than that. It influences everything from emotional stability to digestive health. As part of our neurochemistry blog series, we recently explored dopamine and its...
Turn on the news or scroll through social media and it’s hard to avoid the sense that the world feels increasingly uncertain. In my work as a psychologist, I see more and more people—kids, teens, adults—coming in with anxiety tied to what’s happening globally. People talk about feeling overwhelmed by everything: the war between Russia and Ukraine, the current war between...
