Do you ever wake up exhausted, only to find yourself wide awake at 3 am? Or reach for sugar when you are already stressed? That might be cortisol at work.
Category archives: Stress Management
Weight Loss Injections:The Inside Scoop, part 1
The talk around weight loss injections is as loud as the conversations about food noise right now (more on that later). From mainstream news and social media to whispers in coffee shops, these medications are probably the most asked-about topic I hear, second only to back pain.
Rediscover Your Voice
Most of us don’t pay much attention to our voice until something goes wrong. Your voice is more than just sound; it is a vital part of your identity and how you connect with others. Whether you are a professional speaker, teacher, or performer, or just gen pop being able to express yourself clearly is […]
Spinal Injections: Are They Right for You?
If you’ve been living with persistent back or neck pain that isn’t responding to hands-on treatment, medication, corrective exercise, or lifestyle changes, you might have been offered a spinal injection as a treatment option, but is that the right next step for you?
How Emotions Show Up in the Body
Have you ever noticed your stomach twisting before a big event or your shoulders creeping up towards your ears when you’re stressed? That’s your body responding to your emotions. Feelings aren’t just in our heads—they show up physically, shaping the way we move, breathe, and even digest food. Understanding these signs can help us manage […]
The Link Between the Voice and Nervous System Health
The voice and the nervous system are often thought of as separate, but they are deeply connected. If you have ever felt your voice shake with anxiety or struggled to speak clearly under pressure, you have already experienced this connection.
From Midlife and Beyond: How Hormonal Changes Impact Your Muscles, Joints, and Bones
Menopause is a natural part of ageing, but it’s often associated only with symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings. What many don’t realise is that menopause can also significantly affect the muscles, joints, and bones. This section explores the musculoskeletal impacts of menopause and the emerging recognition of Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause. What is […]
Rethinking Mental Wellbeing: When CBT Isn’t Enough
What is CBT? Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is widely used in the UK to address mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, and OCD. Its popularity stems from its effectiveness, accessibility, and structure. CBT works by helping individuals identify and reframe unhelpful thoughts, which can lead to improved emotional responses and behaviours.
Subtle Signs Your Voice Is Under Strain
We often think of voice issues as something that only affects performers, singers, or public speakers. But the truth is, problems like hoarseness or even complete voice loss can happen to anyone. Vocal strain often builds up gradually, and the early warning signs are easy to miss.
SAD, prevention and management
If you’re in the U.K., it won’t have passed you by that the nights are drawing in (it seems a tad early to me); the shorter days remind me to welcome autumn, but I do so with mixed feelings. While I love the hues of the season and the prospect of wrapping up in cosy […]
Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT), the inside scoop.
Did you know that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is now being called menopause hormone therapy (MHT)?
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
Mental Health Awareness Week is a yearly opportunity to increase our understanding of mental well-being and stamp out the stigma. around mental well-being. This year’s theme is Anxiety and what we can do to prevent and manage it. Anxiety is the body’s natural adaptive mind-body reaction to perceived and genuine stress or future danger. It is […]
Is mindfulness meditation making you feel like a failure?
And more anxious too? Pounding heart, heavy breathing, churning stomach and sweating hands can be some signs and symptoms of anxiety, along with the need to escape. It is a horrible, distressing experience, often accompanied by embarrassment and shame.
Emotional Needs: Your Non-Food Nutrition
At the end and beginning of the year, many of us reflect or carry out a life audit. It is a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted, including our physical and mental health. Thinking about our emotional needs at these times can be a useful tool, helping us understand where we feel nourished […]
Persistent Pain is a genuine condition
Pain is the primary reason people go to the doctor, but 1 in 3 general practitioners (GPs) reports feeling “unprepared” to treat pain. While this may frustrate you, it’s not their fault because, like most healthcare professionals (HCPs), we receive little or no training around the pain that doesn’t go away as expected during our […]
Inflammatory back pain explained.
Low back pain is tricky; frustratingly, even for the most highly trained, experienced practitioners aided by imaging, knowing the exact cause of someone’s pain is often impossible. Hence, people leave consultations clutching the non-specific low back (NSLP) diagnosis and sometimes with unanswered questions. NSLP is categorised into three subtypes: acute, sub-acute and chronic, and means […]
Seasonal Affective Disorder, and light therapy
It’s September, and the nights are drawing in so quickly it’s reminded me that this is the critical time to put measures in place if you have or are at risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Winter depression is the other name for SAD; it’s a type of depression triggered by the change of seasons, […]
Are you at risk of burnout?
While many people, especially those in the corporate world, have heard the word “burnout”, it’s not recognised officially as a medical term. If you read my musings regularly, you know that education and myth-busting are my primary passions inside and outside of my treatment space. In healthcare, burnout is called mental exhaustion or mental fatigue; “it is […]
Raynaud’s explained
Most of us will have experienced numbness or tingling in our fingers after getting a tub of ice cream out of the freezer or when it’s really cold outside. For most folks, this is a short-lived unpleasant experience.
Pain, why does it hurt so much?
Physical pain is essential to the human experience; it’s the body’s protective alarm system. It’s a subjective experience that is challenging to convey to others. Especially if there are no obvious outward clues, our ability to tolerate pain is as individual as our fingerprints and shaped by many factors: genetics, previous pain experiences and our […]