Now, what else is there?
What we hope for the future may or may not happen.
What we place our hope in now in the present, and building upon that is the hope that matters.
Don’t wishfully just hope that someday it will all be alright.
Use today to build a better tomorrow.
Loss and Rememberance
The death of a loved one is the greatest trauma we can go through. Death is not the only sever loss we can experience in life. The counselling process with loss is slow and a process of learning to understand the experience and the emotions from the loss.
There are tools that you can use to help with the loss. Also many theoretical models exist to help you understand the process of working with your grief.
Prevail’s approach to the porn debate
Porn is a pervasive part of our society. That said, it rarely comes up in the counselling room. That reflects how accepted it is in our culture. But still, the debate exists as to whether it suits you.
Some argue that porn is destructive for genuine sexual relationships and that it isolates people. Others say that porn plays a productive part in their relationships and helps educate them about the practicalities of sex.
Perhaps the context for discussing porn is not about physical enjoyment but the actual purpose and nature of sexual relationships in the first place.
Counselling when you are a person of few words
A reason some people stay way from counselling is because they are intimidated and believe they would not know what to talk about.
This can be overcome as a trusting relationship is built up between her and the therapist. Usually after 2 or 3 sessions the client is comfortable enough to engage therapeuticaly with counselling.
Indiana Jones and the Idol of Eternal Youth
When is old too old? The perceptions of the last Harison ford Indiana Jones film were that Ford was too old to play the role. According to our cherished memories, yes, he was.
But why can’t we let our heroes grow old?
Do we hold to a belief of eternal youth that is offended when we see our action heroes become slow and weak?
Surely we can believe, as Indy did, that there’s life in the old dog still?
Winning Gold in life's Olympics
Can we achieve greatness in the ordinary? Yes. Sometimes just getting through the mundane can be a great achievement in its own right. Do you believe this? Does it sound like pop psychology?
Whatever you may think about it I encourage you to take on the great adventure of going for gold in your own life story.
Happy Anniversary?
Should we mark let alone celebrate a negative anniversary?
If so how?
It is a matter of personal choice how a person should remember an anniversary. It can be a celebration of thankfulness of survival. It can be a time to take stock and allow yourself to be reconciled with what you may have lost but also to be greatful for what you have the increased significance it has for you.
Who's in charge of you, You?
My third cancer blog and the last one I wrote while still an inpatient. I may have had two cycles of chemo left.
By this stage, I was drained of anger. I still had my days, but it was getting me nowhere. I was pushing myself to choose to accept the situation, but to keep the hope alive of future reunions and restarts.
This blog focused on the effect of the loss of personal autonomy and knowing I was not in control. I questioned are we ever really in control of our lives?
On being Diagnosed with Cancer
This blog was written when I was in the early stages of being in hospital, being treated for cancer, the 2nd half of 2020..
In many ways, this reads as a diary entry where I outline the events of my illness, starting with pre-diagnosis and ending somewhere after my first of six rounds of chemotherapy.
I delve into the emotional and physical trauma of that time. What gave me strength and what made me weak. Relational and spiritual issues are highlighted.
This is all in the context of the initial 2020 lockdown, which meant I had to experience this painful medical world alone.
Trauma in Life
Trauma is the emotional experience of hurtful events in our past. We can respond to trauma over the years by trying to ignore it or even forgetting about it. This is a common response to trauma that happened to us as children. Burial of pain can result in the person experiencing unexplainable, negative, cognitive, emotional and behavioural experience in later years. Trauma from earlier in life can be healed in the present day through the work of a therapeutic relationship with a counsellor.