Accrington Counselling & Wellbeing Service

02/05/2026

02/05/2026

23/04/2026

Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist in Vienna when he was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1942. He was subsequently transferred to Auschwitz, then to two subcamps of Dachau.
His wife, his parents and his brother died in the camps.
He survived.

In 1946, one year after liberation, he wrote Man's Search for Meaning — a documented account of his psychological observations across three years in four camps. It has since sold over sixteen million copies and been listed by the US Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books ever written.
His central observation was this.

The prisoners who survived longest — not physically necessarily, but psychologically intact — were not the ones with the most comfortable circumstances, the most food, or the most favorable treatment. They were the ones who maintained what Frankl called a sense of meaning. A reason. Something they were surviving for.
He watched prisoners give away their last piece of bread to help someone else. He watched men walk through the camp with dignity in conditions designed specifically to eliminate it. He watched people choose, under circumstances of total external powerlessness, how they would respond internally to what was being done to them.

And he built an entire school of psychotherapy from that observation.

Logotherapy — meaning-centered therapy — is based on one premise: the primary human drive is not pleasure, as Freud argued, or power, as Adler argued.
It is meaning.

And meaning, Frankl documented, cannot be removed by external circumstances.
It can only be abandoned from within.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is your power to choose your response. In your response lies your growth and your freedom.
He wrote that in Auschwitz.

Think about where you are writing your excuses.

22/04/2026

Self-love is a powerful driver of social and emotional outcomes. How you feel about yourself influences the energy you project, shaping the quality of relationships and interactions around you.

Positive self-perception activates neural pathways linked to confidence, resilience, and emotional regulation. Psychologist says when individuals feel worthy and valuable, they are more likely to engage in healthy boundaries, assert their needs, and respond calmly in social situations. According to psychology, this internal state naturally draws people who respect and appreciate your energy, creating supportive and fulfilling connections.

Research shows that self-worth influences behavior and social dynamics. Psychologist says those who practice self-compassion and affirm their value are more likely to pursue opportunities, set standards for treatment, and attract individuals who align with their positive mindset. According to psychology, self-love is not selfish—it is a neurological and behavioral strategy for cultivating fulfilling relationships and emotional well-being.

Psychologist says developing a sense of worthiness enhances both inner and outer experiences. According to psychology, starting with self-respect and recognition of your value allows you to radiate confidence, become magnetic in social contexts, and fully receive the best that life has to offer.

22/04/2026

Being the 'strong one' doesn’t always feel strong.

From the outside, it can look like holding everything together yet on the inside, it can feel like everything’s falling apart or like you’re just hanging on by a thread.

Being the one people have come to depend and rely on, the one who keeps going, no matter what, can over time, become exhausting.

And it can come with things that aren’t always visible, like feeling unseen, pushing your own emotions to one side for the sake of others or becoming less in tune with how you really feel.

There might be a fear that if you slow down and feel what’s underneath, you won’t be able to show up in the way others need you to.

And in some ways, being the strong one can become a role. An expectation. A way of coping, sometimes a way of avoiding what’s going on inside.

But just because you’re often the strong one, doesn’t mean you have to carry everything on your own.

In therapy, this is often the part that finally gets space,
the part that’s been holding everything together for so long and rarely gets the chance to be supported.

14/04/2026

Most couples return to normal after conflict and call it done. That is a ceasefire. It is not a repair.

The ten minutes after the heat drops are where the real work either happens or gets deferred indefinitely.

Save this and use it when you need it. Follow LoveSecurely for more practical relationship tools.