Counselling, Psychotherapy, Mental Health & Happiness Blog.

5 Things We All Need To Be Happy

13/12/2015

My work as a psychotherapist varies all the time, and it differs with every person who sits in front of me. No two people are the same, and even when two people experience an almost identical set of experiences and difficulties, their journey through that is completely unique.

For therapy to be effective then, it has to be fluid and tailored to the individual person. Having said that however, there is something that I keep coming back to time and time again.

Everything we do in life is a behaviour, and all of our behaviours are motivated by one of two things. To feel good, or to avoid pain. Whether we realise it or not, in order to feel good we strive to satisfy the basic psychological needs that all of us have. It's not possible to be happy unless we are satisfactorily meeting these needs.

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A Bittersweet Parting

7/12/2015

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I've made the decision to change the comment software of my blog to Disqus. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while now but I've put it off until now. I love how Disqus handles blog comments, but I knew that changing the comments on my blog would mean losing all of the comments and discussions that I've had here to date.

So it is with bittersweet parting that I say goodbye to this blog's old comment format, and welcome in the new. I appreciate each and every one of you that has left me a comment in the past, and I hope that you will continue to do so with the new format.

I'm sorry to say goodbye to all of the comments this blog has had up until now, but I'm excited to see a smoother, more visually appealing format take over. Goodbye to the old, and roll on the new.

See you in the comments ;)

Namasté,

David

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What is a Good Man Anyway?

6/12/2015

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I had the following post originally published as a featured article on The Good Men Project, on 3-12-15

What is a good man anyway?

I told my young sons the other day that I was going to write an article for the Good Men Project. My eldest, who is eight years old asked me "what is a good man anyway Dad?” Suspecting that this could be one of those moments where what you say to your kids can have a lasting effect, I thought about the question for a moment before I sat down with the three of them and gave them this answer.

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New Mental Health Podcast

22/11/2015

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I’ve not done an update type post before, so this is a first for me. I am writing this post to let you know about one of my current projects. It’s a mental health podcast and I plan on launching it at the end of January.

I recently ran a survey and got a lot of great feedback about different ways that I can help people, and about the different issues that people want help with. I had thought about doing a podcast before, but this feedback confirmed for me that there is a need for it. If it can provide value for people then I’m very happy to do it.

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Anxiety Self Help with Mindfulness

15/11/2015

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In this post I will share with you what I do in my work to help people who are suffering with anxiety, and show you what you can do to help yourself if anxiety is ever an issue for you.

We all experience anxiety in life, but to varying degrees. It can present as stress and worry, or it can show up as debilitating panic and fear.

Working with anxiety in therapy is a two fold process. On the one hand we want to spend time uncovering the thought patterns and belief systems that produce, or add fuel to anxiety. We do this so that we can begin to rewrite the scripts that we use internally, which can move us away from anxiety and towards what we actually want.

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Using Dream Journals to Discover what Your Dreams Mean

13/11/2015

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In this post I'm going to talk a little bit about dreams and developing dream recall. Dreams are fascinating, and they can provide us with so much information that can help us in many ways. For a dream to be useful however, we first have to remember it.

That's where dream journaling comes in. An adult will typically dream several times every night, with our most active dreaming done during the REM (rapid eye movement) stages of the sleep cycle. Our most active dreaming is done during REM sleep, but how many of these dreams can you remember when you wake up in the morning?

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Choice Theory in a Nutshell

19/8/2015

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As an integrative psychotherapist, my work varies all the time, and I adapt the therapy to suit the needs of the individual client. Very often however, I find that I will use Choice Theory / Reality Therapy as part of the work I do with many clients.

The reason I use it so often is the fact that it is effective and the understanding of it empowers clients to make more effective choices in their lives. And no matter how bad things may seem, we always have choice.

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Thoughts on Being Busy

27/7/2015

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My practice is going from strength to strength and I’ve never been as busy as I am these days. Now, I am very grateful that things are going well, but it has got me thinking about the nature of busy.

It is one thing being busy in a productive way, but it’s another thing altogether being a busy fool.

Being busy has been glorified in our culture today. People assume that being busy means you are doing well and that the opposite is also true. It has become almost a badge of honour to be busy. The busier you are, the better you are perceived to be doing.

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3 Sure-fire Ways to Feel Better Now

3/7/2015

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Cry:

Crying releases cortisol (a by-product of adrenalin) and other toxins from the body. It allows us to shed some of the emotional burden we are carrying. How often have you cried and felt better for doing so? It’s a natural process that we can deny ourselves needlessly. Give yourself permission to cry whenever you need to.

Sweat:

Sweating also releases cortisol and other toxins from our system. Working up a sweat through vigorous exercise also gets our bodies to release endorphins, our all natural feel good medicine. Depending on the type of exercise, it can take your mind off what ails you, or even help you work through whatever you are struggling with.

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Leaving Cert Tips From a Therapist

13/3/2015

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Recently I have been working with some young people ahead of their Leaving Certificate exams.

While every person is different, there are some things I can share here that we have been working on that may be helpful to others facing their upcoming exams. If you are someone who is taking the Leaving, or you know someone who is, then you might benefit from the following tips from the therapy room.

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I am a psychotherapist, trainer, coach and meditation teacher, working with people face to face in Dublin, Ireland, and worldwide via Skype. I blog about mental health, happiness, personal growth & development, spirituality, and other things that interest me.

Disclaimer

The author(s) of this blog express thoughts and opinions based on personal and professional experience. Please note that as there is no established professional relationship between author and reader, that this blog does not constitute therapy or professional advise and should not be taken as such.

5 Things We All Need To Be Happy

A Bittersweet Parting

What is a Good Man Anyway?

New Mental Health Podcast

Anxiety Self Help with Mindfulness

Using Dream Journals to Discover what Your Dreams Mean

Choice Theory in a Nutshell

Thoughts on Being Busy

3 Sure-fire Ways to Feel Better Now

Leaving Cert Tips From a Therapist

Featured on:

Author

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