Your mind is highly intelligent and incredibly creative. You experience over 6,000 thoughts throughout the day paying attention to only a few which are often either the most unhelpful ones or the all-singing, all-dancing ones. We humans like to play to extremes. Notice I said, ‘experience’…
It’s important to consider a mental thought as something you experience, observing your thoughts and being witness to them rather than allowing your negative thinking to run the show!

Let me tell you a story… About 5 years ago I started practising mindfulness, in a small way every day because I needed something to focus my mind on and help cultivate more positive thoughts. My internal chatter had become pretty challenging and it was hard to silence the negative self-talk especially at night, I was unhappy but didn’t think I had any justification for feeling the way I did.

Big Love is about creating a positive change in how people think, speak and feel about mental health, their own and other people's well-being. The word Movement relates not only to the movement of the physical body but within society; a shift in perspective, a change in how we see things as a collective and a way to challenge the stigma around mental health. This is a mission and a life’s work and it started as a page in a journal…

‘I want to build a community where I can create a positive change for people’s wellbeing.’

My own lived experience of mental illness, grief and the challenges faced by those around me are the very reason I am here today doing the work I choose to do. I changed my whole career to create Big Love Movement although I didn’t realise I’d been shifting towards this change for a long time. Throughout my life I have felt anxious, depressed, disconnected and sometimes, very lost and alone. There have been tremendous highlights along the way, inspirational experiences and people to share it all with however it is the most challenging times that nudged me to create Big Love Movement.

Mindfulness supports you by helping you cope better with stress by drawing you back into the present, slowing things down and quietening the internal worry; the mind-chatter.

When you learn to slow things down, even for a short while, you’ll find you have more focus, what you’re focusing on will flow better and everything you do will get a little kickstart!

The language we use and how we use it has a huge impact on our mental health. Whether you look at how you talk to yourself; the thoughts you have and the words you use when thinking them, or whether you reflect on how you speak to the people around you, you'll start to notice those words create an emotional response in them and in you, and often a physical one too.

You’re mental,

I’m mental

We’re all mental because we all have MENTAL health

The purpose of these prompts is to allow you the headspace to process what you’ve done, achieved, experienced and felt over the last 5-7 days. They invite self-inquiry so a chance to tune in to how you are feeling on all levels; physically, emotionally, mentally. Every week will likely to spark different answers and with them comes a fresh perspective!

Feeling calm can be fleeting, I am a firm believer that although it may feel counterproductive to stop what you’re doing, pausing to rebalance is the very best thing we can do when we find ourselves easily distracted, feeling overwhelmed or have lost focus on what we are doing in the first place.

Today I’ve pulled together three of the simplest and self-empowering ways I know to be effective in helping you find a sense of calm and re-connect you to yourself in the here and now.

Here’s some food for thought; what does connection mean to you?

I’ll lead with a quote from the inspirational Brené Brown who appears to have nailed the ultimate definition; “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued; when they can give and receive without judgement; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

What do you do when a bad mood hits you at work? Or right in the middle of a project that really needs to be completed? Or your day begins in a bad mood because you slept terribly?

Well, you can either ride it out or find a way to crank your mood up a notch and feel-good as you ease through your day/project/meeting…

30 ways to improve your mood anytime, anywhere (well, almost)!

These are my top three breathing techniques that you can implement right now, and which take as little as five minutes of your time.

Why are we suddenly so bad at sleeping?

I love to sleep and I love the fact I get to do it for 7-9 hours a night I just wish I could manage it more than a few times a week, I’ve become absolutely rubbish at sleeping through the night!